First published in 1936, this book surveys the changing place of women across the contemporaneous Muslim world, focusing on several nations where they constitute a demographic majority — Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Turkey, Syria — and one where they do not, namely India. It begins by outlining some of the areas of change, for example regarding the veil, purdah and divorce. This is followed by in depth examinations of the progress of female education, their changing economic roles, improving health standards, their widening interests and the pressure for change on Islam in general. This title is would be of interest to students of the sociology of religion and the contemporary position of women in Muslim societies.

This is a new release of the original 1936 edition.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

The history of Islam and the changing role-performance of Muslim women, given the various interpretations of the belief system of Islam, are described. It is the contention of the authors that it is these various interpretations which have given rise to the conflict between the ideal and contextual realities. This book also includes papers which investigate the problems of feminism and employment for Muslim women, as well as the educational and legal aspects of their lives in contemporary Islamic society. First published in 1984.

Women in Islamic societies are often seen as a hidden and homogenous group. The volumes in this set, originally published between 1960 and 1983, explore the wide variety of women’s roles in a range of Islamic societies, from Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Kurdistan to Malaysia, West Africa, Iran and Turkey. Due to their anthropological focus, each book pays particular attention to the everyday lives of women in these regions, including their agency and power within their own communities. The titles also explore women’s changing roles in the modernising Muslim world of the 20th century. This set will be of interest to those studying women, gender, Islam and anthropology.