Abstract
Little is known about Iranian Muslim immigrant women in the US with respect to their female and feminist identities and the interconnections with Islam and immigration. The aim in the current study was to provide detailed answers to the research questions using diagrammatic elicitation, semi-structured individual interviews, and observation as the primary tools for collecting data. Two themes—immigration and experiencing more freedom and autonomy and immigration and different conditions—emerged through diagrammatic elicitation. Five themes emerged during the interviews. These themes included experiencing social change and a new definition of the situation, experiencing different values, empowerment and emancipation, fulfillment of needs, and self-image. Three themes appeared from observation of the participants in the group meetings: gender identity versus national and religious identities, America the land of opportunities, and to be or not be is the question. The current study suggests that the participants are experiencing a sort of gender consciousness and agency.
Phenomenon of Interest
Studies identify that in many cases, Muslim women have tried to blend their religious identities with female and feminist identities in order to fight for gender equality and social justice (Ahmed, 2011; Sphaic-Siljak & Kosovic, 2012); this means that they strive for gender equality from within the framework of Islam. As Ahmed (2011) has highlighted, some Muslim women have sought to establish a new Islam by offering a modern interpretation of the Quran and Sharia law, which is in opposition to the established patriarchal interpretations offered by men, while also claiming feminism that is consistent with their progressive approach to Islam, in order to claim both Islamic and feminism identities. Despite there being several indications of gender injustice in Muslim societies, which are specifically related to the interpretations of Sharia law, Muslim women in many societies harness Islam and its principles to fight such injustices (Karim, 2009). Therefore, the attempt in this study is to discover the standpoints of a sample of female Muslim Iranian immigrants regarding their religious, female and feminist identities, and to determine whether they too are engaging in reinterpreting their faith and feminism to embrace both.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to uncover the lived experiences of a certain group of Iranian- American Muslim immigrant women in respect to their female and feminist identities, and their interconnectedness with Islam and immigration. In general, it is better to address such research subjects as “women in Muslim societies” than “Muslim women,” because it is possible that those who live (or used to live) in a Muslim society would prefer not to be identified as the latter (Moghissi, 1999). However, since this study is specifically about women who identify themselves as Muslim and do not now live in a Muslim society, the phrase “Muslim women” is used when addressing them. All the Muslim women in this investigation belong to an Iranian Women’s Group (IWG) in the Midwest.
Research Questions
For the purpose of the current phenomenological study of Muslim Iranian immigrant women, the following questions facilitate establishing the research agenda:
- 1.
How do Iranian Muslim immigrant women, who are members of the Iranian Women’s Group (IWG) in the Midwest, define feminism? How do they perceive the influence of immigration on their attitudes toward feminism?
- 2.
What role, if any, does feminism play in how the IWG defines ideal womanhood? Do they see it as playing a role in their own female identities before or after migrating to the United States? In what ways?
- 3.
What does the IWG perceive about the contributions of feminism and Islam to women’s well-being and status?
Assumption
The current phenomenological research study, designed to discover the lived experience and perceptions of the IWG members regarding female and feminist identities and their blending with Islam, includes two assumptions. Firstly, it is assumed that the participants would be sincere when producing diagrams and responding to the interview questions that featured milestone events. Obviously, the findings and trustworthiness of the investigation were dependent upon the truthful interview responses provided by the participants and when producing diagrams, because the findings address the research questions, which are the very foundation of the study.
Furthermore, since the data were collected from a specific group of Muslim Iranian immigrant women, it is secondly assumed that the findings cannot be generalized to other groups of Muslim immigrant women from different backgrounds, or even to all Muslim Iranian immigrant women, either within the U.S. or beyond its borders. However, the assumption was that the findings could shed light on a specific group of immigrant women’s thoughts, beliefs, experiences, narratives, and attitudes regarding their identities.
Key Terms in this Chapter
International Immigration: International immigration can be defined as the process of entering and residing in a country of which the person is not originally its native.
Muslim: A Muslim (Moslem) is a person who follows the religion of Islam. An Abrahamic religion based on the Quran as the divine scripture, Islam emerged through the Prophet Mohammad in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7 th century.
Patriarchy: Patriarchy is considered a system within which men dominate women and maintain the power and control of resources, while women have minimal power and are dependent on men.
Female Identity: There is not any decisive definition for female identity but in general, it can be considered as a response to questions such as “What is womanhood?” or “What is the original role for women?”
Feminist Identity: Feminist identity is defined as how a woman experiences her role in gender equality, and how she communicates such experiences to others.
Islamic Feminism: Islamic feminism—which has different branches such as Islamic feminism, Muslim feminism, and so forth—is a form of feminism that concerns women’s empowerment and emancipation from within an Islamic framework.
Western Feminism: Western feminism is defined as a movement for women’s emancipation that advocates for gender equal rights, alongside equal access to public life. In this study, feminism was employed as a concept of resolving gender imbalances, ending women’s subjugation, advocating for women’s emancipation and equal gender rights, and the improvement of women’s access to public life.