Between Secularism and Islamism: Theorising Libyan Womanhood Post-Gaddafi

利比亚政治文化的转变（在2011年革命之后）与女权主义激进主义在全国范围内的起义相吻合，因为自20世纪70年代利比亚社会伊斯兰化以来，女性首次集体进入公共领域。伴随这种变化的是（许多学者）不加批判地接受了将世俗主义与伊斯兰主义对立起来的说法。这种叙事经常主导着围绕当代利比亚政治的对话，并最终将利比亚妇女置于宗教、世俗主义和地方父权制的交叉点。鉴于此，我的论文旨在探讨利比亚当地的妇女权利活动家和/或女权主义者如何围绕伊斯兰教与世俗主义的对话塑造他们的行动主义。考虑到在女权主义、世俗主义和伊斯兰主义的定义中提出的话语问题，我在这里使用这三个术语作为占位符，以便在我的论文中进行更细致入微的处理。背景和贡献：毫不夸张地说，关于利比亚的学术研究一直被学术界所忽视，使她成为中东和北非最不为人所知的国家。尤其是对女性困境的分析几乎不存在（Spadaro和Yew， 2020）。随着利比亚从卡扎菲政权过渡，国际社会对利比亚政治的兴趣日益浓厚。然而，由于缺乏对该国的研究，有关其政治的研究是在脱离利比亚社会背景的情况下进行的。这延续了对利比亚政治背景的狭隘看法，即世俗原则和伊斯兰法律的冲突占据了中心舞台。这种叙述假设意识形态是利比亚政治的唯一驱动力，尽管存在其他因素在起作用。因此，必须处理性别如何影响政治参与的问题。从历史上看，女性通过借鉴个人经验来进行她们的行动主义，这与经常激发民族认同的父权制行动主义形成鲜明对比（Badran, 1994）。这突出了超越世俗主义和伊斯兰主义话语的重要性，这些话语是通过民族主义的镜头进行的，以准确地理论化利比亚妇女的生活。缺乏利比亚文化背景可能会使利比亚政治本质化，并使对利比亚生活经历的家长式解读永久化。我的论文旨在通过抵制利比亚社会的本质主义和父权解读来解决这些问题，相反，揭示利比亚妇女是如何受到这种话语的影响的。方法：我将优先使用主要来源，包括访谈，焦点小组和非殖民化理论框架内的文件分析。作为一个圈内人，我对这个国家有一定的了解，熟悉当地的方言和文化，并且有一定的人脉基础，所以我很适合做这样的研究。我计划利用这些资历创建一个来自女权主义组织的有目的的女性样本，以解读她们如何解释、看待和参与世俗主义和伊斯兰主义。我的论文试图通过证词和讲故事的非殖民化采访方法对利比亚女权主义观点进行话语分析。我选择使用这种方法是为了帮助改变学术界的殖民权力不平衡（T. Smith, 2021），并鼓励受访者进行深入的回答，同时也有可能接触到其他可能尚未向学术界展示的话语。30个有记录的采访应该能提供足够的数据来回答我的问题。我打算在我学习的第二年（2023年10月至2024年4月）进行这项实地调查，主要在班加西和的黎波里。此外，我的目标是通过对利比亚媒体的话语分析来辨别围绕女性的任何主流叙事。我了解利比亚媒体的政治倾向

The transformation of Libyan political culture (following the revolution in 2011) has coincided with an insurgence of feminist activism across the country, as women collectively enter the public sphere for the first time since the Islamisation of Libyan society in the 1970s. Accompanying this change is the uncritical acceptance (by numerous academics) of the narrative that places secularism in opposition to Islamism. This narrative often dominates the conversation surrounding contemporary Libyan politics and ultimately places Libyan women at the intersection of religion, secularism and localised patriarchy. Given this, my thesis aims to explore how local Libyan women's rights activists and/or feminists shape their activism around conversations pitting Islam against secularism.Considering the discursive issues presented within definitions of feminism, secularism and Islamism, I use the three terms here as a placeholder for a more nuanced treatment to follow in my thesis.Context and Contribution: It is no exaggeration to claim that scholarship on Libya has been neglected by academics, making her the least understood country in the Middle East and North Africa. Analysis of the predicament of women in particular is almost nonexistent (Spadaro and Yew, 2020). As Libya transitions away from Gadaffi's regime there has been increased interest from the global community in Libya's politics. However, given the lack of research into the country, research regarding her politics is conducted in isolation of Libya's social context. This perpetuates a narrow view of Libya's political context whereby the (alleged) clash of secular principles and Islamic law takes centre stage. This narrative assumes that ideology is the singular driving force for politics in Libya, despite the existence of other factors at play. The question of how gender impacts political participation must therefore be addressed. Historically, women have conducted their activism by drawing upon individual experiences this is in stark contrast to patriarchal activism which often inspires a national identity (Badran, 1994). This highlights the importance of moving beyond the discourse of secularism and Islamism which is conducted through a nationalist lens, to accurately theorise the lives of Libyan women. The lack of context into Libyan culture risks essentialising Libyan politics and perpetuates a patriarchal reading of Libyan lived experiences. My thesis aims to address these concerns by resisting essentialist and patriarchal readings of Libyan society and instead, uncover how Libyan women are affected by such discourse. Methodology: I will prioritise the use of primary sources including interviews, focus groups and document analysis within a decolonial theoretical framework. As an insider, I am well placed to conduct such research as I have knowledge of the country, I am familiar with the colloquial dialect and culture, and I possess a network base. I plan to use these credentials to create a purposive sample of women from feminist organisations to decipher how they interpret, view and engage with secularism and Islamism. My thesis seeks to conduct a discursive analysis of Libyan feminist viewpoints through the decolonial interview method of testimonies and storytelling. My choice to use such methods is to help shift the colonial power imbalance within academia (T. Smith, 2021) and to encourage in-depth answers from interviewees, whilst also leaving potential to be exposed to other discourses that may not yet have presented themselves to academics. Thirty recorded interviews should comfortably produce enough data to answer my questions. I intend to undertake this fieldwork in my second year of study (October 2023 until April 2024), primarily in Benghazi and Tripoli. Additionally, I aim to discern any mainstream narratives surrounding women through a discourse analysis of Libyan media. I possess an awareness of the political disposition of Libyan media