Guest lecture: Judges, Muftis and Shaykhas oh my! Gender and Authority in the Ma

Under the Mamluks (1250-1517) women actively engaged their male peers in legal matters, educational endeavors, and public displays of piety. However, modern scholarship has largely overlooked their role in the intellectual and religious landscape, resulting in an almost complete erasure of the female voice and body in historical scholarship. By revealing women's proactivity in legal discussions, their integral role in religious transmission, and their visible displays of piety, I show how women engaged with their male peers in spaces that traditionally prioritized male concerns exclusively while simultaneously creating a uniquely feminine piety.

Guest speaker: Kaley Zinaty, PhD candidate
Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures,
University of Pennsylvania