Is Sadeem Legally Married to Waleed? Islamic Feminism and the Intersection of Culture, Religion, and Gender in Banāt al-Riyāḍ

• Published in: Societies (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-01, Vol.9 (1), p.4
• Main Author: Tijani, O. Ishaq
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alsanea, Rajaa; and religion; Arabic language; Authenticity; Cultural values; Culture; Divorce; Encyclopedias; Equal rights; Femininity; Feminism; Gender; Gender relations; Girls; Girls of Riyadh; Globalization; Islam; Islamic feminism; Islamic law; Local culture; Love; Marriage; Masculinity; Muslims; Narratives; Political activism; Religion; Saudi Arabia; Society; Sociocultural factors; Taboos; Translations; Western civilization; Western culture; Women; Womens rights; Writers
• ISSN: 2075-4698; 2075-4698
• DOI: 10.3390/soc9010004

Rajāʾ al-Ṣāniʿ’s Banāt al-Riyāḍ (2005, Girls of Riyadh) is unique not just for depicting globalization and local culture vis-à-vis the woman issue in Saudi Arabia, but for heralding a new trend of ‘e-epistolary narratives’ in the Saudi Arabian novel. The novel explores issues related to Islamic religious precepts versus Saudi socio-cultural practices and ideologies, especially those related to love and marital relationships as well as the concepts of femininity and masculinity. Most of the reviews and scholarly studies in English have focused more on the novel’s innovative narrative style or medium and its portrayal of the taboos of Saudi Arabia rather than on—and oftentimes, ignoring—its Islamic content and persuasion. This article reads Banāt al-Riyāḍ as an ‘Islamic feminist’ text that represents the extent to which al-Ṣāniʿ has internalized the other—modern western culture and civilization—while at the same time seeking to externalize and highlight the authentic Islamic teachings on women’s rights and gender relations, which have always been both misinterpreted locally and misrepresented globally.