Gender and Religion: Druze Women – Intisar J. Azzam

The first anthropological study of gender and religion through the experience of the Druze women in Lebanon come in response to a serious void in this field of knowledge and provides profound insights into gender relations amongst the Druze. Azzram presents the egalitarian principles of the Druze faith of al-Tawhid as a progressive challenge to the patriarchal values at the time of its inception during the early decades of the 11th century as well as the present time. With authentic reflexivity of a concerned insider, Azzam reveals a serious gap between the ideal status of women in al-Tawhid and their actual life experiences. In an attempt to explain this ambiguous reality and detect the sources of the drift, Azzam explores the historical course of al-Tawhid perspective of gender and gender roles and critically examines the transformations of the conceptualizations and practices concerning gender relations among the Druze, and the institutional patterns which gave and continue to five these conceptualizations and practices an appearance of unyielding permanency. Consequently, the study comes forth as a genuine cultural critique aimed at better understanding of gender roles and relations.