ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the position of women in the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is by far the most secularised of the republics of the former Soviet Union with a Muslim majority population. In discussions on the role of women in Islam it is frequently argued that although the urban elite might be ‘emancipated’, in the rural areas it is quite a different matter. Local women say that their social position is demonstrated in the wedding ceremony because it shows that they themselves are treasures, that they bring joy and wealth to their families and that around them alone is the family centred. A common cause of concern to women is that all their children, male and female, be able to acquire an adequate post-school education or training which will enable them to earn their living. Women are certainly prominent in the performing arts and in literature their pedigree stretches back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
