Mr Azhari Andi

Does the Qur’an justify gender inequality? This question has resurfaced in the modern debate regarding the issue of gender relations in Islam. It is posed following the widespread belief in many communities that men are superior to women. Amina Wadud claims that classical and medieval exegesis written by men were responsible for this belief since they ignored women's perspectives, resulting in gender-biased interpretations. Wadud’s claim raises the question of how women exegetes understand gender verses. This paper examines three women exegetes- Zaynab al- Ghazli, Karimah Hamzah and Mahmud Fatin al-Falaki, and their interpretation of gender issues in the Qur’an.

Author Biography

Azhari Andi is a PhD candidate in Islamic Studies at the Indonesian International Islamic University (IIIU) Depok. He obtained his MA and BA in Quranic Studies from Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University Yogyakarta. His research focuses on classical, medieval and modern tafsīrs and hadith studies. He is currently working on his dissertation entitled “Quranic Exegesis and Politics; Dialectics and Contestation between Sunni and Shi'i in the Medieval Era. His publications can be accessed here.