Abstract National incentive plans, labor policies and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) regulations actively encourage Emirati women’s participation in the UAE employment sector. Women are the face of the future workforce in emerging economies and Emirati females are leading the charge in equalizing gender balance within companies operating in the UAE . Young Emirati women are a particularly salient force in the UAE labor market. Sociocultural, economic, gender-related and national expectations of local women intersect to inform their experiences at a workplace, thus deciding on possibilities to enter and sustain their careers. In relation to this, this article explores young Emirati women’s employment challenges and opportunities as perceived by the research participants themselves. In addition, the article examines the current UAE employment laws, regulations and government programs that impact Emirati women’s workplace interactions and experiences. Finally, the article aims at offering practical solutions for observed challenges inspired by research findings and successful global practices adapted to the sociocultural framework of the UAE . Identifying effective strategies that cater to young Emirati women’s needs, struggles and the cultural context can help companies overcome challenges in attracting and retaining local female talent reserves.

Abstract This paper critically examines Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, analyzing its implications for women’s empowerment within the framework of authoritarian resilience. Vision 2030 has introduced significant reforms in education, employment, and entrepreneurship, positioning women as central to the Kingdom’s modernization project. Women now surpass men in higher education and have experienced notable gains in labor force participation, signaling progress in socio-economic inclusion. However, these reforms are embedded within a model of state feminism, where empowerment policies are crafted and controlled by the regime to consolidate legitimacy, enhance global image, and sustain authoritarian stability. By presenting itself as the architect of progress, the state limits grassroots activism while instrumentalizing gender reforms as tools of soft power and nation branding. Ultimately, Vision 2030 expands opportunities for women yet preserves patriarchal structures and political constraints, advancing modernization without fundamentally transforming gender relations or dismantling authoritarian governance.

Abstract This article examines how faith manifests itself as a modality of everyday resistance in Shelina Janmohamed’s Love in a Headscarf (2010). Drawing on Braidotti’s perception of deriving residual spirituality in critical theory (2008) and critical theories on everyday resistance (Scott 1985, Abu-Lughod 1990), the article looks into how the author, as a Muslim woman, engages in subtle acts of resistance against prejudices that often contribute to shaping perceptions of her identity and the larger Muslim female community. This is a clear departure from the oft-discussed scholarship on Janmohamed’s work which examines questions of Muslim women’s agency and identity (Hasan 2015), hybrid Muslim diasporic identities (Ahmed, E. 2022), marriage, romance and spirituality (Khaled 2021), sartorial rights and Islamic feminism (Rosman 2023). The article reveals how spirituality becomes the central axis that governs the protagonist’s everyday agentic acts, including her search for a partner. In this context, spirituality is not disembodied but rather, it intersects with her familial and romantic environment and manifests itself physically as the protagonist engages in bodily acts of religiosity.

Abstract The number of Muslims in the world is projected to increase rapidly to about 2.8 billion in 2050, expecting to rise from 23% of the current world population to 30% in 2050 (Pew Research Centre, 2015). In light of this, there are already almost a billion Muslim women, making up 12% of the population around the world. In the case of India, mainstream society knows little about Muslim women’s lives, their diversity, their religious and constitutional rights and socio-legal movements, among them, those concerning liberation, equity and justice. Their under-representation in public life contributes to the inadequacy of data on their social life in the 21st century. Women from marginalized communities are often under-represented in research, a fact which reveals how their lived realities are ignored in the academic community. Likewise, the global political discourse that frequently engages with Muslim women has a long and inglorious stereotype of depicting them as a passive, secluded and oppressed entity. The outcome of the present study, however, contradicts many of the prevailing assumptions, offering an entirely different interpretation of reality on the ground. This article delves into the contemporary profile of Indian Muslim women through the anthropological lens, presenting the intricate and diverse ways in which they face marginalization while grappling with the demands of daily life. This piece further reveals how they negotiate feminism’s boundaries through their social and political activism, presenting themselves as prominent figures in the public sphere by combating racial and cultural prejudices. Their participation is relevant because it challenges the stereotypes of women as ‘passive’ and/or ‘inferior’ which are pertinent in light of the increasing gendered Islamophobia towards Muslim women on a global level. Finally, it aims to clarify the accusations against Islam in the context of women’s rights and feminism today.

Abstract Many researchers have approached Nawal El Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero from different perspectives; however, little has been done to show the complexity of the main character, Firdaus, and her transformation through the story. The present study focuses on the process of character transformation from what may seem to be a state of misery to that of disobedience and heroic resistance. Foucault’s theory of power, as followed by the third-wave feminists, can shed further light on the dynamic change in the personality of the central character. The study reveals that the laws in a patriarchal society, the protagonist’s lack of awareness, and her irresistible fears are the main reasons for her predicaments. The study also shows that the main character, Firdaus, as a free subject, is not always a passive recipient of power but from time to time, she also makes her presence felt. By telling her story, she tries to share her idiosyncratic form of power with other women and inspire them in their struggles against social inequality and male chauvinism.

Abstract This essay explores the historical, political and cultural lessons of a Shia Khoja diasporic account about the Forced Marriage Act, also known as Ndoa za Karume (NZK), in 1964 post-revolutionary Zanzibar. It examines how the pogroms committed by the Afro-Shirazi government against Arab and Asian communities in this period shaped the narration and transmission of memories of social suffering. In particular, the essay analyzes a work by a Zanzibari Khoja exile in the United Kingdom highlighting the experience of young forced brides. It argues that NZK constituted literal, legal and social harms and thus provides insight into the abuse of women and girls as spoils of war. By engaging with this voice, we gain not only a deeper understanding of a specific historical moment but also a more nuanced understanding of the political context of gendered experience in an island adrift.

Abstract This article looks at the existentialist nature of Ghāda al-Sammān’s early short stories, with a particular focus on her very first collection, Aynāka qadarī (Your eyes are my destiny), published in 1962. Ghāda al-Sammān was born in Syria and widely celebrated for her novelistic career: this article gives centrality to two of her early short stories as they present narratives that intricately weave individual and collective struggles within the context of the Algerian war of independence. Analysing the interplay between overarching Arab causes, feminism and existential themes, this study explores the nuanced portrayal of characters grappling with the complexities of war, morality and personal redemption. The protagonists, often embodying dichotomous perspectives, symbolize dignity and barbarism, echoing existentialist principles. The article examines how al-Samman’s youthful perspective and Sartrean influences shape the narratives, offering readers a unique lens into the psychological and moral dimensions of conflict. By unravelling layers of existential struggle and political engagement, this analysis sheds light on the richness and relevance of al-Samman’s early works within the broader literary and philosophical landscape.

Abstract Research has shown that the vulnerability of female headed households is hugely exacerbated during crises such as wars and conflict. However, little research has uncovered the unique challenges that single women face in accessing humanitarian aid, for themselves and for their dependents, before, during and immediately following a crisis. This article critically examines the challenges that female headed households face in accessing humanitarian aid in crisis settings to provide a clearer and deeper understanding as well as exploration of the risks. This research found that although social and cultural health but also logistical as well as economic challenges limit female headed households’ access to humanitarian aid, female heads of households use their agency to actively respond to these challenges to provide for their dependents during a crisis. Thus, female headed households must be recognized as active agents prior to, during and immediate post conflict situations and must be supported socially, politically and economically, using effective, sustainable and equitable techniques.

Résumé Dans les Akhbār al-adhkiyāʾ (Histoires de personnes intelligentes), un ouvrage d’adab consacré aux personnes d’intelligence aiguë, Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1200) traite des histoires des « femmes sagaces » (al-nisāʾ al-mutafaṭṭināt). Les anecdotes sur les femmes figurent dans un chapitre qui s’inscrit en contraste – par ses critères de catégorisation – avec les autres chapitres du livre. Cet agencement textuel spécifique vise-t-il à définir une intelligence typiquement féminine, ou une manière particulière pour les femmes de manifester leur intelligence ? Pour étudier cette question, je m’intéresserai d’abord à la conception de l’intelligence qui émerge dans les Akhbār al-adhkiyāʾ, en la comparant également avec le concept de mètis ; ensuite, je questionnerai les anecdotes du chapitre sur les femmes intelligentes dans la perspective des théories de Luce Irigaray.

Abstract Being a woman in Muslim or other religious societies does not include a process in which only religious rules are in effect. Instead, the experiences of women are determined by political, social, and economic conditions, and reflect the cultural precedents created by past societies, whether Muslim or not. Hence, the way women are described in a society they belong in emerges as a cultural reflection that bears each and every element in that particular society. Therefore, it is not possible to consider apart from this circumstance the descriptions of women in Ottoman Trabzon Sharīʿa court records. In this study, the definitions of women who lived in Ottoman Trabzon over their gender and, occasionally, their sexuality, reflected in the discourses of Sharīʿa courts are discussed, and the social and legal status of such women is examined. This investigation is placed within the framework of religious and cultural conditions which impacted such definitions and descriptions. This study has been based on evidence available in early seventeenth-century Ottoman Trabzon Sharīʿa court records.