S01E46 - Let’s Talk about Gender: Women’s Narratives of Moving Out of Islam in Contemporary Europe

The provided text explores Maria Vliek’s research on the gendered experiences of women who have distanced themselves from Islam in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Based on twenty-two life-history interviews, the study examines how personal encounters with inequality and patriarchal structures during childhood often spark religious doubt. These women navigate a complex social landscape, frequently finding themselves caught between polarised public narratives of Islamic suppression and liberation. The article also investigates the significance of visible religious markers, such as the headscarf, and how their removal serves as a physical manifestation of leaving the faith. Ultimately, Vliek highlights an "in-between" positionality, where former Muslim women resist being used as political tools by either secular activists or religious apologists. This academic work seeks to fill a gap in sociological literature by centering gender within the broader study of religious deconversion.Vliek, M. (2023). Let’s Talk about Gender: Women’s Narratives of Moving Out of Islam in Contemporary Europe. Religion and Gender, 13(2), 227-253. https://doi.org/10.1163/18785417-01302002