Rights and Responsibilities

Abstract

In this chapter I consider the kinds of entitlements participants feel they gain from their religious affiliations; especially in terms of the rights and responsibilities conferred by the holy texts. This is followed by a discussion of the extent to which (if at all) feminist discourse enters into revivalist discourse, and its application in everyday life. To facilitate this process an initial examination of the question of rights and responsibilities conferred (or denied) by holy texts in Islam and Christianity and how these have been interpreted by my interviewees and respondents is appropriate. Although the term ‘rights’ is frequently used in relation to the duties and privileges conferred upon women by Islam, its origin is in Enlightenment discourse. Nevertheless the idea that there should be regulation of the responsibilities, entitlements and protections of women in terms of marriage, inheritance and the tasks of motherhood is as old as Islam.