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In Pakistan, myriad constituencies are grappling with reinterpreting women´s rights. This book analyzes the Government of Pakistan´s construction of an understanding of what constitutes women´s rights, moves on to address traditional views and contemporary popular opinion on women´s rights, and then focuses on three very different groups´ perceptions of women´s rights: progressive women´s organizations as represented by the Aurat Foundation and Shirkat Gah; orthodox Islamist views as represented by the Jama´at-i-Islami, the MMA government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2002-08) and al-Huda; and the Swat Taliban. Author Anita M. Weiss analyzes the resultant "culture wars" that are visibly ripping the country apart, as groups talk past one another - each confidant that they are the proprietors of culture and interpreters of religion while others are misrepresenting it.

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Table of Contents PART I: INTRODUCTION: WOMEN´S RIGHTS AND ISLAMIC CONCERNS WITH IJTIHAD OVER THOSE RIGHTS 1. Pakistan as a Microcosm of Both Global Issues 2. Organization of the book Acknowledgements PART II: LEGAL REFORMS AND STATE POLICIES AFFECTING WOMEN´S RIGHTS 3. Legal Reforms and Women´s Rights 4. Implementation of CEDAW, UN Responses and additional Actions PART III: MAINSTREAM AND POPULAR PERCEPTIONS ON WOMEN´S RIGHTS IN PAKISTAN 5. Traditional Views on Women´s Rights in Pakistan 6. Contemporary Nationwide Public Opinion on Women´s Rights 7. Views on Marriage 8. Education 9. Purdah 10. Mobility and Work 11. Political Participation 12. Islam in Political Life 13. Rights PART IV: PROGRESSIVE WOMEN´S NGOS´ INTERPRETATIONS OF WOMEN´S RIGHTS 14. Shirkat Gah and the Aurat Foundation: the Organizations and their Visions 15. Pushing Women´s Rights Further: Additional Issues of Concern to Women´s Rights NGOs PART V: ORTHODOX ISLAMIST INTERPRETATIONS OF WOMEN´S RIGHTS 16. The Jama´at-i-Islami´s Vision on Women´s Rights 17. The MMA Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2002-08 18. Al-Huda PART VI: THE TEHRIK-E-TALIBAN IN SWAT 19. Foregrounding the Emergence of the Swat Taliban 20. The Swat Taliban´s ijtihad on Modernity and Women´s Rights PART VII: MOVING ONWARDS Bibliography Index

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"Anita Weiss takes the debate on women´s rights beyond the stereotypical dichotomous view that Islam either oppresses or empowers women. She analyses and weaves together the complexities of clashing views held by different groups in order to outline a blueprint for consensus building and avoiding conflicts over women´s bodies and women´s rights." - Saba Gul Khattak, Senior Gender Specialist, World Bank, Pakistan, and former Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan

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Professor and Head, Department of International Studies, University of Oregon

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