ISLAMIC FEMINISM’S RELATION TO THE WESTERN FEMINIST MOVEMENT AND SHARIA LAW
by Aryan Chaudhary, Umang Dhingra
Category: Social Sciences
Abstract – The ever-growing Feminist movement seeks to dismantle the status quo of the existing unjust patriarchal system. To further understand the effect and extent of the feminist movement, it is essential that we move away from the Western Feminist movement and see how the movement has transformed into different shades, also covering the issue of religious derived Islamic Law (Sharia Law), as discussed in this paper. The current structure of Sharia Law and the fatwas (formal rulings/interpretations given by Islamic Scholars in response to questions from Islamic courts) given in legal systems that follow Sharia Law has been seen to clearly in support of the existing patriarchal system the feminist movement seeks to dismantle (Asokan, 2019). Hence, this paper explores how women part of the Islamic Feminist Movement are changing Islamic Law and how the Islamic Feminist movement compares with the Western Feminist Movement. A comprehensive review of literary material has been done on the Qazi court system and kinship laws in India, Sharia Law’s relation and advancement in the feminist movement. In addition, literary works that seek to relate the Western Feminist movement and the Islamic Feminist Movement have been read and analysed.