Egyptian Islamic and Secular Feminists in Their Own Context Assim Alkhawaja University of San Francisco, [email protected]
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The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2015 Complexity of Women's Liberation in the Era of Westernization: Egyptian Islamic and Secular Feminists in Their Own Context Assim Alkhawaja University of San Francisco, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Near and Middle Eastern Studies Commons Recommended Citation Alkhawaja, Assim, "Complexity of Women's Liberation in the Era of Westernization: Egyptian Islamic and Secular Feminists in Their Own Context" (2015). Doctoral Dissertations. 287. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/287 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco COMPLEXITY OF WOMEN‘S LIBERATION IN THE ERA OF WESTERNIZATION: EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC AND SECULAR FEMINISTS IN THEIR OWN CONTEXT A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education International & Multicultural Education Department In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education By Assim Alkhawaja San Francisco May 2015 THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Dissertation Abstract Complexity Of Women‘s Liberation in the Era of Westernization: Egyptian Islamic And Secular Feminists In Their Own Context Informed by postcolonial/Islamic feminist theory, this qualitative study explores how Egyptian feminists navigate the political and social influence of the West. The following meta-questions guided this research: How do women in Egypt who self-identify as feminists define feminism? How do they use this definition in their activism? How is Westernization influencing Egyptian feminists and their participation in national and political conflicts? Data sources were based on individual interviews. The findings indicate that although the phenomenon of Westernization in Egypt had both negative and positive influences on the Egyptian women‘s liberation movement, it has caused major divisions between secular and Islamist Egyptian feminists. This study advances new ways of understanding how Westernization has penetrated into the Egyptian women‘s liberation movement, how Egyptian feminists consider the notions of modernity and progress, and how Westernization has contributed to the division between secular and Islamist feminists in Egypt. Overall, this study highlights differences between secular and Islamic feminism in Egypt but it also illustrates their shared goals and common rejection of the Western discourse on women‘s rights. Keywords: women‘s liberation, Egypt, secular feminism, Islamist feminism. ii This dissertation, written under the direction of the candidate‘s dissertation committee and approved by the members of the committee, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. The content and research methodologies presented in this work represent the work of the candidate alone. Assim Alkhawaja August 19, 2015 Candidate Date Dissertation Committee Dr. Susan R. Katz August 19, 2015 Chairperson Date Dr. Shabnam Koirala-Azad August 19, 2015 Second Reader Date Dr. Stephen Zunes August 19, 2015 Third Reader Date iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to all Middle Eastern women Who never stop fighting for their freedom iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my mother: There is no one word that can describe how much I appreciate your efforts to raise me and my other five brothers and sisters. In spite of the very difficult circumstances you had in your life, you were always by our side to give us the courage to move on in our educational journeys. Mother, I made it. Thank you for your endless support. To my three sisters, Maisa, Arwa, and Jihan, whose struggle stories in patriarchal Middle Eastern societies have inspired me to conduct this research: My sisters, your struggle is not in vain. All of you have learned from your suffering how to make a successful life for yourselves and your children. To my younger brother, Mottasim: Thank you, my brother, for believing in me and encouraging me to continue my doctoral program. I truly believe brothers are born for adversity. To my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Susan Katz: I feel very fortunate and honored to have worked with you. Thank you for the many hours of dedicated and excellent consultation you offered me. My dissertation would never have seen the light without your wise guidance and faithful support. To my best friend, Ibrahim Al-Najjar (abu Adel): Thanks a lot, Ibrahim, for all of your support and help. I believe you are a brother even if we do not share the same biological mother and father. v Table of Contents ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................4 Background and Need ..............................................................................................6 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................7 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions .........................................................9 Limitations of the Study.........................................................................................10 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................11 CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................13 The History of Westernization in the Arab World and Egypt in the Presence of the Islamic Empire ..................................................................................13 The Opening to the West .......................................................................................14 Westernization and the Strategies of Developing in the Arab World ....................14 The Colonial Discourse about Modernism and Modernizing Arab Women .........15 The Arab Discourse of Modernity .........................................................................16 Radical Westerners ....................................................................................19 Secularists ..................................................................................................20 Nationalists ................................................................................................21 Moderate Islamists .....................................................................................21 Radical Islamists ........................................................................................23 Arab Women: The Beginning of Transformation ..................................................24 The Perspective of Women‘s Liberation ...................................................24 The Voice of Women in the Women‘s Liberation Movement ..................26 Feminism in Egypt .....................................................................................26 Islamic Feminism .......................................................................................28 Egyptian Islamic Feminism .......................................................................30 The 2011 Egyptian Revolution ..............................................................................31 Western Perspective ...................................................................................31 Women‘s Participation and Influence ........................................................31 Identity of Egyptian Women‘s Participants in the Uprising ......................31 Confusion of Feminist Identity ..................................................................32 The Bodily Behavior: Modesty vs. Nudity ................................................33 Rise of Islamic Political Parties .................................................................34 Conclusion .............................................................................................................35 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................38 Research Design and Methodology .......................................................................38 Research Setting.....................................................................................................39 Data Collection ......................................................................................................40 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................41 Protection of Human Subjects ...............................................................................41 vi Background of the Researcher ...............................................................................42 CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ................................................................47