Resisting the Sacred and the Secular: Women's Activism and Politicised Religion in South Asia focuses on women's agency and activism within the South Asian context, and is an outstanding contribution to the field of gender studies. It explores the paradoxical relationship of women to religious politics in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Contrary to the hopes of feminists, many women have responded to religious nationalist appeals; contrary to the hopes ...
Drawing on over 20 years of field-level research in rural Uttar Pradesh, these essays challenge Hindutva myths about Muslims in India. Communalist discourses often portray Muslims as 'backward' because of Purdah, polygamy, illiteracy, high fertility and low women's status. The authors highlight the falsity and perniciousness of such negative stereotypes. Pointing to the danger of reifying and rigidifying these contrasts between Hindus and Muslims, they draw out ...
