ABSTRACT

Bangladesh has made significant strides on women’s issues in the areas of education, employment and politics. In the wake of this progress, the country has also experienced a surge of religious ideas leading to secular anxiety that cultural Islamization is leaving very tangible marks on the bodies and lives of women. The proliferation of the hijab along with an appropriation of other religio-cultural elements into everyday life is considered to be an example of the force of Islamization that many fear to be conducive to radicalization. In this paper, I probe the role of religion in the lives of female university students in an attempt to assess what it means for them to be young, to have aspirations, to navigate different and often opposing expectations, and to assert their agency as they stand on the cusp of adulthood. In teasing out the influences that give their lives’ navigations religious sanctions and/or approvals, I trace the place of inclusivity, pluralism and tolerance in the lives of young, educated women in Bangladesh.

摘要

孟加拉国在教育，就业和政治领域的妇女问题上取得了重大进展。在取得这一进展之后，该国也经历了宗教观念的激增，导致世俗焦虑，即文化伊斯兰化正在给妇女的身体和生活留下非常明显的印记。盖头的扩散以及在日常生活中使用其他宗教文化元素被认为是伊斯兰化力量的一个例子，许多人担心这会助长激进化。在本文中，我探讨了宗教在女大学生生活中的作用，试图评估他们对年轻，抱负，寻求不同且常常相互对立的期望的意义，并在他们坚持自己的信念时发挥自己的作用站在成年的风口浪尖上。