This book explores the relationship between Islamism, secularism and violence against women in the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on case studies from across the region, the authors examine the historical, cultural, religious, social, legal and political factors affecting this key issue.

Chapters by established scholars from within and outside the region highlight:

• the interconnections of violence and various sources of power in the Middle East: the state, society, and the family
• conceptions of violence as family and social practice and dominant discourse
• the role of violence as pattern for social structuring in the nation state.

By centring the chapters around these key areas, the volume provides an innovative theoretical and systematic research model for gender and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Dealing with issues that are not easily accessible in the West, this book underlines the importance of understanding realities and problems relevant to Muslim and Arab societies and discusses possible ways of promoting reforms in the MENA region. As such it will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, sociology, political science and criminal justice.

This book examines the position of women in the contemporary Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Although it is culturally diverse, this region shares many commonalities with relation to women that are strong, deep, and pervasive: a space-based patriarchy, a culturally strong sense of religion, a smooth co-existence of tradition and modernity, a transitional stage in development, and multilingualism/multiculturalism.

Experts from within the region and from outside provide both theoretical angles and case studies, drawing on fieldwork from Egypt, Oman, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. Addressing the historical, socio-cultural, political, economic, and legal issues in the region, the chapters cover five major aspects of women's agency:

• political agency
• civil society activism
• legal reform
• cultural and social agencies
• religious and symbolic agencies.

Bringing to light often marginalized topics and issues, the book underlines the importance of respecting specificities when judging societies and hints at possible ways of promoting the MENA region. As such, it is a valuable addition to existing literature in the field of political science, sociology, and women's studies.

This book examines the position of women in the contemporary Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Although it is culturally diverse, this region shares many commonalities with relation to women that are strong, deep, and pervasive: a space-based patriarchy, a culturally strong sense of religion, a smooth co-existence of tradition and modernity, a transitional stage in development, and multilingualism/multiculturalism. Experts from within the region and from outside provide both theoretical angles and case studies, drawing on fieldwork from Egypt, Oman, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Spain. Addressing the historical, socio-cultural, political, economic, and legal issues in the region, the chapters cover five major aspects of women's agency: * political agency * civil society activism * legal reform * cultural and social agencies * religious and symbolic agencies. Bringing to light often marginalized topics and issues, the book underlines the importance of respecting specificities when judging societies and hints at possible ways of promoting the MENA region. As such, it is a valuable addition to existing literature in the field of political science, sociology, and women's studies.

Women in the Mediterranean have helped constitute new meanings of knowledge whilst simultaneously providing a wealth of material that is now part of the knowledge archive of the area. The inception of types of knowledge that differ from the conventional necessitates a re-definition of the concept of 'knowledge,' an issue which is addressed in this volume. Employing a range of theories and methodologies, this book explores four main domains in which women's knowledge is attested: women and written knowledge; women and oral knowledge; women and legal, religious, and economic knowledge; and women and media knowledge. By presenting untapped women's expressions of knowledge in these domains, this book opens new avenues of research in fields such as sociology, history and literature, amongst others. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of the Middle East, Women and Gender studies and Mediterranean Studies.

Women in the Mediterranean have helped constitute new meanings of knowledge whilst simultaneously providing a wealth of material that is now part of the knowledge archive of the area. The inception of types of knowledge that differ from the conventional necessitates a re-definition of the concept of 'knowledge,' an issue which is addressed in this volume. Employing a range of theories and methodologies, this book explores four main domains in which women's knowledge is attested: women and written knowledge; women and oral knowledge; women and legal, religious, and economic knowledge; and women and media knowledge. By presenting untapped women's expressions of knowledge in these domains, this book opens new avenues of research in fields such as sociology, history and literature, amongst others. This book will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of the Middle East, Women and Gender studies and Mediterranean Studies.

Centering on women's movements before, during, and after the revolutions, Women's Movements in Post-"Arab Spring" North Africa highlights the broader sources of authority that affected the emergence of new feminist actors and agents and their impact on the sociopolitical landscapes of the region.

This book explores the relationship between Islamism, secularism and violence against women in the Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on case studies from across the region, the authors examine the historical, cultural, religious, social, legal and political factors affecting this key issue.

Chapters by established scholars from within and outside the region highlight:

• the interconnections of violence and various sources of power in the Middle East: the state, society, and the family
• conceptions of violence as family and social practice and dominant discourse
• the role of violence as pattern for social structuring in the nation state.

By centring the chapters around these key areas, the volume provides an innovative theoretical and systematic research model for gender and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. Dealing with issues that are not easily accessible in the West, this book underlines the importance of understanding realities and problems relevant to Muslim and Arab societies and discusses possible ways of promoting reforms in the MENA region. As such it will be of great interest to students and scholars of gender studies, sociology, political science and criminal justice.

This volume deals with the complex but poorly understood relationship between women, gender, and language in Morocco, a Muslim, multilingual, multicultural, and developing country. The hypothesis on which the book is based is that an understanding of gender perception and women's agency can be achieved only by taking into account the structure of power in a specific culture and that language is an important component of this power. In Moroccan culture, history, geography, Islam, orality, multilingualism, social organization, economic status, and political system constitute the superstructures of power within which factors such as social differences, contextual differences, and identity differences interact in the daily linguistic performances of gender. Moroccan women are far from constituting a homogeneous group, consequently the choices available to them vary in nature and empowering capacity, thus 'widening' the spectrum of gender beyond cultural limits.