The Rise of the Religious Right and Its Impact on Women

The rise of forces in Pakistan and their impact on women are represented by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) a political party. Women activists are targets of the student antifemale rhetoric of the obscurantist lobby. They condemn such attacks but do not examine the phenomenon. If there is a rise in fundamentalism in Pakistan it must have been in response to someones needs. The debate between fundamentalists and nonfundamentalists in Pakistan is urban. There is a much wider crisis of national identity. The developmental model adopted by Pakistan underlies this crisis. No law based on Islamic injunctions has been legislated. Once these laws are made no democratic institution has reversed them. There is no concensus interpreting Islam. Fundamentalist movements are a dynamic force in Pakistani society. Even if fundamentalist discourse were adopted every precept would not be followed to the letter. The JI was formed in 1941 by Maududi who came to Pakistan right after it was created. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is led by women. Its positions on women and Islamization are the opposite of the JIs. At first most of the partys support came from the large cities of Lahore and Karachi. In Karachi most of the support was from the mohajirs (refugees) from north India. In Lahore the support came from the newly middle class. The JI has broadened its support base but has stayed small in numbers. In the November 88 elections the JI lost some support. Its support has shifted to newly industrialized cities. The JI is intensely against women. Maudidi addressed himself solely to men. Maududi was strictly for a division of labor based on gender. There is a contradiction of the old and the new in Pakistan. Until recently the debate on womens status role and rights has been undertaken by men of 1 social class and women of another. Legislation has removed womens rights. Examples of this are the Hudood Ordinances 1979 and the Law of Evidence 1984. Women have been getting together to resist the anti-women propaganda. Middle-class working women has established Womens Action Forum. The obscurantist lobby thought it necessary to oppose the womens rights organization by organizing its own women. In the 1988 elections the JI said it would free women from oppression and injustice

Political science · History · Islamic Studies and History · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

• Agency, Activism, and Agendas

  Open Access•Patricia Jeffery•Women, Gender, Religion•2001

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