Resisting the Sacred and the Secular: Women’s Activism and Politicized Religion in South Asia

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 of religious nationalists, they have also asserted their gender, class, caste and regional identities; contrary to the hopes of nation states, they have often challenged state policies and practices. Through a comparative South Asia perspective Resisting the Sacred and the Secular explores the varied meanings and expressions of gender identity through time, by location and according to political context.