All through the Muslim world, a new generation of women is finding a voice of empowerment from right within their own religious context. With increased access to education they are re-reading, interpreting and seeking to understand the Quran and are finding a discrepancy between the affirmation of women's equality and rights found there and its practice in Muslim society. Their quest is to reclaim the Quran as a liberating text as a step to restoring social justice.

The term 'Islamic feminist' emerged in the 1990s to describe the global movement of scholars, activists and organisations. In correcting what they believe are misinterpretations of Islamic law, they reinterpret and re-examine the Quranic and Sunnah sources of Islamic law – for example, seeking to filter out inauthentic anti-women hadiths (sayings) introduced after Muhammad's death.

For some Muslim women, 'Islamic feminism' holds unwelcome comparisons with western style feminism which does not reflect their different understanding of gender roles, family, sexuality and religion.

However Islamic feminism is the most important and dynamic development of global feminism within the last decade. Muslim scholars such as Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed and Amina Wadud argue for women's rights through Islamic law reform while secular feminists such as Nawal al-Sadaawi continue highlighting the male, social and political exploitations of Islam. In Muslim societies, organisations such as RAWA, which fought systematic abuses by the Taliban and Northern Alliance against women in Afghanistan, and Sisters in Islam in Malaysia show how women are actively continuing the fight for rights and reclaiming their faith.

In other Muslim societies, female political heads such as Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia, Begum Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh and Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan illustrate how women, politics and power are very much part of an entwined Islamic tradition.

Because in his own lifetime Muhammad improved women's position in society, many modern Muslims continue to value his example, which they cite when pressing for women's rights.

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Young Muslim women in a reading group at the Ahmadi Mosque, Bradford, UK
Caroline Penn/Impact Photos

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