114 Islam and Modernity
one in each region. Neo-liberal economic reforms dramatically weakened the role of
the state as a provider of welfare in many Middle Eastern countries, and saw the
emergence of various Islamic associations taking over social and economic roles
previously played by the state. The Iranian Revolution and the jihad against the
Soviet occupation of Afghanistan were powerful catalysts of political movements
throughout the regions. After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan and the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the new regimes of Central Asian states had recourse
to ethno-national ‘traditions’ as tools in nation-building and adopted an ambivalent
attitude towards Islam, endorsing some of its local expressions and severely
suppressing its political manifestations. The combination of a loss of women’s
entitlements and benefi ts from the state (the essence of the paternalist Soviet
social contract) and the emergence of ‘offi cial’ national ideologies endorsing male
privilege led to an invitation to women to return to ‘traditional’ roles, blurring the
boundaries between secular and Islamic sources of morality. In post-Taliban
Afghanistan, the reach of the state continues to be limited, in the absence of a
sustainable political settlement. The constituencies pressing for an expansion of
women’s rights – with the prompting of the international donor community – have
an extremely weak hand to play in an ideological fi eld rendered homogenous by the
years of jihad.
Questions
- What are the main strands of debate on Islam, gender and women’s rights?
Compare and contrast approaches that privilege Islamic history and textual
sources (and justifi cations for resorting to these) with other critical perspectives of
a sociological orientation. - Various strands of scholarship have developed critiques of the authoritarian
modernisation of Muslim societies and its (allegedly positive) impact on women’s
rights and gender relations. What are the main arguments put forward by these
intellectual trends? - What was meant by the claim that Central Asian women were made to play the
role of a ‘surrogate proletariat’? On what grounds was this claim contested by
other scholars? - Explain the processes through which Soviet modernisation efforts could
paradoxically lead to a strengthening or revival of ‘traditional’ social structures and
practices. - Is the common observation correct that the collapse of the Soviet Union caused a
return to more conservative (‘traditional’) gender ideologies and practices? Was
this due to a revival of Islam, or were other factors involved? - Why were modernising reforms less successful in Afghanistan than in
neighbouring Central Asian states? - In both the Central Asian and Afghan contexts, the place of Islam in politics was
powerfully conditioned by the interventions of external actors. What consequences
did these have for women’s rights? - If the modernisation process is seen as a struggle between different elites, how
would you defi ne the relevant elites in the three regions discussed? And how
would you explain the resurgence of Islam in these different regions? - What have been women’s gains and losses in these regions since the middle of
the twentieth century?