Women, Islam and Feminism in Postcolonial Malaysia and Singapore

Abstract

This paper calls into question the ability of postcolonial feminisms, Islamic feminism in particular, in capturing the diversity of Muslim women¿s voices. It argues that postcolonial feminism narrowly defines women¿s empowerment as `emancipation¿ and `equality¿ despite being critical of the Eurocentric understandings of these terms as used by Western feminists. Feminists thus have a tendency to assume that women would be predisposed to see these ideals as favourable in comparison to those which uphold a patriarchal structure. However, as women¿s assertiveness in Islamic movements that espouse gender-differentiated roles demonstrate, reality is more complex. Thus, postcolonial feminism is unable to make sense of Muslim women¿s self-understandings of empowerment that have little to do with the ideals of `emancipation¿ and `equality¿. This thesis aims to clear the conceptual space in order for the feminist theoretical framework to be more receptive towards alternative forms of empowerment that are based on women¿s own self-definition and understanding.