Fatema Mernissi
Encyclopedia
Fatema or Fatima Mernissi is a Moroccan
feminist writer and sociologist.
in 1940. She received her primary education in a school established by the nationalist movement, and secondary level education in an all-girls school funded by the French protectorate. In 1957, she studied political science
at the Sorbonne
and at Brandeis University
, where she earned her doctorate
. She returned to work at the Mohammed V University
and taught at the Faculté des Lettres between 1974 and 1981 on subjects such as methodology, family sociology and psychosociology. She has become noted internationally mainly as an Islamic feminist.
As an Islamic feminist, Mernissi is largely concerned with Islam
and women's roles in it, analyzing the historical development of Islamic thought
and its modern manifestation
. Through a detailed investigation of the nature of the succession to Muhammad
, she casts doubt on the validity of some of the hadith
(sayings and traditions attributed to him), and therefore the subordination of women that she sees in Islam, but not necessarily in the Qur'an
.
As a sociologist Mernissi has done fieldwork mainly in Morocco. On several occasions in the late 1970s and early 1980s she conducted interviews in order to map prevailing attitudes to women and work. She has done sociological research for UNESCO
and ILO
as well as for the Moroccan authorities. In the late 1970s and in the 1980s Mernissi contributed articles to periodicals and other publications on women in Morocco and women and Islam from a contemporary as well as from a historical perspective.
In 2003, Mernissi was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award
along with Susan Sontag
.
Mernissi is currently a lecturer at the Mohammed V University
of Rabat
and a research scholar at the University Institute for Scientific Research, in the same city.
, was published in 1975. A revised edition was published in Britain in 1985 and in the US in 1987. Beyond the Veil has become a classic, especially in the fields of anthropology and sociology on women in the Arab World, the Mediterranean area or Muslim societies in general. Her most famous book, as an Islamic feminist, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Islam, is a quasi-historical study of role of the wives of Muhammad
. It was first published in French in 1987, and translated into English in 1991. For Doing Daily Battle: Interviews with Moroccan Women (1991), she interviewed peasant women, women labourers, clairvoyants and maidservants. In 1995, Mernissi published a memoir, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
.
Other works of Mernissi include :
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
feminist writer and sociologist.
Biography
Mernissi was born into a middle-class family in FesFes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
in 1940. She received her primary education in a school established by the nationalist movement, and secondary level education in an all-girls school funded by the French protectorate. In 1957, she studied political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the Sorbonne
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
and at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, where she earned her doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
. She returned to work at the Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University was founded in 1957 under a royal decree . It is the first modern university in Morocco.The university is named after Mohammed V d. 1961, the former King of Morocco. In 1993, it was divided into two independent universities:* Mohammed V University at Agdal* Mohammed V...
and taught at the Faculté des Lettres between 1974 and 1981 on subjects such as methodology, family sociology and psychosociology. She has become noted internationally mainly as an Islamic feminist.
As an Islamic feminist, Mernissi is largely concerned with Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and women's roles in it, analyzing the historical development of Islamic thought
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
and its modern manifestation
Modern Islamic philosophy
Aziz Abbassi’s English translation found in the following pages wasmade from the French Introduction à la critique de la raison Arabe,translated from Arabic to French by Ahmed Mahfoud and Marc Geoffroy,...
. Through a detailed investigation of the nature of the succession to Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, she casts doubt on the validity of some of the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
(sayings and traditions attributed to him), and therefore the subordination of women that she sees in Islam, but not necessarily in the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
.
As a sociologist Mernissi has done fieldwork mainly in Morocco. On several occasions in the late 1970s and early 1980s she conducted interviews in order to map prevailing attitudes to women and work. She has done sociological research for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and ILO
Ilo
Ilo is a port city in southern Peru, with some 58,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and capital of the province of Ilo.-History:...
as well as for the Moroccan authorities. In the late 1970s and in the 1980s Mernissi contributed articles to periodicals and other publications on women in Morocco and women and Islam from a contemporary as well as from a historical perspective.
In 2003, Mernissi was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award
Prince of Asturias Awards
The Prince of Asturias Awards are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Prince of Asturias Foundation to individuals, entities or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs....
along with Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
.
Mernissi is currently a lecturer at the Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University
Mohammed V University was founded in 1957 under a royal decree . It is the first modern university in Morocco.The university is named after Mohammed V d. 1961, the former King of Morocco. In 1993, it was divided into two independent universities:* Mohammed V University at Agdal* Mohammed V...
of Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
and a research scholar at the University Institute for Scientific Research, in the same city.
Works
Mernissi’s first monograph, Beyond the VeilBeyond the Veil (book)
Beyond the Veil by Fatima Mernissi is a book about gender dynamics in a modern Muslim society. It was first published by Schenkman Publishing Co. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1975 but has not been in print since 1981....
, was published in 1975. A revised edition was published in Britain in 1985 and in the US in 1987. Beyond the Veil has become a classic, especially in the fields of anthropology and sociology on women in the Arab World, the Mediterranean area or Muslim societies in general. Her most famous book, as an Islamic feminist, The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Islam, is a quasi-historical study of role of the wives of Muhammad
Muhammad's marriages
Muhammad's wives were the eleven or thirteen women married to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Muslims refer to them as Mothers of the Believers . Muslims use the term prominently before or after referring to them as a sign of respect...
. It was first published in French in 1987, and translated into English in 1991. For Doing Daily Battle: Interviews with Moroccan Women (1991), she interviewed peasant women, women labourers, clairvoyants and maidservants. In 1995, Mernissi published a memoir, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood is a memoir by Fatima Mernissi. It describes her youth in a Moroccan harem during the 1940s and brings up topics such as Islamic feminism, Arab nationalism, French colonialism and the clash between the traditional and the modern.-Plot summary:The memoir...
.
Other works of Mernissi include :
- Islam and Democracy: Fear of the Modern World (1992)
- Forgotten Queens of Islam
- ScheherazadeScheherazadeScheherazade , sometimes Scheherazadea, Persian transliteration Shahrazad or Shahrzād is a legendary Persian queen and the storyteller of One Thousand and One Nights.-Narration :...
goes West - Islam, Gender and Social Change
- Women's rebellion & Islamic memory (Atlantic Highlands, N.J. : Zed Books, 1996.)
External links
- Fatima Mernissi's website
- Fatima Mernissi's books
- Chronological Overview of books by Fatema Mernissi
- Politics and the Prophet, review of Mernissi's Islam and Democracy, by Martin KramerMartin KramerMartin Seth Kramer is an American scholar of the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Shalem Center. His focus is on Islam and Arab politics.-Education:...
- The Moroccan Sociologist Fatema Mernissi: The Prophet and Freedom of the Individual