Papers by Farjana Mahbuba
Religions, 2024
The 2021 census data in Australia show that a higher proportion of Bangladeshi Muslim women in Au... more The 2021 census data in Australia show that a higher proportion of Bangladeshi Muslim women in Australia have postgraduate degrees compared to the broader female population. They are also more likely to have a bachelor’s degree when compared to their counterparts in the wider female cohort. However, the unemployment rate for Bangladeshi Muslim women is more than twice as high as that of the general female population. While a comparison between higher educational attainment and lower labour participation raises the question of whether the goal of higher education is indeed labour participation and the dilemma of valuing education solely based on its economic returns, nonetheless, the disparity alarms curiosity to investigate the reasons. The existing research on Muslim women in Australia reveal a complex web of external and internal multilayered intersecting factors that influence migrant women’s labour participation and makes them more susceptible to financial vulnerabilities. Utilizing qualitative methods in analysing fieldwork data from ongoing PhD research, this paper underscores the critical need for a nuanced understanding of internal cultural, domestic, and religious factors to address the unique challenges faced by this demographic in their labour market participation in Australia.
ABC Religion & Ethics, 2024
[Note: Real names and identifiable personal details have been altered to protect the privacy of t... more [Note: Real names and identifiable personal details have been altered to protect the privacy of the participants in this research.]
Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, Aug 12, 2023
For centuries, Muslim women have been considered, according to fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, leg... more For centuries, Muslim women have been considered, according to fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, legally ineligible to hold leadership positions in public sectors such as government, civil society and the judiciary. Contemporary debates on female leadership in Muslim societies range from constructing and reconstructing theological contestation to identifying and analysing the socio-cultural realities around Muslim women’s lives that make it more challenging for them to claim leadership. Today, on one side, a growing amount of literature is challenging conservative religious interpretations that disfavour female leadership and calling to reread religious source texts. On the other side, literature is raising voices on social gender perceptions and cultural biases that create barriers to women’s leadership. The recent inauguration of hijab-clad Muslim female presidents in Tanzania and Singapore also manifests a positive paradigm shift in the collective Muslim consciousness of female leadership. To understand this change, this article aligns with the Western feminist framework to investigate theological and socio-cultural debates to outline the different positions and new developments in contemporary literature in identifying the burdens on Muslim women’s shoulders that curtail their aspirations for leadership participation. This study argues that contemporary literature reveals a complex and formidable development in the debate that demands more careful attention to accommodate the changing environment and attitudes in Muslim societies regarding the permissibility and plausibility of female leadership.
Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives, 2018
This chapter discusses contemporary debates around the topic of gender relations
in Muslim socie... more This chapter discusses contemporary debates around the topic of gender relations
in Muslim societies with a focus on Muslim women. After a brief introduction
and geographical orientation of the subject matter, we start the chapter with a
description of theological debates around the role of women in Islam and Muslim
understandings of sex and gender. We then shift our attention to contemporary
practices and discuss socio-cultural debates around the (gendered) Muslim body
and explain how and why they have been central in the instrumentalization of
politics. Here we include the discursive and symbolic politics around veiling that
have taken a prominent role in European debates around citizenship, integration,
and belonging. Following from this, we deliberate the place of gender in political
theology and conclude by engaging with the question of transnational feminism.
The Conversation, 2023
, "'I trained to be an engineer… now I am a pickle seller'. What does migration do to a wife?" Th... more , "'I trained to be an engineer… now I am a pickle seller'. What does migration do to a wife?" The Conversation, April 21, 2023. Link: https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-i-trained-to-bean engineer now -i-am-a-pickleseller-what-does-migration-do-to-a-wife-203546 But you know what's funny? All my life, I have been trained to be an engineer. Look at me now, I am a pickle seller! She laughed with teary eyes. I did not laugh. I felt like crying and giving her a tight hug. Yet I did not move. I kept listening. I am a researcher. I am supposed to just collect data. I am not supposed to respond emotionally.
Australian Journal of Islamic Studies
For centuries, Muslim women have been considered legally unqualified for judicial, political, and... more For centuries, Muslim women have been considered legally unqualified for judicial, political, and other highest leadership positions in the public domain. The contemporary debates range from constructing and reconstructing theological contestation to identifying and analysing various socio-cultural realities around Muslim women’s lives which made it more challenging for them to claim leadership. Today, in one hand, a growing number of literatures are challenging conservative religious interpretations that disfavour female leadership and calling to reread religious source texts. On the other hand, many literatures are raising voices on social gender perceptions and cultural biases which create barriers for women leadership. The recent inauguration of hijab-clad Muslim female presidents in Tanzania and Singapore also manifests a positive paradigm shift in collective Muslim consciousness to female leadership. To understand this change, this paper looks into both theological and socio-c...
Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 2023
For centuries, Muslim women have been considered, according to fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, leg... more For centuries, Muslim women have been considered, according to fiqh or Islamic jurisprudence, legally ineligible to hold leadership positions in public sectors such as government, civil society and the judiciary. Contemporary debates on female leadership in Muslim societies range from constructing and reconstructing theological contestation to identifying and analysing the socio-cultural realities around Muslim women’s lives that make it more challenging for them to claim leadership. Today, on one side, a growing amount of literature is challenging conservative religious interpretations that disfavour female leadership and calling to reread religious source texts. On the other side, literature is raising voices on social gender perceptions and cultural biases that create barriers to women’s leadership. The recent inauguration of hijab-clad Muslim female presidents in Tanzania and Singapore also manifests a positive paradigm shift in the collective Muslim consciousness of female leadership. To understand this change, this article aligns with the Western feminist framework to investigate theological and socio-cultural debates to outline the different positions and new developments in contemporary literature in identifying the burdens on Muslim women’s shoulders that curtail their aspirations for leadership participation. This study argues that contemporary literature reveals a complex and formidable development in the debate that demands more careful attention to accommodate the changing environment and attitudes in Muslim societies regarding the permissibility and plausibility of female leadership.
Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim, 2018
This chapter discusses contemporary debates around the topic of gender relations in Muslim societ... more This chapter discusses contemporary debates around the topic of gender relations in Muslim societies with a focus on Muslim women. After a brief introduction and geographical orientation of the subject matter, we start the chapter with a description of theological debates around the role of women in Islam and Muslim understandings of sex and gender. We then shift our attention to contemporary practices and discuss socio-cultural debates around the (gendered) Muslim body and explain how and why they have been central in the instrumentalization of politics. Here we include the discursive and symbolic politics around veiling that have taken a prominent role in European debates around citizenship, integration, and belonging. Following from this, we deliberate the place of gender in political theology and conclude by engaging with the question of transnational feminism.
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Papers by Farjana Mahbuba
in Muslim societies with a focus on Muslim women. After a brief introduction
and geographical orientation of the subject matter, we start the chapter with a
description of theological debates around the role of women in Islam and Muslim
understandings of sex and gender. We then shift our attention to contemporary
practices and discuss socio-cultural debates around the (gendered) Muslim body
and explain how and why they have been central in the instrumentalization of
politics. Here we include the discursive and symbolic politics around veiling that
have taken a prominent role in European debates around citizenship, integration,
and belonging. Following from this, we deliberate the place of gender in political
theology and conclude by engaging with the question of transnational feminism.
in Muslim societies with a focus on Muslim women. After a brief introduction
and geographical orientation of the subject matter, we start the chapter with a
description of theological debates around the role of women in Islam and Muslim
understandings of sex and gender. We then shift our attention to contemporary
practices and discuss socio-cultural debates around the (gendered) Muslim body
and explain how and why they have been central in the instrumentalization of
politics. Here we include the discursive and symbolic politics around veiling that
have taken a prominent role in European debates around citizenship, integration,
and belonging. Following from this, we deliberate the place of gender in political
theology and conclude by engaging with the question of transnational feminism.