ABOUT THIS BOOK

In education, journalism, legislative politics, social justice, health, law, and other arenas, Muslim women across Kenya are emerging as leaders in local, national, and international contexts, advancing reforms through their activism. Muslim Women in Postcolonial Kenya draws on extensive interviews with six such women, revealing how their religious and moral beliefs shape reform movements that bridge ethnic divides and foster alliances in service of creating a just, multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious democratic citizenship.

Mwalim Azara Mudira opened a school of theology for Muslim women. Nazlin Omar Rajput of The Nur magazine was a pioneer in reporting on HIV/AIDS in the Muslim community. Amina Abubakar, host of a women's radio show, has publicly addressed the sensitive subject of sexual crimes against Muslim women. Two women who are members of parliament are creating new socioeconomic and political opportunities for girls and women, within a framework that still embraces traditional values of marriage and motherhood.

Examining the interplay of gender, agency, and autonomy, Ousseina D. Alidou shows how these Muslim women have effected change in the home, the school, the mosque, the media, and more—and she illuminates their determination as actors to challenge the oppressive influences of male-dominated power structures. In looking at differences as opportunities rather than obstacles, these women reflect a new sensibility among Muslim women and an effort to redefine the meaning of women's citizenship within their own community of faith and within the nation.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Ousseina D. Alidou is the Director of the Center for African Studies at Rutgers University–New Brunswick and an associate professor in the department of African, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Languages and Literatures. She is the author and editor of many books, including Engaging Modernity: Muslim Women and the Politics of Agency in Postcolonial Niger and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa.

REVIEWS

"Alidou introduces readers to extraordinary Kenyan Muslim women who deftly weave together secular, religious, and activist perspectives to transform their communities. Their stories, and Alidou's astute analysis, portray the challenges facing twenty-first-century agents of change."—Susan Hirsch, author of Pronouncing and Persevering: Gender and the Discourses of Disputing in an African Islamic Court

“A brilliant work fashioned from the lived experiences and critical reflections of Muslim women as transformative leaders negotiating the secular and religious in their public and private lives. Brimming with insights for our polarized nations in turbulent times, this is a must-read book for anyone concerned with Kenya, Africa as a whole, and Muslim societies beyond.”—Margot Badran, author of Gender and Islam in Africa

“With rich ethnographic data, Ousseina Alidou has written another excellent and highly readable book, highlighting the creative agency of the multifaceted and multiracial community of Kenyan Muslim women.”—Shahla Haeri, author of No Shame for the Sun: Lives of Professional Pakistani Women

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Preliminary Remarks

Muslim Women in Kenya: A Sketch

Methodology

Outline of the Book

Chapter 1: Bi Swafiya Muhashamy-Said: A Pioneer in Reforming Chuo (Madrasa) Nursery Curriculum in Kenya and Beyond

Introduction

The Colonial Beginning: A Historical Background to Muslim Education

Postcolonial Developments: Muslim Education

The New Vision: Modern Integrated Madrasa Nursery Curriculum

Conclusion

Chapter 2: The Ma'had Tradition of Mwalim Azara Mudira

Introduction

Creating a Women's Space for Islamic Teaching and Learning in Kenya

Muslim Women Educators: A Background

The Making of Mwalimu Azara Mudira and the Founding of Ma'had

Conclusion: The Impact of Islamic Reformist Women

Chapter 3: Muslim Women Members of Parliament: A Minority within a "Tribe" of Women

Women and Representative Politics: A Brief Overview

Muslim Women MPs: A Minority within a "Tribe" of Women

Muslim Women Parliamentarians Confronting Adversity within Muslim Communities

Unmarried Young Muslim Women in Parliament

How Muslim Women MPs Transform Parliament and Schools

Dress Politics in Parliament: Inscribing Kenyan Muslim Diversity

Achieving Success within Their Constituencies

Public Health Education: The HIV Pandemic and Community Sensitization

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Judge Abida Ali Aroni, First Muslim Woman Justice of the Kenya High Court

Introduction

Muslim Women's Rights Activist of Mixed Heritage within Kenyan Ethnic Politics

Lessons from the Muslim Women Sisters Network

Secular Accommodation of the Kadhi Courts

Bargaining with Patriarchy

Gender and the Dialectics of Religious and Secular Literacy

Building with Progressive Muslim Male Lawyers and Other Women's Rights Advocates

Conclusion

Chapter 5: Muslim Women, Rights Discourse, and the Media as a Political and Activist Platform

Introduction

The Nur Magazine: Islam, HIV/AIDS, Sexuality, and Women's Rights

Ukumbi Wa Mamama: Islamist Radio Talk Show, Muslim Women's Political Activism

Conclusion

Conclusion: Kenya Muslim Women's Rights Activism and Social and Political Change

Notes

References

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