This project conducts interviews with women in Lebanon to unpack the role of women and religion in post-conflict societies. Conflict studies show that women are important contributors to conflict resolution and that their empowerment is crucial to conflict resolution efforts. However, women in Islamic settings are often believed to be passive victims who are subordinated to their husbands through religious ideology. This project draws on gender studies, which show that women often advance their independent agendas by applying rather than opposing Islamic principles, to identify pathways by which Muslim women actively contribute to the advancement of their societies.

Author: Stephanie Dornschneider-Elkink