Anthropology and Feminism

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Anthropology and Feminism
This essay compares and contrasts two articles by Mahmood and Abu‐Lughod that investigate the various anthropological issues that are associated with Muslim women. The article by Mahmood investigates some of the conceptual challenges that arise from the involvement of women in the various Islamic movements poses to the feminist theorists and gender analysts. The author has considered the participation of urban women in Cairo in a movement that is part of Islamic revival. On the other hand, Abu‐Lughod investigates how anthropology can be used to understand the American’s claim of saving Afghan women in the claimed war on terror.
One significant similarity in the two articles is the quest by the authors to investigate the impact of the anthropological understanding of the various aspects that affect Muslim women. On the same note, both articles utilize feminism and feminist theory as a way of understanding the outlined anthropological concepts. However, the differences are noted in the contextual and conceptual approaches that are adopted by the respective authors. For instance, while Mahmood focuses on the relationship between feminist theory and spiritual revival of Muslim women, Abu‐Lughod discusses the cultural elements in the American’s claim of saving Afghan women in the war against terror.
In conclusion, the anthropological understanding of the various factors affecting women is essential in the development of theoretical and conceptual perspective that can enable the provision of solutions to the various societal problems.

The two articles reviewed offer an understanding of how Muslim women are affected by some elements of religion, culture, and politics. The authors of the examined studies portray feminism as a vital element in understanding the effects of religion, culture, and politics as anthropological aspects.
Works Cited
Mahmood, Saba. “Feminist theory, embodiment, and the docile agent: Some reflections on the Egyptian Islamic revival.”Cultural anthropology 16.2 (2001): 202-236.
Abu‐Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on cultural relativism and its others.” American anthropologist 104.3 (2002): 783-790.