Patriarchal accommodations: women's mobility and policies of gender difference from urban Iran to migrant Mexico

This paper begins from a paradox. In the 1980s and 1990s, women became increasingly mobile, especially in the developing world. Scholars generally attribute this shift to global economic pressure or to the spread of (Western) gender egalitarianism. Yet, in some places, women gained mobility just as local institutions extended policies excluding them or segregating them from men. Here, we look at two such cases: first, how women of Tehran, Iran, became the majority of bus riders just as the city segregated public transportation, and second, how women in the rural, Mexican village of San Pedro came to predominate among emigrants to the United States, even as they were excluded from participating in village politics. We use what we call “linked ethnographies” to put these two cases into dialogue. While attending to the particularities of each site, we find that in both, women gained mobility through the very policies that appeared to confine or exclude them. We call these policies “patriarchal accommodations.” They were patriarchal, because they enshrined formal gender difference associated with male dominance. They were accommodations, because they adapted existing standards of “appropriate” masculinity and femininity to global economic pressure, enabling women to work, study, and consume. We argue that patriarchal accommodations may facilitate women’s entry into the public sphere, particularly in non-Western regimes

O mundo muçulmano em uma era global: a proteção dos direitos das mulheres The muslim world in a global age: protecting women's ights

As mulheres muçulmanas enfrentam, simultaneamente, três desafios. Em primeiro lugar, elas representam uma identidade islâmica que, com freqüência, está em conflito com regimes políticos modernos e com as elites dos Estados. Em segundo lugar, elas devem lutar contra os fundamentalistas islâmicos, cujas idéias, instituições e objetivos são por elas rejeitados com veemência. Por fim, e tão importante quanto os outros desafios, elas enfrentam no dia-a-dia a cultura patriarcal dominante nos lugares onde vivem. As questões relacionadas aos direitos das mulheres são agravadas pelas dificuldades que as mulheres muçulmanas encontram em uma cultura patriarcal na qual a mulher é geralmente caracterizada por estereótipos. Se, por um lado, a "solidariedade sem fronteiras" possibilitou a promoção de direitos das mulheres dentro e através das culturas, por outro, ela também se depara com questões sociais mais amplas e mais complexas. Embora essa solidariedade global sofra resistência em muitas partes do mundo muçulmano, o empowerment das mulheres é visto como o antídoto mais eficaz contra o extremismo no mundo muçulmano. Este trabalho pretende contextualizar a análise de gênero nos âmbitos cultural, econômico e político, de modo a lidar com três questões: (1) por que as mulheres muçulmanas se tornaram agentes de mudança, reforma e democratização no mundo globalizado? (2) qual o impacto da globalização sobre as mulheres muçulmanas e sobre a ascensão do feminismo islâmico? (3) de que maneira as mulheres muçulmanas podem respeitar a integridade de sua cultura, ao mesmo tempo que se mantêm receptivas a valores, idéias e instituições universais?<br>Muslim women encounter three fronts simultaneously. First, they represent an Islamic identity that more often than not is in conflict with modern political regimes and state elites. Secondly, they must fight against Islamic fundamentalists, whose ideas, institutions, and goals they vehemently reject. And finally, and just as importantly, they face a mundane confrontation with a prevailing patriarchal culture within which they live. Questions of women's rights are exacerbated by difficulties Muslim women encounter in a patriarchal culture in which women are often characterized by stereotypes. The "borderless solidarity" has led to the promotion of women's rights across and within cultures, but it stands in a problematic relationship to broader, more complex social issues. Although this global solidarity is resisted in many parts of the Muslim world, women's empowerment is seen as the most effective antidote to extremism in the Muslim world. This paper attempts to contextualize gender analysis in the cultural, economic, and political domains, while addressing three questions: (1) why have Muslim women become the agents of change, reform, and democratization in a globalizing world? (2) what impact has globalization on Muslim women and the rise of Islamic feminism? (3) how could Muslim women maintain the integrity of their culture while at the same time remain receptive to universal values, ideas, and institutions

How Islam influences women’s paid non-farm employment: evidence from 26 Indonesian and 37 Nigerian provinces

Studies on women’s employment in Muslim countries often mention Islam, but its influence is undertheorized and tests simply compare ‘Muslim’ women and areas to ‘non-Muslim’ women and areas. Here, multilevel analyses of Indonesia and Nigeria show this focus is not tenable: non-farm employment of Muslim women is not consistently lower than that of non-Muslim women, nor is it lower in Muslim-dominated provinces than in other provinces. A new theoretical frame conceptualizes religion’s influence in terms message and messenger. It is shown how different manifestations of Islam influence women’s non-farm employment, inside and outside the home. Empirically, the ideological strand of Islam is more important than differences between Islam and Christianity. In addition, when a conservative Islam is codified through Shari’a-based law women’s employment outside the home seems to be lower, but the presence of Islamic political parties seems to foster women’s access to the labor market through their focus on support for the poor