Arab-Muslim Feminism in Light of Feminist Theory of International Relations

Abstract

The Feminist Theory of IR, having been produced in the Global North, does not provide the adequate epistemological framework for research on Arab and Muslim women. Thus, the article has the research problem to identify: how Arab and Muslim feminists contribute to advancing the feminist theoretical debate of the Global South in IR? The hypothesis is that the dialogue is supported by the sharing of similar obstacles - living with religious conservatism, participation in national public life, among others - and by the mutual identification of non-belonging to the hegemonic feminism, practiced by international institutions. Our objective, therefore, is to carry out a critical review of the theoretical literature indispensable for new research in the Brazilian academy. We begin with a brief review of post-colonial feminism (from which many feminist arguments in the Arab world are constructed); we go through the peculiarities of intersectionality in the studies of Arab women; we present their main theoreticians and, finally, we identify that their contribution to the advancement of the feminist debate in the IRs of the Global South consists, in short, in its fight against the reflexes of past and recent imperialist processes, which reproduce social structures that maintain the subordination of women.