Muslim Women's Lived Experiences and Intersectional Identities: A Global Perspective

Puspa Melati Wan · Saiqa Anne Qureshi · Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain

Feb 2025 · Springer Nature

About this ebook

This volume takes a global perspective on intersectionality embodied by Muslim women. It addresses questions such as balancing multiple identities, lived experiences and complex realities, and the role of faith in social roles. The chapters debunk the idea of Islam or gender being monoliths. They layer faith over gender across the globe and consider migration as an important factor, thereby exploring intersectional identities that are understudied and under-evaluated. The volume overall brings to life Islamic women's lives in all their richness and differences, with discussions on social roles, positions, initiatives, and occupations across regions. It provides recommendations and suggestions for readers to understand the complex realities of Muslim women as well as serves as a guide for practitioners and policy-makers.

About the author

Puspa Melati Wan holds a PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Taylor’s University, Malaysia. She earned her MSc in Sociology from the University of Oxford, UK, and her BA in Sociology and Psychology from the University of San Francisco, US. Identifying as a Clinical Sociologist, she is deeply passionate about community engagement. Puspa has collaborated with both local and international NGOs and has managed grassroots empowerment programs targeting various groups including women, with a focus on intersectionality. Puspa Melati Wan is the Honorary Secretary of Malaysian Social Science Association and the regional representative for ISA Research Committee Clinical Sociology (RC 46).

Saiqa Anne Qureshi, PhD, attended UC San Diego where she triple majored in Sociology, Political Science and History. Saiqa also holds a master’s degree from Oxford as well as a PhD in Sociology, and an MBA from Imperial College London. She has teaching experiences in London, US and Canada. She is a highly sought after research management professional, with an extensive track record of publications and presentations.

Rosila Bee Mohd Hussain is an Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. She completed her PhD from The University of Western Australia. Her areas of research interest include social inequality, identity, youth, cross-cultural study and contemporary social issues (social capital, disability studies, gender and social threats). Her expert opinions on various sociological issues have often been shared on various media platforms like newspapers, talk shows and radio interviews in Malaysia. She has also completed and secured internal and external grants in the past years in relation to youth, social inequality and identity issues. Among others are UMRG (UM), FRGS (Malaysia), Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) as Research Collaborator. She has also published more than 50 journal articles, book chapters and proceedings from her research to share. Her current research work centers on social threats, lifestyle, and risk society.