| Summary/Abstract |
Bangladesh has made significant strides on women’s issues in the areas of education, employment and politics. In the wake of this progress, the country has also experienced a surge of religious ideas leading to secular anxiety that cultural Islamization is leaving very tangible marks on the bodies and lives of women. The proliferation of the hijab along with an appropriation of other religio-cultural elements into everyday life is considered to be an example of the force of Islamization that many fear to be conducive to radicalization. In this paper, I probe the role of religion in the lives of female university students in an attempt to assess what it means for them to be young, to have aspirations, to navigate different and often opposing expectations, and to assert their agency as they stand on the cusp of adulthood. In teasing out the influences that give their lives’ navigations religious sanctions and/or approvals, I trace the place of inclusivity, pluralism and tolerance in the lives of young, educated women in Bangladesh.
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