Can feminisim influence Islamic culture?

Feminism in international relations has long emphasized the absence of women in political decision-making and institutional structures. Another traditional assumption that feminism has challenged is that "high" politics, such as sovereignty, state, and military security, are exclusive to women.

On September 13, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested and detained by themorality police in the Iranian capital of Tehran and later died. Anti-government protests over the hijab, a cloth used to cover women's hair, resulting from this incident have been going on for more than two months. In addition, the movement has ventured outside of Iran and took place at the WorldCup soccer tournament in Qatar. The Iranian athletes did not sing the national anthem, and showed solidarity with the demonstration. Since Iranian state television did not broadcast the scene, it appears that the Iranian government intends to suppress the anti-government movement.

The wearing of a cloth to cover the face is a divine teaching of Islam, and Muslim women are supposed to wear it to maintain honour and dignity, to maintain modesty, and to prevent being oppressed in society by removing external factors that are sexual in nature. The hijab is the smallest area of cloth that covers the face. Iran is an Islamic republic, and most of the country's laws are based on Islamic teachings and the state religion is Islam. The current anti-government movement was also sparked by the death of a woman detained by the religious police who were trying to force her to abide by Islamic law.

Are feminism and religion destined to conflict?
Feminism has developed in regions cantered on the United States and Europe. It has developed largely because of historical events that have greatly expanded women's rights and because of the contributions women have made in global politics. In fact, the most visible reactions to the Iranian protests have come from Western European countries, including the European Union, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. All of them are countries in the North American and European regions that intend to impose sanctions and support the Iranian protests.

However, feminism has been criticized for enforcing these U.S.-Eurocentric values and human rights consciousness on the Muslim cultural sphere, and according to Errol A Henderson, the development of international relations theory, which assumes white supremacy, has rationalized colonialism. Often the values of human rights have been used to unite Western countries or to criticize authoritarian states. This time, however, the issue is within Iran, where Islamic teachings are part of the national law, and high-level political activity is still dominated by men. The challenge for Iranian women is to increase the proportion of women in decision-making, even slightly, and to make them more visible. I will keep a close eye on whether the hijab movement will spread widely throughout the Islamic world and potentially lead to greater participation of women in politics.