1st Edition

Mixed Blessings Gender and Religious Fundamentalism Cross Culturally

Edited By Judy Brink, Joan Mencher Copyright 1997

    Taking a woman-centered approach, Mixed Blessings analyzes the effect of religious fundamentalism on gender roles in a variety of religions and nations. It explains how some women benefit from fundamentalism, gaining economic power and autonomy, and portrays how others maneuver within its restrictions.

    The scope of the book is broad, ranging from Christian groups in North and South America, Islamic groups in the Middle East and China, Jews in Israel, Hindus in India, and Buddhists in Sri Lanka. The detailed descriptions of women's lives illustrate the complexity of the intersection of gender and fundamentalism. The impact of fundamentalism for some women has been beneficial and has lead to greater economic power and autonomy. In other areas women must maneuver within the constraints of fundamentalism to gain power and autonomy.

    Introduction, Joan Mencher; Part One Women Benefit from Fundamentalism; Chapter 1 The Peace That Passes All Understanding, Elizabeth E. Brusco; Chapter 2 Buddhist Nuns, Hema Goonatilake; Chapter 3 Islamic “Fundamentalism” and Female Empowerment Among the Muslims of Hainan Island, People’s Republic of China, Keng-Fong Pang; Part Two Women Struggle Against Fundamentalism’s Restrictions; Chapter 4 Voices from the Margins, Janet Stocks; Chapter 5 A Separate Unity, Janet Bennion; Chapter 6 A Strange Road Home, Nancy L. Eiesland; Chapter 7 Ideology and Identity, Sondra Hale; Chapter 8 Ideal Womanhood in Postrevolutionary Iran, Erika Friedl; Chapter 9 Giving Birth to a Settlement, Tamar El-Or, Gideon Aran; Chapter 10 A Mixed Blessing, Mary Elaine Hegland; Part Three Women Oppressed by Fundamentalism; Chapter 11 Lost Rituals, Judy Brink; Chapter 12 Fundamentalist Politics and Women in India, Ilina Sen; Chapter 13 Conclusion. The Mixed Blessings of Women’s Fundamentalism, Janet L. Bauer;

    Biography

    Judy Brink, Joan Mencher