ABSTRACT
Appropriating Gender explores the paradoxical relationship of women to religious politics in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Contrary to the hopes of feminists, many women have responded to religious nationalist appeals; contrary to the hopes of religious nationalists, they have also asserted their gender, class, caste, and religious identities; contrary to the hopes of nation states, they have often challenged state policies and practices. Through a comparative South Asia perspective, Appropriating Gender explores the varied meanings and expressions of gender identity through time, by location, and according to political context.
The first work to focus on women's agency and activism within the South Asian context, Appropriating Gender is an outstanding contribution to the field of gender studies.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |103 pages
Gender, Nation, State
chapter |18 pages
Reproducing the Legitimate Community
chapter |20 pages
(Re)presenting Islam
part |59 pages
The Everyday and the Local
chapter |22 pages
The Other Side of the Discourse
part |79 pages
Agency and Activism