Voices and veils
Subtitle: feminism and Islam in French women's writing and activism
By: Anna Kemp
Series: Research monographs in French studies -- 29; Research monographs in French studies -- 29.
Publisher: Legenda
Published: 2010
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 148
ISBN-13: 9781906540265
Subjects: Feminism and literature; Muslim authors; History and criticism; French literature; Women authors; Women and literature; Women in Islam; Muslim women; History; Feminism; Islam
Description: In recent years, the figure of the Muslim Woman has loomed large over mainstream feminist debate in France. Cast alternately as a Frenchwoman-in-the-making or a veiled threat, the Muslim Woman has become emblematic of France{u2019}s relationship to those identified as its cultural others. But throughout these debates, and in spite of their scale and passion, one view has been glaringly absent: the view of French Muslim women themselves. Drawing on sociological, polemical and literary writings, this thoughtful and wide-ranging study examines the unacknowledged colonial roots of French feminist discourses on Islam and femininity, before bringing to light examples of French Muslim women{u2019}s writing and activism that suggest alternative ways of being both French and a feminist.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.