Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:34:19.367Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transnational Solidarity with Which Muslim Women? The Case of the My Stealthy Freedom and World Hijab Day Campaigns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 September 2019

Ladan Rahbari Open the ORCID record for Ladan Rahbari [Opens in a new window] ,
Susan Dierickx ,
Gily Coene  and
Chia Longman
Ladan Rahbari
Affiliation:
Ghent University
Susan Dierickx
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Gily Coene
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Chia Longman
Affiliation:
Ghent University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The hijab has been the subject of public and academic debates that have polarized scholars, politicians, and activists. Opinions on veiling range widely: while some view veiling as an oppressive practice, others regard veiling as an expression of women's agency and empowerment. Solidarity practices, such as movements against compulsory veiling or actions encouraging non-Muslim women to temporarily wear the hijab, are some of the ways in which activists have tried to show solidarity with Muslim women. In this qualitative study, data from the content analysis of the online platforms of two media campaigns, together with in-depth interviews with Iranian women living in Belgium, were triangulated. Women's perceptions of two solidarity campaigns were explored: the anti–compulsory veiling movement My Stealthy Freedom and the pro-acceptance World Hijab Day campaign. The findings raise questions about the effectiveness of transnational feminist campaigning in solidarity with Muslim women and, more generally, how the notion of solidarity is conceptualized in feminist scholarship.

Keywords

ActivismfeminismhijabIslamqualitative methodstransnational solidarity
Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 112 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association, 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This research is supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO).

References

REFERENCES

Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 104 (3): 783–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2013. Do Muslim Women Need Saving? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ahmed, Leila. 1992. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Ali, Dilshad. 2015. “Please Do (If You Want) Wear the Headscarf in the Name of Interfaith Solidarity.” The Muslimah Next Door (blog), December 21. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/muslimahnextdoor/2015/12/please-do-if-you-want-wear-the-headscarf-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Allen, Amy. 1999. “Solidarity after Identity Politics: Hannah Arendt and the Power of Feminist Theory.” Philosophy & Social Criticism 25 (1): 97–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amer, Sahar. 2014. What Is Veiling? Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asremrooz. 2014. “From Political Slut to Sexual and Religious Slut.” [in Arabic] http://asremrooz.ir/vdcjmxeo.uqethzsffu.html (accessed September 9, 2016).Google Scholar
Azadi, Farah. 2015. “Solidarity and ‘the Veil’: Why Wearing a Hijab in Solidarity Is More Complicated Than You Think.” Steal This Hijab, December 14. https://stealthisHijab.com/2015/12/14/solidarity-and-the-veil-why-wearing-a-Hijab-in-solidarity-is-more-complicated-than-you-think/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Bilge, Sirma. 2010. “Beyond Subordination vs. Resistance: An Intersectional Approach to the Agency of Veiled Muslim Women.” Journal of Intercultural Studies 31 (1): 9–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256860903477662.Google Scholar
Bracke, Sarah. 2012. “From ‘Saving Women’ to ‘Saving Gays’: Rescue Narratives and Their Dis/continuities.” European Journal of Women's Studies 19 (2): 237252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brems, Eva. 2014. “Face Veil Bans in the European Court of Human Rights: The Importance of Empirical Findings.” Journal of Law and Policy 22 (2): 517–51.Google Scholar
Bulbeck, Chilla. 1998. Re-orienting Western Feminisms: Women's Diversity in a Postcolonial World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Butler, Judith. 2006. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” In The Routledge Reader in Gender & Education, eds. Arnot, Madeleine and Mac An Ghaill, Mairtin. New York: Routledge, 73–83.Google Scholar
Cesari, Jocelyne. 2009. “Secularization of Islam in Europe.” In Muslims in the West after 9/11: Religion, Politics and Law, ed. Cesari, Jocelyne. New York: Routledge, 9–27.Google Scholar
Coene, Gily, and Longman, Chia. 2008. “Gendering the Diversification of Diversity: The Belgian Hijab (in) Question.” Ethnicities 8 (3): 302–21.Google Scholar
Dabashi, Hamid. 2011. Brown Skin, White Masks. London: Pluto.Google Scholar
Dean, Jodi. 1996. Solidarity of Strangers: Feminism after Identity Politics. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
De Raedt, Thérèse. 2004. “Muslims in Belgium: A Case Study of Emerging Identities.” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 24 (1): 9–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360200042000212160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Easat-Daas, Amina. 2015. “Islamophobia in Belgium National Report.” In European Islamophobia Report, eds. Bayrakli, Enes and Hafez, Farid. Istanbul: SETA, 51–68.Google Scholar
Farris, Sara. 2017. In the Name of Women's Rights: The Rise of Femonationalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Federici, Silvia. 2010. “Feminism and the Politics of the Commons in an Era of Primitive Accumulation.” In Uses of a Whirlwind: Movement, Movements, and Contemporary Radical Currents in the United States, ed. Van Meter, Kevin. Chico, CA: AK Press, 283–94.Google Scholar
Freeman, Sandra, and Goldblatt, Beth. 2015. “Gender Equality and Human Rights.” Discussion Paper 4, UN Women, July. http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2015/goldblatt-fin.pdf (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Gholami, Reza. 2016. Secularism and Identity: Non-Islamiosity in the Iranian Diaspora. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldenberg, Maya J. 2007. “The Problem of Exclusion in Feminist Theory and Politics: A Metaphysical Investigation into Constructing a Category of ‘Woman.’” Journal of Gender Studies 16 (2): 139–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunzenhauser, Michael G. 2002. “Solidarity and Risk in Welch's Feminist Ethics.” Philosophy of Education Yearbook 2002: 101–9.Google Scholar
Hoodfar, Homa. 1992. “The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: The Persistence of Colonial Images of Muslim Women.” Resources for Feminist Research 22 (3–4): 5–18.Google Scholar
hooks, bell. 1986. “Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women.” Feminist Review 23 (1): 125–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izzidien, Ruqaya. 2018. “Spare Us the World Hijab Day Tokenism, and Listen to Us Instead.” The New Arab, May 13. https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2018/2/13/spare-us-the-world-hijab-day-tokenism (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Jabrane, Ezzoubeir. 2016. “Flemish-Moroccan Politician Calls for Burkini Ban in Belgium.” Morocco World News, August 18. https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2016/08/194558/flemish-moroccan-politician-calls-burkini-ban-belgium/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Jafari, Hamed. 2016. “Iran Internet Access Reaches over 55% of Homes.” TechRasa, November 2. http://techrasa.com/2016/11/02/iran-internet-access-reaches-55-homes/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Jiwani, Nisara, and Rail, Geneviève. 2010. “Islam, Hijab and Young Shia Muslim Canadian Women's Discursive Constructions of Physical Activity.” Sociology of Sport Journal 27 (3): 251–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khiabany, Gholam. 2015. “The Importance of ‘Social’ in Social Media: Lessons from Iran.” In The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics, eds. Bruns, Axel, Enli, Gunn, Skogerbo, Eli, Larsson, Anders Olof, and Christensen, Christian. New York: Routledge, 223–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleinman, Sherryl. 2007. Feminist Fieldwork Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koo, Gi Yeon. 2016. “To Be Myself and Have My Stealthy Freedom: The Iranian Women's Engagement with Social Media.” Revista de Estudios Internacionales Mediterráneos, no. 21: 141–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kowalska, Anna. 2014. “Project Exile: Out of Iran, a Voice for Human Rights.” Global Journalist, October 13. https://globaljournalist.org/2014/10/project-exile-iran-voice-human-rights/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Losh, Elizabeth. 2014. “Hashtag Feminism and Twitter Activism in India.” Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 3 (3): 11–22.Google Scholar
Macdonald, Myra. 2006. “Muslim Women and the Veil.” Feminist Media Studies 6 (1): 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680770500471004.Google Scholar
Mahdi, Ali Akbar. 2004. “The Iranian Women's Movement: A Century Long Struggle.” The Muslim World 94 (4): 427–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 1999. Islam and Gender: The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. 2003. “‘Under Western Eyes’ Revisited: Feminist Solidarity through Anticapitalist Struggles.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 28 (2): 499–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nawaz, Majid. 2015. “The Great Hypocritical Muslim Cover-Up.” The Daily Beast, December 29. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/29/the-great-hypocritical-muslim-cover-up.html (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Newson-Horst, Adele S., ed. 2010. The Essential Nawal El Saadawi: A Reader. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Nomani, Asra, and Arafa, Hala. 2015. “As Muslim Women, We Actually Ask You Not to Wear the Hijab in the Name of Interfaith Solidarity.” Washington Post, December 21. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Ortega, Mariana. 2006. “Being Lovingly, Knowingly Ignorant: White Feminism and Women of Color.” Hypatia 21 (3): 56–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rahbari, Ladan. 2018. “Iranian Migrant Women's Shared Experiences in Belgium: Where Gender, Colour and Religion Intersect.” In The Borders of Integration: Empowered Bodies and Social Cohesion, ed. Pirani, Bianca Maria. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 203–19.Google Scholar
Rahbari, Ladan, and Sharepour, Mahmoud. 2015. “Gender and Realisation of Women's Right to the City in Tehran.” Asian Journal of Social Science 43 (3): 227–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rajanews. 2014. “Invitation to Prostitution with a Cover of Women's Rights Slogans.” [in Arabic] http://www.rajanews.com/news/174562 (accessed April 18, 2019).Google Scholar
Ridgeway, Keziah. 2015. “A Response to Asra Nomani and Hala Arafa.” Altmuslimah, December 21. http://www.altmuslimah.com/2015/12/a-response-to-asra-nomani-and-hala-arafa/ (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Sadiqi, Fatima. 2003. Women, Gender, and Language in Morocco. Boston: Brill.Google Scholar
Saul, Heather. 2016. “Men in Iran Are Wearing Hijabs in Solidarity with Their Wives Who Are Forced to Cover Their Hair.” Independent, July 28. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/men-in-iran-are-wearing-hijabs-in-solidarity-with-their-wives-a7160146.html (accessed July 31, 2019).Google Scholar
Seddighi, Gilda, and Tafakori, Sara. 2016. “Transnational Mediation of State Gendered Violence: The Case of Iran.” Feminist Media Studies 16 (5): 925–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2016.1213575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sedghi, Hamideh. 2007. Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharoni, Simona, Abdulhadi, Rabab, Al-Ali, Nadje, Eaves, Felicia, Lentin, Ronit, and Siddiqi, Dina. 2015. “Transnational Feminist Solidarity in Times of Crisis: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement and Justice in/for Palestine.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 17 (4): 654–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siddiqi, Dina M. 2014. “Solidarity, Sexuality, and Saving Muslim Women in Neoliberal Times.” Women's Studies Quarterly 42 (3–4): 292–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taran, Patrick, Tennant, Evalyn, Bertine, Arnaud, and Lin, Beier. 2016. Migrants and Refugees Have Rights. Brussels: Caritas Europea.Google Scholar
Teich, Sarah. 2016. “Islamic Radicalization in Belgium.” International Institute for Counter-Terrorism Report, February. https://www.ict.org.il/Article/1595/Islamic-Radicalization-In-Belgium (accessed August 1, 2019).Google Scholar
Yuval-Davis, Nira. 2003. “Nationalist Projects and Gender Relations.” Narodna umjetnost 40 (1): 9–36.Google Scholar
Yuval-Davis, Nira. 2006. “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics.” European Journal of Women's Studies 13 (3): 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350506806065752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yuval-Davis, Nira. 2011. “Power, Intersectionality and the Politics of Belonging.” Working Paper 75, Feminist Research Center, Aalborg University. https://vbn.aau.dk/ws/portalfiles/portal/58024503/FREIA_wp_75.pdf (accessed August 1, 2019).Google Scholar
Zahedi, Ashraf. 2008. “Concealing and Revealing Female Hair: Veiling Dynamics in Contemporary Iran.” In The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore and Politics, ed. Heath, Jennifer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 250–65.Google Scholar