Informed by postcolonial/Islamic feminist theory, this qualitative study explores how Egyptian feminists navigate the political and social influence of the West. The following meta-questions guided this research: How do women in Egypt who self-identify as feminists define feminism? How do they use this definition in their activism? How is Westernization influencing Egyptian feminists and their participation in national and political conflicts?
Data sources were based on individual interviews. The findings indicate that although the phenomenon of Westernization in Egypt had both negative and positive influences on the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, it has caused major divisions between secular and Islamist Egyptian feminists. This study advances new ways of understanding how Westernization has penetrated into the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, how Egyptian feminists consider the notions of modernity and progress, and how Westernization has contributed to the division between secular and Islamist feminists in Egypt. Overall, this study highlights differences between secular and Islamic feminism in Egypt but it also illustrates their shared goals and common rejection of the Western discourse on women’s rights.
","abstract_html":"<p>Informed by postcolonial/Islamic feminist theory, this qualitative study explores how Egyptian feminists navigate the political and social influence of the West. The following meta-questions guided this research: How do women in Egypt who self-identify as feminists define feminism? How do they use this definition in their activism? How is Westernization influencing Egyptian feminists and their participation in national and political conflicts?</p> <p>Data sources were based on individual interviews. The findings indicate that although the phenomenon of Westernization in Egypt had both negative and positive influences on the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, it has caused major divisions between secular and Islamist Egyptian feminists. This study advances new ways of understanding how Westernization has penetrated into the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, how Egyptian feminists consider the notions of modernity and progress, and how Westernization has contributed to the division between secular and Islamist feminists in Egypt. Overall, this study highlights differences between secular and Islamic feminism in Egypt but it also illustrates their shared goals and common rejection of the Western discourse on women’s rights.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alkhawaja, Assim"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"International and Multicultural Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Susan Katz","Stephen Zunes","Shabnam Koirala-Azad"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:17Z","subjects":["Feminism","Islamic feminism","Modernism","Postcolonialism","Secularism","Westernization","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Near and Middle Eastern Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/287","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Susan Katz","Stephen Zunes","Shabnam Koirala-Azad"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alkhawaja, Assim"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-08-31T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International and Multicultural Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Feminism","Islamic feminism","Modernism","Postcolonialism","Secularism","Westernization","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Near and Middle Eastern Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/287"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Informed by postcolonial/Islamic feminist theory, this qualitative study explores how Egyptian feminists navigate the political and social influence of the West. The following meta-questions guided this research: How do women in Egypt who self-identify as feminists define feminism? How do they use this definition in their activism? How is Westernization influencing Egyptian feminists and their participation in national and political conflicts?
Data sources were based on individual interviews. The findings indicate that although the phenomenon of Westernization in Egypt had both negative and positive influences on the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, it has caused major divisions between secular and Islamist Egyptian feminists. This study advances new ways of understanding how Westernization has penetrated into the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, how Egyptian feminists consider the notions of modernity and progress, and how Westernization has contributed to the division between secular and Islamist feminists in Egypt. Overall, this study highlights differences between secular and Islamic feminism in Egypt but it also illustrates their shared goals and common rejection of the Western discourse on women’s rights.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Complexity of Women's Liberation in the Era of Westernization: Egyptian Islamic and Secular Feminists in Their Own Context"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Susan Katz","Stephen Zunes","Shabnam Koirala-Azad"],"dc:creator":["Alkhawaja, Assim"],"dc:date.available":["2015-08-31T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Informed by postcolonial/Islamic feminist theory, this qualitative study explores how Egyptian feminists navigate the political and social influence of the West. The following meta-questions guided this research: How do women in Egypt who self-identify as feminists define feminism? How do they use this definition in their activism? How is Westernization influencing Egyptian feminists and their participation in national and political conflicts?
Data sources were based on individual interviews. The findings indicate that although the phenomenon of Westernization in Egypt had both negative and positive influences on the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, it has caused major divisions between secular and Islamist Egyptian feminists. This study advances new ways of understanding how Westernization has penetrated into the Egyptian women’s liberation movement, how Egyptian feminists consider the notions of modernity and progress, and how Westernization has contributed to the division between secular and Islamist feminists in Egypt. Overall, this study highlights differences between secular and Islamic feminism in Egypt but it also illustrates their shared goals and common rejection of the Western discourse on women’s rights.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/287"],"dc:subject":["Feminism","Islamic feminism","Modernism","Postcolonialism","Secularism","Westernization","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Near and Middle Eastern Studies"],"dc:title":["Complexity of Women's Liberation in the Era of Westernization: Egyptian Islamic and Secular Feminists in Their Own Context"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International and Multicultural Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:17Z"}