Description
Book SynopsisUtilizing a historical context, this work underscores the continued struggle within these societies between the hardliners who wish to relegate females to the status of slaves and those who strive for gender equality within a conservative cultural milieu.
Trade ReviewBurki, 'a female of Pushtun and Irish heritage who grew up in Pakistan,' compares the status of women in her home country with their status in the neighboring Muslim-majority countries of Afghanistan and Iran. She discovers many similarities but concludes that the Pakistani judiciary offers slightly better safeguards for women against the tide of misogynist 'Shariahization' that has swept across all three countries, beginning with Pakistan in the 1970s. Women have been political footballs in battles raging between secularists and Islamists, and imposing literal interpretations of Sharia law has offered cheap gains for politicians seeking backing from conservative public opinion. Feminists were divided between those seeking reforms for Westernized elites and their poor conservative sisters. Burki sensibly concludes that the 'pursuit of unrealistic goals ... based on culturally alien practices' has distracted attention from 'the enactment of laws and the provision of essential services that constitute more realistic and achievable first steps toward female empowerment in the long run' (italics in original). Her study is an excellent source of material for systematic comparisons between weak Muslim-majority states and civil societies, especially those undergoing political transitions and coping with political Islam. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduate students and above. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part One: Pakistan Chapter 1: The Politics of Gender in Pakistan, 1947-1977: A Historical Overview Chapter 2: Islamization and Female Status: Life Under General Zia-ul-Haq, 1977-1988 Chapter 3: State Policies and Female Status: The Post-Zia State Part Two: Afghanistan Chapter 4: The Politics of Gender in Afghanistan, 1919-1994: A Historical Overview Chapter 5: Rise of the Taliban and Female Status: The Politics of Repression, 1996-2001 Chapter 6: Gender Politics in the Post-Taliban Afghan State: The Politics of Accommodation? Part Three: Iran Chapter 7: The Politics of Gender in Iran, 1906-1941: From Constitutional Revolution to Monarchical “Modernization” Chapter 8: Modernization and Female Status: Life Under the Second Pahlavi Shah, 1941-1979 Chapter 9: Trials and Tribulations in Iran: Gender Politics in a Theocracy Conclusion: Prospects for Pakistani, Afghan and Iranian Women in the 21st Century Bibliography About the Author
