For much of Islamic history and the present, Muslim women have largely been excluded from mosques evoking arguments of text and Muslim legal tradition which presumably discourage women from attending mosques. The exclusion of women from mosques serves as an index of their status in society, moreover, highlights the normative assumptions about gender. This paper is an attempt to discuss the status of women in Islam, particularly with reference to women‘s access and attendance in mosques. At the onset, the paper offers a brief overview of status of women in the early years of emergence of Islam. The central argument that this paper attempts to put forward is that the dynamics of hegemony, body and text govern the issue of women‘s mosque attendance. This paper would weave in discussions of Quranic exegesis, notion of fitnawhich have come to play a pivotal role in the debate over women‘s mosque attendance.
Women, Mosque, Quranic exegesis
