Feminism(s) | Part I: Islamic Feminism

ONLINE TEA TIME WITH DR. LANA SIRRI, MAASTRICHT UNIVERSITY 

9th September, 7-8 pm

Feminist movements have been a political force since the late 19th century and have shaped the world as we know it today. Our contemporary feminist discourse in Germany is dominated by prominent Western figures, from second-wave feminists Gloria Steinem and bell hooks to fourth-wave activists fighting against gender norms and for intersectionality. 

However, feminist movements shape the world of women and men beyond the West. During the events of the Arab Spring, Muslim women were active participants in the political and social movements and raised their voices for gender equality, women’s rights and political representation. Not only, but especially in secular and predominantly Christian countries, the following questions were raised: how do Islam and feminism intersect? What do Islamic feminisms look like? And how do secular and religious feminist movements interact or join forces in predominantly Muslim countries? 

Together with Lana Sirri* we want to learn about Islamic and Muslim perspectives on feminism and its different forms in predominantly Muslim countries. Furthermore, we want to discuss how different political groups use the women’s movement for their cause, and how Germany’s international engagement can take a diverse understanding of feminism into account.

If you want to join our virtual Polis Tea Time via Zoom, please register below. We will send you the Zoom link and log in details as well as a few voluntary background readings to provide some context a few days prior to the event. We are looking forward to an engaging and interesting discussion and hope to see many of you there! 

This event is organized by Polis180’s program Gender and International Politics. It is part of our event series Feminism(s) that takes a look at feminist movements, ideas and actors around the world. 

*Dr. Lana Sirri is an Assistant Professor on Gender and Religion at Maastricht University. She completed her PhD thesis about the “Diversity of Islamic Feminist Discourses in Contemporary Feminist Thought” at Humboldt University Berlin. She is also a Palestinian activist and author of the book Einführung in islamische Feminismen (published in German). 

Photo by Christelle Hayek on Unsplash