The Problem of the Rebellious Religious Women: Pakistan, Gender, and the Islamic Revival

Academic audiences and local commentators alike are perplexed by women's participation in Islamic movements in urban Pakistan. Why are privileged women joining Islamic movements which call on them to limit their freedom at a time of growing economic and social opportunity? I argue that part of the answer lies in the formulation of Pakistani gender roles, and the ways in which Islamic movements interact with gendered ideas of virtues to offer women new modes of imagining themselves and their role in Pakistani society.