Women and Islam in Bangladesh: Beyond Subjection and Tyranny

In this fascinating book, Taj. I. Hashmi takes a long historical view of the position of women in society in general and that of Muslim women under Islam in particular. He argues that women have been under male domination in all societies ever since the days of Socrates and that this is not particular to Islam or Muslim societies. Then he explores how women in urban and rural Bangladesh are persecuted at the behest of the self-proclaimed custodians of Islam or mullahs. NGOs active in the country are also not free from the accusation of exploiting women in the name of empowering them. Nor has militant feminism done much good to the cause of their liberation. The author finds hope in the work of a large body of educated Bangladesh men and women in eradicating not only poverty but also illiteracy and religious fanaticism as a surer way to women’s liberation from male domination.