Gendered Violence: The Effect of Religious Integration in Government
Open Access
Author:
Gallagher, Riley
Area of Honors:
Political Science
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Lee Ann Banaszak, Thesis Supervisor Michael Barth Berkman, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
religion gendered violence women Islam
Abstract:
How does religious integration in governments influence gendered violence? Gendered violence varies over region and socioeconomic status and therefore affects a substantial portion of a population. Islam is characterized as having patriarchal values as represented by the gender roles characterized in the Qur’an. Therefore, I am approaching my original question through the religion of Islam and exploring how religious integration in government affects gendered violence in countries with Muslim populations of 20 percent or more. Since religion is a complex multidimensional concept, it is broken down into multiple independent variables. Specifically, I explore three dimensions of religious integration in government: constitutional integration of Islam, Islamic influence on policy; and the involvement of religious political parties. As religion affects society in a variety of ways, I use case studies and a quantitative analysis to investigate the relationship between religious governmental integration and gendered violence. This analysis demonstrates a relationship between religious political parties and gendered violence, as well as constitutional religious law permittance and gendered violence. Therefore, some aspects of religious integration appeared to influence gendered violence as represented through intentional homicides of women.
