Women, Agency and Religion

On both Mediterranean shores, womenâs agency is articulated by new social and legal actors that face the religious factor both as an asset and as a brake. This book explores how female agency is defined and takes place in the region. The collection brings together contributions of both theoretical and thematic nature mapping various experiences on the public role of women in the Mediterranean context. In particular, the book relates the two sides, observing affinities and differences in the affirmation of womenâs agency. This synoptic approach avoids essentialist contraposition and dialectic between different cultural, religious and political universes and emphasizes the role of a common geopolitical space where women''s agency is playing an increasingly decisive role in the building and defense of constitutional democratic political systems. The reflection is enriched by the specific analysis of the role of a âreligious factorâ in the process of affirmation or, in contrast, as a restraint on womenâs agency. The book focuses both on the role of women believers in the processes of transformation of the political contexts of the North African and Euro-Mediterranean area, and on the role of women within religions, questioning from inside the patriarchal traditions of the latter. The book applies a multidisciplinary approach to the theme of womenâs agency, in which law, sociology, theology and philosophy interact with each other. As such, it will be a valuable resource for those working in the areas of Human Rights Law, Law and Religion, Socio-legal Studies and Gender Studies.