Women's Empowerment, Religious Versus Secular

 Juliet A. Williams - Unholy Matrimony? Feminism, Orientalism, and the Possibility of Double Critique File

This was an interesting article because it discusses how the framing of “temporary marriage” when discussed in the United States makes it seem like it is a fancy way to legalize prostitution. Towards the end of the article Williams discusses parallels of American marriage, what with the divorce rate being so high to Sigheh. In the American western sphere 50% of marriages end in divorce. There is now a prenuptial agreement that has been popularized because of the high rate of divorce. This agreement allows the persons to keep the money they earned before they were married and not have to share it in a perfect split with their spouse. Sigheh in this article was introduced by the woman’s boyfriend’s mother. It was interesting how Williams admits that she judges how her boyfriend’s devout Muslim mother will probably judge her, and is actually surprised when she seems to judge the mother about being religious more than the mother judges her secularity. This is a rhetoric that follows the Western notion that religious Muslims in particular harshly judge “modern secular” lifestyles, when in fact the West seems to more harshly judge religious people. 

I really related to this article because I coming from a Catholic upbringing found my church and religion really oppressive to me and since have judged Catholics in thinking they are also trying to oppress me. I have some religious friends who have a strong connection to God and allow me to live my life however I wish and then I also have religious friends who, overtime I am feeling sad tell me that I am feeling this way because I do not have a strong relationship with the lord. I have noticed among myself and some of my friends, a feeling of superiority towards religious people because we feel that we have successfully escaped an oppressive space and feel sad for the people still powerless to their church. The United States making sigheh a perverted practice further exemplifies how the “Middle East culture is sexualized and exoticized by the West”. In actual law and practice of sigheh, a person must wait forty-five days in between temporary marriages to determine the paternity of the child, should the woman become pregnant. This law alone invalidates the idea that this is prostitution because a prostitute would need more than one monogamous client to make her living. Throughout this article I was able to empathize and understand why someone would want a temporary marriage. I think many women in the United States as well as men would love to have this option, to be able to be financially tied but not bound together forever. If a couple was engaged, this would be a way to try out married life and make sure the person that they wanted to marry was a good fit for them. It would also be a way for men and women who feel skittish about commitment to try on being a husband or wife and see if they felt they could handle it. I really liked that this article was honest and the author showed where she fell short in her beliefs about religious women because it helped me evaluate the way I had been judging religious women as well.

Unveiling Feminisim by Afsaneh Najmabadi

This article was discussing how since the revolution in 1979, “ the color of a woman’s scarf and the thickness of her stockings” was really important as well as since this revolution women have advanced in society. “They have an unmistakably active and growing presence in practically every sphere of artistic creation, professional achievement, educational and industrial institutions, political participation and even in sports activities.” This article is related to the previous article because it highlights Muslim feminists and secular feminists seeing each other as “other” rather than working together and accepting one another’s lifestyle and choices. In the article it discusses how when women were politically forced to unveil, it drastically backfired and hindered women’s independence rather than furthered it. Women who were in the business sphere had to quit their jobs and stay home because their fathers, husbands and brothers did not want them to go out into public spaces unveiled. In this context the veil culture can seem oppressive, however in terms of women’s safety the veil protects them from unwanted sexual advances and protects their body. Secular feminists had not thought about these results when they supported unveiling because they were not listening to women’s concerns who wore veils. In order for women to lift each other up, we need to stop judging other lifestyles and really talk to the women in every community about what would help them achieve their goals in life and ultimate freedom and happiness. There is no “right” way to be feminist or empower other women. Different women are empowered by different things and neither is wrong. Women have more similarities than differences and we should come together and fight injustice as one strong entity of sisterhood!