The revolution for women’s rights and equality within Islam began long ago. And it was initiated and is perpetuated by Muslim women themselves.
Despite this, renowned atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins recently tweeted:
He followed this proclamation with the quotation of multiple verses from Islamic texts related to women garnering the ire of many Muslims, especially many Muslim women.
Dawkins’ statement reveals a striking lack of awareness of the existing work of Muslim women, including writings here on RD or elsewhere by Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas, Riffat Hassan, Kecia Ali, Sa’diyya Shaikh, Ziba Mir Hosseini, Azizah al-Hibri, and myself among many others. It also includes the on-the-ground efforts of organizations such as Musawah, Sisters in Islam, Karamah, and W.I.S.E. Muslim Women.