ABSTRACT
This chapter examines women of Muslim background in France and Britain with a focus on young women. It investigates the parameters framing their action towards the realisation of their aspirations and explores the women’s capacity of action to pursue both personal and social projects. This research challenges common stereotypes and prejudices regarding Muslim women’s passivity and home orientation. It shows that those women display a capacity of action which rests on two attributes: first, they are capable of critically assessing the environment surrounding them, whether it be within the ethnic group, majority society and/or Muslim circles; second, they are sensitive to and concerned with a number of issues which motivate their commitment in the public arena through civic and political initiatives.
