This volume is about the ways of promoting women's participation in the affairs of Muslim societies: from raising conciousness and changing codes of law, to penetrating the economic markets and influencing national and international policies.

At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the international community accepted women's rights as human rights, and with it the charge to work toward the full integration of women in the affairs of their respective nations.

Muslim Women and the Politics of Participation is about ways and means of promoting women's participation in the affairs of Muslim societies: from raising consciousness and changing codes of law to penetrating the economic markets and influencing national and international policies. Editors Mahnaz Afkhami and Erika Friedl challenge stereotypes about Muslim women and probe the difficulties and possibilities women face as they work for positive social change. Sixteen activists, politicians, and representatives from international organizations -- most from Muslim countries -- discuss, for the first time, major issues relevant to Muslim women striving to achieve their human rights through political participation.