BOOK REVIEW

Discerning the signs of the times: Theological

Methodologies from the Margins (BTT01)

SUBMITTED BY

LINU .L

BD-II B

ROLL NO: 10009

SUBMITTED TO
REV. SANTY S PAUL
Claudia Derichs and Andrea Fleschenberg, Religious Fundamentalisms and Their Gendered Impacts
in Asia. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: Berlin,2010.146.

Claudia Derichs is Professor of Comparative Politics and International Development Studies at

Philipps University Marburg, Germany, and a senior associate fellow at the Käte Hamburger
college/Centre for Global Cooperation Research in Duisburg, Germany. Her research interests are
Muslim societies and political transition in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, as well as gender and
development studies in Asia and the Middle East. She has published various books and articles on
Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and the Arab world, and is an advisor to several academic and political
institutions, journals and think tanks. Prior to her studies of Japanese and Arabic, she worked as a
journalist. Andrea Fleschenberg is the DAAD Long Term Guest Professor at Quaid-i-Azam
University, Islamabad. Her research areas include comparative politics, democratisation studies, peace
and conflict studies. She has a particular focus on South and Southeast Asia, gender and politics.

In my readings I would like to share the reflections of this book .It consist the study of religious
fundamentalism in oppressed classes especially the women in the world . The central themes of each
writings sharing follows. Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world's population and includes all the
major religions. Regionally, Asia encompasses Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, South Asia,
Central and Western Asia. It contributes to the field of global gender research and regards religious
fundamentalism as a factor in shaping women's agency.

In many South and Southeast Asian countries, gender quotas have been introduced since the 1990s to
break up androcentric policy- and decision-making structures and to open up public life for both
sexes. Women politicians from across the party system have, consequently, entered politics at various
levels, either through quotas on candidacy lists, reserved seats or general seats. They negotiate and
bargain to implement their policy interests and agendas within their parties, executives and
legislatures, with male and female colleagues at the local, regional and/or national level. At the same
time, the increased globalisation of social, political and economic practices has led not only to
increased interaction (for example, transnational networks and global governance) across countries
and regions, but also to a surgence of various and contentious streams of religiously defined
fundamentalisms, partly in response to the perceived threat of an increasingly complex globalised
world and to the spread of putatively alien values, aimed at the establishment of a different set of
socio-cultural values and socio-political systems.

The first chapter, by Sylvia Estrada Claudio, addresses the overarching question of religious
fundamentalisms and their relationship to female political participation. Claudio refers to various
impediments to women aspiring to become politically engaged or entering the realm of formal
politics. Drawing on her own experiences with religious authorities in the Philippines, with women in
urban slums who have never been listened to, and from encounters in practice and academia, this
trained medical doctor presents a clear stance. For Claudio, religious fundamentalisms pose a threat to
women's rights and well-being, their political participation and their physical integrity, the latter
coming to the surface via control of women's bodies and violence against women. Moreover, Claudio
links fundamentalisms to power shifts that have served the emergence of neoliberal globalisation. Her
assessment of the effects and ramifications of religious fundamentalisms is certainly debatable, but it
is clear-cut and invites in-depth discussion.
The author Kamala Liyanage argues that Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalism is an exclusive nationalism
which is informed by ethnic (Sinhala), cultural and religious features. This blend of religion, ethnicity,
culture and politicalideology serves the construction of a 'Sinhalese Buddhist Womanhood' in Sri
Lanka. Zarizana Abdul Aziz follows up on Kamala Liyanage's analysis of the connection between
culture, ethnicity, gender and politics in Malaysia. She points out that the Islamisation agenda is
increasingly, although subtly,supported by Muslim civil society. Unfortunately, this trend tends to
open the way for Islamist thought and the fostering of anti-women sentiments.

In Malaysia's neighbour Indonesia, Safi Ra Machrusah argues that the very fact that a controversial
discourseis taking place among Muslim scholars, activists and spiritual leaders makes possible
accommodation of positions. Safi ra explores two major issues that have emerged in Indonesian
politics, namely the issue of female representation in parliament and the question of head of state.

Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan argues that women's formal rights collide with the normative power
of Catholic conservatism/fundamentalism in the Philippines. The re affirmation of a religious identity
is heavily promoted by the Catholic Church and is rooted in the perception of women as biological,
social and ideological reproducers.

The final chapter looks at the topics of the preceding chapters from an observer's perspective. Urmila
Goel's assessment is an intentionally neutral, yet individual and personal assessment. The reader is
invited to join in and share suggestions for future engagement with the themes discussed in this
volume.

Religious fundamentalisms affect women and men in different ways. The editors and authors of this
volume provide empirically grounded evidence for the peculiar relationship between fundamentalist
forces in contemporary societies in South Asia and women's political participation. Case studies cover
the situation in Buddhist, Christian and Islamic societies of the region.