Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding: Any role for Islamic Feminism?
Women, Religion, and Peacebuilding: Any role for Islamic Feminism?

Summary/Abstract: The fields of “women and peacebuilding” and “religious peacebuilding” have developed in parallel with the adoption of the UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, and the international developments highlighting the important role of religion and religious actors in both conflict and peace. Scholarship in both fields has addressed the critical roles of both women and religion in peace processes, and the importance of their inclusion in the different stages of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. However, their convergence remains largely lacking. The “women and peacebuilding” literature has ignored religious dynamics in studying the impact and the roles of women in peace processes. Similarly, literature on “religious peacebuilding” has been blind to the various contributions women religious actors—or women inspired by their faith—make towards building sustainable peace in conflict-affected areas. In this light, the paper offers a review of literature on the intersection between the two fields of “women and peacebuilding” and “religious peacebuilding.” It makes a case for building on that intersection by further examining the potential role Islamic feminism—as a feminist movement that challenges patriarchal Islamic doctrines underlying discriminatory cultural attitudes, legislations, and policies—can play in fostering women's roles in peacebuilding in the Muslim world

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