“The Contemporary Muslim Woman” Series: Oppressed!

GOATMILK continues its original and exclusive month long series entitled “The Contemporary Muslim Woman” featuring diverse Muslim women writers from around the world discussing a gamut of topics in their own unique, honest and eclectic voices.

By Kannaporn Amoraseth Akarapisan, a program coordinator and instructor at the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace, Payap University, Chiang Mai, THAILAND

“I often read or hear that Muslim women are oppressed. How can you explain it, and What do you think about it?”

These are “the questions” that are typically asked of me, particularly from western women who consider themselves progressive and/or feminist. This line of questioning occurs frequently when I am giving my talk about Islam or women in Islam to international students at Payap University—a Christian University in Chiang Mai, Thailand—where I work. Most of the students are American and they usually ask these types of questions out of curiosity and concern. Here are my answers.