عنوان

Afghani Women's Resistance: Their Struggle for Autonomy under the Soviet Occupation and Taliban Rule

Number

TL49537

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Afghani Women's Resistance: Their Struggle for Autonomy under the Soviet Occupation and Taliban Rule

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Shabnam Rezai

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Gallab, Abdullahi; Ali, Souad

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Arizona State University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2017

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

126

Text of Note

Committee members: Kefeli, Agnes

Text of Note

Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-0-355-14622-6

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

M.A.

Discipline of degree

Religious Studies

Body granting the degree

Arizona State University

Text preceding or following the note

2017

Text of Note

The American-led 'war on terror' affected how media outlets and some contemporary literature addressed and stereotyped Islam. One of the most common stereotypes regarded the status of women in society. The constant images of oppressed Afghani women generated a wave of negativity toward Islam. Afghani women were portrayed as passive characters during the Taliban rule awaiting liberation from the west. Defending their rights became one of the moral justifications for waging the 'war on terror' after the tragedy of 9/11. Gender politics in Afghanistan is closely tied to the regime in power. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the social and cultural transformation of society that followed also directly affected women and their identity as Muslims. Both the Soviet and the Taliban regimes envisioned a drastic transformation of women's participation in the public sphere. Each regime's gender politics oppressed Afghani women and sought to take away their agency. Some women welcomed the freedom under the Soviets, but others found the freedoms to be oppressive. The Taliban aimed to preserve men's authority over women. However, Afghani women never gave up the hope of freedom and equality. My main argument is to challenge the contemporary belief that Afghani women were passive characters in their history. This study introduces a fresh perspective on to women's role as change makers in the society. I argue that Afghani women maintained their autonomy and fought for their rights, before the rest of the world rushed to liberate them. They engaged in different forms of resistance from directly attacking the oppressors to keeping their resistance hidden. This thesis challenges the notion of Afghani women as victims in need of saving. On the contrary, they were the agents of change in their communities. On the basis of ethnographic interviews and three memoirs written by women who lived in Afghanistan during Soviet and Taliban rule. Their resistance against the oppressors is an affirmation of their courage and bravery.

Womens studies; Regional Studies; South Asian Studies

Subject Term

Social sciences;Afghani women;Education in Afghanistan;Hijab;Soviet occupation;Taliban and women;Women in Islam

Debbek, Sarah Jouma

Gallab, Abdullahi; Ali, Souad

Subdivision

Religious Studies

Arizona State University

Call Number

1947216652; 10606687

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y