| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
During the British Raj, as part of an effort to reform the Muslim community through religious regeneration and in the absence of Muslim political power on the subcontinent, Islamic scholars (ulema) from the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary urged the setting up of separate institutions of religious education for Muslim women. The reformist discourse of the Deobandi ulema had, and still has, a profound influence on the pedagogy of madrasah education for women in South Asia, including Bangladesh. This study examines how Deobandi reformist ideals continue to be reflected in a non-government female madrasah in Bangladesh. The study provides an ethnographic account which illustrates the development of a sense of Muslim womanhood, rooted in ideas of moral guidance and the pious lifestyles of the female students of the madrasah. Madrasah education increases Muslim women's participation in religious institutions and forums, thereby heightening the possibility of a broader impact on religious life. Although madrasah education empowers female students to improve their religious consciousness, it has less impact on patriarchal ideology, which is deeply embedded in Bangladeshi society and culture.
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