Muslim Women and Power

This book provides an account of Muslim women's political and civic engagement in Britain and France. It examines their interaction with civil society and state institutions to provide an understanding of their development as political actors. The authors argue that Muslim women's participation is expressed at the intersections of the groups and society to which they belong. In Britain and France, their political attitudes and behaviour are influenced by their national/ethnic origins, religion and specific features of British and French societies. Thus three main spheres of action are identified: the ethnic group, religious group and majority society. Unequal, gendered power relations characterise the interconnection(s) between these spheres of action. Muslim women are positioned within these complex relations and find obstacles and/or facilitators governing their capacity to act politically. The authors suggest that Muslim women's interest in politics, knowledge of it and participation in both institutional and informal politics is higher than expected. This book will appeal to students and scholars of politics, sociology, gender studies and social anthropology, and will also be of use to policy makers and practitioners in the field of gender and ethno-religious/ethno-cultural policy.

Danièle Joly is Professor Emerita at the University of Warwick, UK. She is Research Associate at the Centre d'analyse et d'intervention sociologiques, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and is attached to the Chair in Rethinking Social Justice at the Collège d'Études Mondiales, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris.

Khursheed Wadia is Principal Research Fellow at the University of Warwick, UK. She is an Overseas Research Fellow at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and Research Associate at the Centre Migrations et Citoyenneté, Institut Français des Relations Internationales, Paris.