Women and Gender in Islam, published in 1992, established a historical framework for analyzing the status of women within Arab Muslim societies. This pivotal study argued that patriarchal interpretations, rather than the core tenets of the religion itself, shaped the restrictive conditions often encountered by women in the Middle East.
Early Life and Academic Path
Born in the Heliopolis district of Cairo in 1940, Ahmed was raised by an Egyptian father and a Turkish mother. Her family life combined traditional Muslim values with the liberal leanings of Egypt's aristocratic class during the ancien régime. Following the Free Officers Movement of 1952, the family faced political ostracization, particularly due to her father's opposition to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Ahmed pursued her higher education at the University of Cambridge during the 1960s, eventually moving to the United States to continue her scholarly career.
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After relocating, Ahmed secured a faculty position at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she served as director of Women's Studies and Near Eastern studies programs beginning in 1981. She moved to Harvard Divinity School in 1999, becoming the first professor of women's studies in religion at the institution. In 2003, she was appointed the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Divinity, later transitioning to the role of Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity in 2020.
Research on Veiling and Activism
In 2013, Ahmed received the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Religion for her study of the veil in the United States. She identified that many Muslim women adopted the veil as a form of activism for social justice and as a clear assertion of Islamic identity. This marked a departure from her earlier assessments, which primarily viewed the practice as an instrument of patriarchy. She maintains that the veil does not hold a universal meaning, acknowledging that it remains a tool of patriarchal control in various regions globally.
Critique of Nationalism and Colonialism
Ahmed has documented the political construction of Arab identity in Egypt following the 1952 coup, viewing the subsequent rise of Arab nationalism as a form of cultural imperialism. She argues that this nationalist rhetoric frequently eroded the diverse cultural expressions within the Middle East and North Africa. Her work also highlights how 19th-century colonial powers utilized the concept of female emancipation to justify geopolitical incursions, framing the status of women as a marker of cultural superiority.
Fast facts
- Born: 1940, Heliopolis, Egypt
- Citizenship: United States; Egypt
- Education: University of Cambridge
- Field: Gender studies and religion
- Notable Work: Women and Gender in Islam (1992)
- Memoir: A Border Passage (1999)
- Award: Grawemeyer Award (2013)
- Religion: Islam
Questions readers ask
What is the primary argument of Women and Gender in Islam?
Ahmed argues that gender inequality in the Middle East is rooted in patriarchal interpretations of Islam that evolved in Abbasid Iraq, rather than in the religion itself.
What did Ahmed conclude about the veil in her recent research?
She found that many women in the United States wear the veil as a deliberate act of political activism and social justice rather than solely out of patriarchal pressure.
