Women and Islam in Bangladesh : Beyond Subjection and Tyranny

In this fascinating book, Taj I. Hashmi takes a long historical view of the position of women in society in general and that of Muslim women under Islam in particular. He argues that women have been under male domination in all societies ever since the days of Socrates and that this is not particular to Islam or Muslim societies. Then he explores how women in urban and rural Bangladesh are persecuted at the behest of the self-proclaimed custodians of Islam or mullahs. NGOs active in the country are also not free from the accusation of exploiting women in the name of empowering them. Nor has militant feminism done much good to the cause of their liberation. Dr Hashmi finds hope in the work of a large body of educated Bangladeshi men and women in eradicating not only poverty but also illiteracy and religious fanaticism as a surer way to women's liberation from male domination.

In this fascinating book, Taj. I. Hashmi takes a long historical view of the position of women in society in general and that of Muslim women under Islam in particular. He argues that women have been under male domination in all societies ever since the days of Socrates and that this is not particular to Islam or Muslim societies. Then he explores how women in urban and rural Bangladesh are persecuted at the behest of the self-proclaimed custodians of Islam or mullahs. NGOs active in the country are also not free from the accusation of exploiting women in the name of empowering them. Nor has militant feminism done much good to the cause of their liberation. The author finds hope in the work of a large body of educated Bangladesh men and women in eradicating not only poverty but also illiteracy and religious fanaticism as a surer way to women's liberation from male domination.

This work of research by Taj Hashmi puts the issue of women's position in society in historical as well as Islamic perspectives to relate it to the objective conditions in Bangladesh. In eight illuminating chapters, he narrates how Quranic edicts about women have through the ages been misinterpreted by the power elites and the mullahs to suppress women. Even NGOs are not immune from exploiting them. Hope, according to the author, lies in the literacy and economic self-reliance of the Bangladeshi women. This work of research puts the issue of women's position in society in historical as well as Islamic perspectives to relate it to the objective conditions in Bangladesh. The author shows how Quranic edicts about women have been used to suppress women