Session 14: Misunderstandings Regarding MuslimWomen

The reading allotted for session 14 explores political ideologies. One ideology which I would want to talk about is that of feminism. I feel that feminism is a concept that is misunderstood by many people. Maybe that is because of the fact that it has many variations. People think feminists are aggressive and prone to hating men , and couldn’t be more wrong. I feel like feminists generally speak of women’s rights.

I feel like feminism goes hand in hand with Islam. Such a concept would prove as shocking to many people in the West who deem Islam as oppressive towards women. They get this idea from the fact that many Muslim women cover and that men in Islam are allowed to take four wives. It’s important to note that it’s just the lack of proper research which is holding them back from seeing that Islam is truly all about feminism, a certain variation which many people don’t pay heed to. People in the West can’t seem to understand that many women cover by choice and feel more liberated than any Western standards could make them feel. They feel like they need to save Muslim women and it is also this factor which strengthens  Islamophobia.  So maybe it doesn’t seem wrong to say that a certain variation of feminism empowers Islamophobia, when ironically there are many women around the world, who call themselves feminists and are converting to Islam after perceiving it as a religion that provides women with such a high status.
(I'd just like to clarify that I completely agree with the fact that many women are forced to cover and that is wrong, but here I speak only of those who choose to do it. I know that in many countries Muslim women are oppressed but the West perceives them as such because of the fact that they are Muslim, when it is the societal norms and attitudes which lead to this.)

Link for verification:

 http://muslimgirl.net/5656/if-there-is-any-oppression-at-all-it-is-in-acting-savior-to-women-who-are-already-free/