Browsing by Subject "Islamic feminism"

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Open Access
Claiming mosque space: women’s agency in mosque architecture in contemporary Turkey
(2022-07) Şenel, Ayşenur
Traditionally, there has been an attribution of public spaces to males and private spaces of domesticity to females; moreover, mosques have been patriarchal spaces. Since the 90s, as both Islamism and feminism are on the rise, public places and topics on women’s roles have been reinterpreted. Under the power of an Islamist party, Turkey witnessed an increase in women’s role in mosque architecture in the last 20 years. Mosque projects that consider and welcome women are carried out, and women as mosque designers became visible. Unlike Islamist feminists’ debate around the world, in which the topic is on ‘women-only’, ‘gender-mixed’, and ‘women-focused/women-led’ mosques, in Turkey, the debate has been on the two genders sharing the same space. This research is an inquiry into the changing role of women and their relation to the production of mosque spaces, focusing on Turkey. Firstly, the research focuses on creating a theoretical framework and gives information on gender politics and Islamic space. Later, it looks into women as the agents; users of mosques where they appropriate the men’s space, and designers of mosques and their roles in relation to the authority in mosque architecture. Five different case studies by different female architects or designers are chosen in which they occupy various positions in the mosque design. Field research, observations, architectural analyses, and literature review are done; also, interviews are conducted with the architects. This research aims to contribute to feminist discourse with the inclusion of Muslim women and tries to understand women’s claim and their work on equality in the religious space.
Open Access
Islamic feminism as an inquiry into the creation of Mothers’ Paradise Women-Only Park, Tehran
(2019-07) Tabrizi, Helyaneh Aboutalebi
Iran has a history full of contradictions because of ideologies behind the governments ruling before and after the happening of Islamic Revolution in 1979. Islam opened new chapter for women’s social and political status and it has made the country to experience different approaches towards feminism and contrasting changes in urban context and management. In the first place, this thesis portrays perspectives of feminism in both periods, then it maintains the Islamic feminist ideas which is the production of Islamic government and a new discourse in rethinking gender-related issues. Secondly, it studies descriptive knowledge of socio-political outlooks and changes through administration and direction of the urban form of capital city, Tehran. Then, as one of the findings, it introduces organizations run by women, working under the ruling system of Tehran Municipality, who were the key initiators and organizers in establishing spaces like women-only parks. Thirdly, this research aims to find signs of Islamic feminism in the creation process of Mothers’ Paradise, the first women-only park in Tehran which is located on the East edge of Abbas Abad land, by examining the existing physical form of the park. Since there is limited research regarding this connection, this thesis aims to study if there is any relationship between discourse of so-called Islamic feminism after the Islamic Revolution in general and Mothers’ Paradise Women-only Park.