THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ISLAMIC FEMINISM AND THE HIJAB IN GENDER DISCOURSE AND POLITICS IN THE NEAR EAST: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IRAN AND FRANCE

Abstract

Gender discourse in the Near East and its diaspora is complex and multifaceted, with Islamic feminism and the practice of wearing the hijab being, in my view, particularly intricate and significant issues. Islamic feminism, which emerged in the late 20th century, seeks to achieve gender equality through the reinterpretation of Islamic religious frameworks, while the hijab has transformed into a symbol that, depending on the context, embodies freedom, identity, resistance, or oppression. In this paper, I focus on the cases of France and Iran because, despite their ideological differences - secularism in France and Islamism in Iran - state policies often restrict Muslim women’s agency and self-expression. Accordingly, the central question of this paper is how state ideology shapes gender norms and women’s rights, particularly in the context of the politicization of the hijab and the influence of Islamic feminism.