The Forgotten Queens of Islam by Fatima Mernissi

Review by Oumaima Fathi

The short:

The Forgotten Queens of Islam is a book written by the Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist Fatima Mernissi in 1990.

The long:

The Forgotten Queens of Islam (Sultanes Oubliées: Femmes chefs d’Etat en Islam) was translated to English in 1993. The book is an intersectional work in which Mernissi discusses women’s leadership throughout early Islamic history and exposes the misconceptions about the absence of women in political and authoritative positions. Based on historical accounts, Mernissi provides the stories of fifteen women who played an essential role in the pre-modern Islam politics. On the other hand, the book explores the dynamic of discrimination towards women and the systems that enabled its creation. Mernissi differentiates between “Rissala Islam” when women’s rights were a priority and “Political Islam” which is a period when women’s roles were undermined and forgotten. The forgotten Queens of Islam is a very important contribution to the academic literature on women’s visibility in Islamic history.

The read or not to read:

I highly recommend to read the Forgotten Queens of Islam! It is an interesting historical book. I find it to be a timeless source of information that challenges patriarchy especially in the modern Islamic societies where women struggle to reach leadership’ positions. It is also a great book to get inspired from the stories of strong women throughout history.