Role Of Feminism In Education

Feminism and Education The key concepts of this research are gender, feminism and higher education. In the first place, the study explores definitions and concepts of gender as well as attempts to establish what the word ‘gender’ actually means. More consideration is given in the study to feminist writers who gave us an understanding of gender issues in higher education under certain feminists’ approaches (e.g. liberal and Islamic). Furthermore, the study develops arguments regarding the divisions of masculinity and femininity and how this understanding relates to the role of education in society.

Liberal feminism Liberal feminism is characterized by an individualistic emphasis on equality. According to this philosophy, society itself does

The view of education which dominated feminist thought in the 1970s was heavily influenced by liberal explanations of working-class failure in education. Just as these explanations had concentrated on the inadequacy of working-class culture and had put forward the notion of compensatory education, so the tendency of feminists was to explain girls’ academic failure in terms of deficiencies of their socialization. Schemes such as Girls into Science and Technology (GIST) and Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) were devised as ‘remedies’ to girls’ early socialization. In the liberal model, education tends to be seen, to some extent, in isolation from the social structure. Education may create and perpetuate inequality, it also has the power to redress it. For example, Friedan (1983, p. 67) believed that it was ‘The Feminine Mystique’ which prevented women from leading successful public lives. The education system was partly to blame for the ideology of the feminine mystique, but equally the solution for women who were trapped in their roles as wives and mothers was to return to college to obtain an education. In a sense, then, women’s main problem was their own

This feminism is usually grounded in the Islamic beliefs of these women and at the same time underpinned by the Western socio-cultural milieu of Muslim women(Contractor, 2010). Islamic feminism seeks to challenge patriarchy and patriarchal understandings of faith, yet they constantly achieve their goals and rights through partnerships with men. Islamic feminism also seeks to challenge stereotypical imagery of Muslim women by replacing this with images of Muslim women as contributing citizens in a pluralist society. Islamic feminism, therefore, struggles against vestiges of patriarchy in Muslim communities. This understanding of Islamic feminism often remains unarticulated but is nevertheless observable in Muslim women’s arguments, struggles and indeed successes in their quest for rights, equity and education. Islamic feminism draws its strength from Muslim women’s knowledge, higher education and understanding of Islamic theology which enables them to challenge patriarchal interpretations of faith with women-friendly interpretations (Contractor, 2010). These women work with male and female scholars to reclaim their faith through knowledge of Islam, higher education experience, and through everyday practice of Islam. Islamic feminism encourages