Islamic feminism more widespread in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Usually, it tends to be Muslim men who go to pray on Fridays in the mosques of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As is customary in Islam , women are not required to go to the mosque to pray on the holiest day of the week. However, more and more, devout Muslim women in the Western Balkan country want to attend the mosque, too.

In the secular state of Bosnia and Herzegovina , men and women are equal before the law. In recent decades, the state has made significant efforts to eliminate gender-based discrimination and protect women from violence. However, in certain religious communities, whether these are Muslim, Orthodox or Catholic , social and cultural norms continue to stand in the way of equality. Since the end of the Bosnian War (1992–1995), religion has played a greater role in all of the country's communities, particularly amid Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. In some families, very conservative notions of gender roles prevail, according to which women are expected first and foremost to be mothers and to care for the family. "Muslim feminists are fighting for women's rights within an Islamic framework," Bosnian sociologist Dermana Kuric from the University of Sarajevo told DW. She said that they were doing this by taking an active role in society without openly challenging misogynistic interpretations of the Quran. She added that university educated Muslim women were consciously engaging with traditional Islamic scholarship, which has sought to confine women to a subordinate role in the family and the wider community. "Muslim feminists are concerned with gender relations based on autonomy and individual responsibility — as opposed to control or dominance," Kuric said. Bosnian Muslim feminists are part of a broader movement that has been gaining influence in the Islamic world since the 1980s. They interpret the Quran from a female perspective and see it as a source of empowerment in their struggle for greater rights. With her translation of the groundbreaking book by Moroccan sociologist and pioneer of Islamic feminism Fatima Mernissi (1940 – 2015) "The Forgotten Queens of Islam," gender studies scholar Zilka Spahic-Siljak from the University of Sarajevo has made a significant contribution to raising awareness of the ideas of Islamic feminism in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Key points

• In the secular state of Bosnia and Herzegovina , men and women are equal before the law.
• In recent decades, the state has made significant efforts to eliminate gender-based discrimination and protect women from violence.
• However, in certain religious communities, whether these are Muslim, Orthodox or Catholic , social and cultural norms continue to stand in the way of equality.
• Since the end of the Bosnian War (1992–1995), religion has played a greater role in all of the country's communities, particularly amid Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.
• In some families, very conservative notions of gender roles prevail, according to which women are expected first and foremost to be mothers and to care for the family.