Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque
Women’s presence and role in contemporary mosques in Western countries is contested within and outside Muslim communities, but research on this topic is limited and only a few studies consider women’s roles inside mosques in Australia. There is a complex intersection of gender and religion in public...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/686 |
| _version_ | 1797543922382143488 |
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| author | Nafiseh Ghafournia |
| author_facet | Nafiseh Ghafournia |
| author_sort | Nafiseh Ghafournia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Women’s presence and role in contemporary mosques in Western countries is contested within and outside Muslim communities, but research on this topic is limited and only a few studies consider women’s roles inside mosques in Australia. There is a complex intersection of gender and religion in public sacred spaces in all religious communities, including Muslim communities. Women’s role in these spaces has often been restricted. They are largely invisible in both public sacred spaces and in public rituals such as congregational prayers. Applying a feminist lens to religion and gender, this article explores how a mosque as a socially constructed space can both enable and restrict Australian Muslim women’s religious identity, participation, belonging and activism. Based on written online qualitative interviews with twenty Muslim women members of three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups, this article analyses the women’s experiences with their local mosques as well as their views on gender segregation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:52:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7775c763c1fa448abcf9defd8990bbb3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:52:20Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-7775c763c1fa448abcf9defd8990bbb32023-11-21T01:57:35ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-12-01111268610.3390/rel11120686Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the MosqueNafiseh Ghafournia0School of Humanities and Social Science, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, AustraliaWomen’s presence and role in contemporary mosques in Western countries is contested within and outside Muslim communities, but research on this topic is limited and only a few studies consider women’s roles inside mosques in Australia. There is a complex intersection of gender and religion in public sacred spaces in all religious communities, including Muslim communities. Women’s role in these spaces has often been restricted. They are largely invisible in both public sacred spaces and in public rituals such as congregational prayers. Applying a feminist lens to religion and gender, this article explores how a mosque as a socially constructed space can both enable and restrict Australian Muslim women’s religious identity, participation, belonging and activism. Based on written online qualitative interviews with twenty Muslim women members of three Australian Muslim online Facebook groups, this article analyses the women’s experiences with their local mosques as well as their views on gender segregation.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/686gender segregationmosqueMuslim womenreligious space |
| spellingShingle | Nafiseh Ghafournia Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque Religions gender segregation mosque Muslim women religious space |
| title | Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque |
| title_full | Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque |
| title_fullStr | Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque |
| title_full_unstemmed | Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque |
| title_short | Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque |
| title_sort | negotiating gendered religious space australian muslim women and the mosque |
| topic | gender segregation mosque Muslim women religious space |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/686 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nafisehghafournia negotiatinggenderedreligiousspaceaustralianmuslimwomenandthemosque |