Muslim Women at Work (eBook)

Yusuf M. Sidani is Professor of Leadership and Business Ethics at the Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut. He has contributed to dozens of academic journals, conferences, and professional journals and serves on the steering committee of the WEE project (Women Economic Entrepreneurship Project) in Lebanon.

Acknowledgments 6
Contents 7
List of Tables 8
Chapter 1: Introduction 9
Chapter 2: A Persistent Participation Gap 14
Introduction 14
Gender Gap in Education 16
Female Labor Force Participation 17
Education Participation Paradox 20
Income Gap 20
Women in Leadership 23
Gaps Within Arab Countries 24
Conclusion 27
Chapter 3: What the Qur´an Says 35
Introduction 35
The Qur´an 37
Chapter Annur: The Light (Verse 30 and Part of Verse 31) 39
Understanding 1 40
Understanding 2 41
Chapter Annur: The Light (Second Part of Verse 31) 42
Understanding 1 43
Understanding 2 44
Chapter Ahzab-The Combined Forces (Verse 53) 45
Understanding 1 46
Understanding 2 47
After the Veil 47
Conclusion 50
Chapter 4: The Critics 55
Introduction 55
What´s in a Dress? 58
The Veil 59
The Veil Feeding Gender Inequality 62
The Veil: Two-Way Discrimination 63
The Veil and Harassment 68
Veil and Identity 69
Qiwamah 70
Conclusion 71
Chapter 5: Islamic Discourses 78
Introduction 78
Historical Context 79
Veil as a Face Cover 81
Veil as a Headscarf 86
Islamic Feminism 90
Qiwamah 91
Women´s Agency and False Consciousness 93
Reasons for the Veil 96
Who Owns the Public Space? 98
Conflicting Feminisms 99
Chapter 6: The Way Forward 105
Introduction 105
Social Modernization Did Not Close the Gender Gap 108
Education Is Not Significantly Closing the Gender Gap 109
Regulatory Changes Are Not Closing the Gender Gap 110
A Quota System Does Not Ensure Participation 111
Feminist Action Is Not Closing the Gap 112
Does Global Feminism Help? 114
Colonial Feminism 115
Who Is Responsible? 116
Final Words 117
Index 122