Gender Inequality, Deprivation and Seclusion of Indian Muslim Women

Abstract The number of Muslims in the world is projected to increase rapidly to about 2.8 billion in 2050, expecting to rise from 23% of the current world population to 30% in 2050 (Pew Research Centre, 2015). In light of this, there are already almost a billion Muslim women, making up 12% of the population around the world. In the case of India, mainstream society knows little about Muslim women’s lives, their diversity, their religious and constitutional rights and socio-legal movements, among them, those concerning liberation, equity and justice. Their under-representation in public life contributes to the inadequacy of data on their social life in the 21st century. Women from marginalized communities are often under-represented in research, a fact which reveals how their lived realities are ignored in the academic community. Likewise, the global political discourse that frequently engages with Muslim women has a long and inglorious stereotype of depicting them as a passive, secluded and oppressed entity. The outcome of the present study, however, contradicts many of the prevailing assumptions, offering an entirely different interpretation of reality on the ground. This article delves into the contemporary profile of Indian Muslim women through the anthropological lens, presenting the intricate and diverse ways in which they face marginalization while grappling with the demands of daily life. This piece further reveals how they negotiate feminism’s boundaries through their social and political activism, presenting themselves as prominent figures in the public sphere by combating racial and cultural prejudices. Their participation is relevant because it challenges the stereotypes of women as ‘passive’ and/or ‘inferior’ which are pertinent in light of the increasing gendered Islamophobia towards Muslim women on a global level. Finally, it aims to clarify the accusations against Islam in the context of women’s rights and feminism today.