Doctoral Dissertation Research: Muslim Women in Senegal: Identities in a Changing World

自20世纪80年代以来，塞内加尔达喀尔越来越多的居民坚持改革派穆斯林团体倡导的保守宗教价值观。虽然许多女权主义学者断言，这种趋势削弱了整个穆斯林世界的妇女权利，但其他人认为，这些妇女行使自决权，并通过保守的做法表达民族主义话语。然而，这两种观点都没有提到穆斯林妇女为在实际生活中融入传统和现代而创造的混合身份。拟议的博士论文研究将探讨这种混杂，并探讨妇女如何构建话语的性别角色在城市穆斯林社会。研究将探讨以下问题：（1）达喀尔穆斯林改革派团体中的妇女是否形成了建立女权主义话语的性别角色观，或者她们是否缩小了父权制价值观？(2)这些妇女的话语与那些在更成熟的穆斯林组织中的妇女的话语有何不同？该项目将包括与两个群体的成员进行一系列重点小组访谈，并在他们的宗教会议上观察参与者。此外，本研究亦将探讨女性的宗教信仰、年龄、教育程度、经济及就业状况如何影响她们对组织的选择，以及她们的性别论述。这一人口构成部分将辅之以定量调查。研究结果将揭示妇女如何在迅速变化的社会环境中构建性别角色。

Since the 1980's, increasing numbers of residents in Dakar, Senegal are adhering to conservative religious values advocated by reformist Muslim groups. Whereas many feminist scholars assert that such trends diminish women's rights throughout the Muslim world, others contend that these women exercise self-determination and articulate nationalist discourses through conservative practices. However, neither view addresses the hybrid identities Muslim women create to incorporate tradition and modernity in their practical lives. The proposed doctoral dissertation research will examine this hybridity, and explore how women construct discourses about gender roles in an urban Muslim society. The study will examine the questions: (1) Do Dakar women in reformist Muslim groups develop views on gender roles which build a feminist discourse, or do they retrench patriarchal values? (2) How do these women's discourses differ from those of women in more established Muslim organizations? The project will entail a series of focus group interviews with members of both populations and, participant observations at their religious meetings. Also, it will examine how the women's religious affiliations, ages, education levels, and economic and employment statuses impact their choice of organization, as well as their gender discourses. This demographic component will be supplemented with a quantitative survey. Results will shed light on how women construct gender roles in rapidly changing social environments.