Women’s Scholarship and Engagement in Policy, Pedagogy, and Development A Special Issue

Abstract

Muslim scholars in liberal democracies, especially women, often face discrimination, Islamophobia, and racism in academia. This  discrimination can occur in hiring, selections, or promotion reviews, to mention only a few instances. In Muslim-majority contexts, their  experiences of discrimination might be entirely framed around their gender, as patriarchal norms often relegate them to the  peripheries of their professions. There are both overt and covert attempts to silence women’s voices, and sometimes women choose to remain silent to avoid retaliation and sidelining. Women recognize that by being ‘too visible’, they are seen as a threat. Their silence,  therefore, provides an ‘invisibility’ which makes it easier for them to navigate their professional spaces. The kinds of negotiations that  typically accompany women as they try to participate in the proverbial public sphere or professional work environment has worsened  in recent years. For example, since the Gaza Genocide, which started on October 8th, 2023, scholars of all religions, including women, were penalized and fired for speaking out about the Palestinian quest for self-determination and ending the Occupation. In the case of  Muslim women in academia, instead of benefiting from their unique perspectives as women, there are numerous stories of Muslim  women being silenced in Western countries, particularly in the U.S.