Women in Sufi Discourses
by Safoura Nourbakhsh
The history of women in Sufism has not been written yet. The problem with our historical understanding of women mystics of the early period and even the later generations is that none of them left any writings. We therefore have to piece together their portraits from the writings of male Sufi historians and biography compilers, who had their own views of womanhood and whether or not it was possible for women to embark on a spiritual path alongside their male counterparts. This article explores the competing narratives of women in emerging Sufi discourses.
(Photo by Mena Momeni.)
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