The author sets out to understand the rise of the phenomenon of AI-Huda in Pakistan, the reasons why middle and upper class women engage with this school's ideology and the impact its emergence is having on the wider society in Pakistan.
As a woman of Pakistani origin who also has a sound foundation in Pakistani social history, Ahmad was able to engage with members and students of AI-Huda in ways that a cultural outsider would be excluded from doing, given the particular nature and orientation of this organization. Through her engagement, she gained unparalleled insights into not only the structure of the organization and its myriad educational programs, but also substantive views of its teachings, the image of women it celebrates and the resultant effects of this organization on the wider Pakistani society.
Superbly written, balances open-eyed, incisive analysis with respectful restraint, and offers a powerful antidote to romanticized notions of agency and individual freedom. This path-breaking study reveals the complex reality behind 'Islamic Feminism'. Must be required reading for courses on gender, transnationalism and Islamist social movements.
Sadaf Ahmad is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Syracuse University (USA) in 2006. She has a master's degree in Gender, Anthropology, and Development from Goldsmiths College, University of London, and in Psychology from the National Institute of Psychology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
Gender has been a cross-cutting theme in all of her work to date, and has largely revolved around issues of gender-based violence and gender and religion. Her research interests also include body politics, identity matters, social movements, minority issues,and religion and culture, and her teaching reflects these interests.
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