Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China

With the highest female illiteracy rate in China (2000 national census), the Dongxiang Muslim community in northwest China shows the most striking male-female gender hierarchy among all Muslim nationalities in northwest China. This paper explains how local Islamic culture – jiaopai and menhuan -- an...

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Main Author:	Man, Ke
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2010
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/1/1.2010-2-Man%2CKe-english-2.pdf

id	ukm-792
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-7922016-12-14T06:28:11Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/ Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China Man, Ke, With the highest female illiteracy rate in China (2000 national census), the Dongxiang Muslim community in northwest China shows the most striking male-female gender hierarchy among all Muslim nationalities in northwest China. This paper explains how local Islamic culture – jiaopai and menhuan -- and the distinction made between Dongxiang (minority) and Han (majority) identity devalue women and restrict their mobility. Specifically, Dongxiang people are divided into different Islamic sects (jiaopai and menhuan or jiaomen), such as Beizhuang, Humen, and Santai. Most of them hold to their own sects and demonstrate negative evaluation of other jiaomen, so inter-jiaomen marriages are always forbidden. Women are the symbolic carrier of the jiaomen to which they belong, as can be seen in the distinctive head scarf (gaitou) women wear which signifies a given religious membership. To prevent their women from marrying out of the jiaomen and ensure integrity of the menhuan population, Dongxiang men constrain their women’s mobility. Gender also marks the ethnic boundary between Han Chinese (majority) and Dongxiang Muslim (minority) relations, legitimized by patriarchal interpretations of the holy scriptures which restrict women in the name of Allah. The paper argues that contemporary gender hierarchies in the Dongxiang community are not primarily moulded by Islam but by the cultural practices of a patriarchal society. Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi 2010 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/1/1.2010-2-Man%2CKe-english-2.pdf Man, Ke, (2010) Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 6 (2). pp. 1-9. ISSN 2180-2491 http://www.ukm.my/geografia/v1/index.php
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	With the highest female illiteracy rate in China (2000 national census), the Dongxiang Muslim community in northwest China shows the most striking male-female gender hierarchy among all Muslim nationalities in northwest China. This paper explains how local Islamic culture – jiaopai and menhuan -- and the distinction made between Dongxiang (minority) and Han (majority) identity devalue women and restrict their mobility. Specifically, Dongxiang people are divided into different Islamic sects (jiaopai and menhuan or jiaomen), such as Beizhuang, Humen, and Santai. Most of them hold to their own sects and demonstrate negative evaluation of other jiaomen, so inter-jiaomen marriages are always forbidden. Women are the symbolic carrier of the jiaomen to which they belong, as can be seen in the distinctive head scarf (gaitou) women wear which signifies a given religious membership. To prevent their women from marrying out of the jiaomen and ensure integrity of the menhuan population, Dongxiang men constrain their women’s mobility. Gender also marks the ethnic boundary between Han Chinese (majority) and Dongxiang Muslim (minority) relations, legitimized by patriarchal interpretations of the holy scriptures which restrict women in the name of Allah. The paper argues that contemporary gender hierarchies in the Dongxiang community are not primarily moulded by Islam but by the cultural practices of a patriarchal society.
format	Article
author	Man, Ke,
spellingShingle	Man, Ke, Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
author_facet	Man, Ke,
author_sort	Man, Ke,
title	Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
title_short	Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
title_full	Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
title_fullStr	Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
title_full_unstemmed	Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China
title_sort	dongxiang muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest china
publisher	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, UKM,Bangi
publishDate	2010
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/792/1/1.2010-2-Man%2CKe-english-2.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:31:47Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:31:47Z
_version_	1777405009453907968

Dongxiang Muslim women as ‘boundary subjects’: reflections on gender and identity in the borderland areas of northwest China

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