Covering eclectic topics ranging from South Asian religion to motherhood to world dance to ethnomusicology, this book focuses on contemporary selected experiences of women and how their lives interface with religion.
Religion has often been perceived as the source of constriction for women's roles in society. This volume explores how modern women across Asia are mobilizing their faith traditions to address existential issues encountered in both the public and private realms, relating to economics, public participation, politics, and culture. As such, it is revealed that religion can be a powerful force for social change and ameliorating women's lives, despite use of religious doctrine in the past to limit women.

Editor Zayn R. Kassam, PhD, and the contributors cover not only the commonly considered "Asian" traditions of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism but also Christianity, Judaism, Bahai, and indigenous traditions. The book reveals that the challenges and opportunities Asian women face arise both from within and outside, whether in terms of developments within their countries or in relation to international political and economic regimes. The chapters explore how the issues Asian women face have as much to do with cultural and religious codes as they do with politics, economics, education, and the law; consider the varying ways in which family and motherhood are affected by the state's construction of the gendered citizen, by social constructs of motherhood, and by policies regarding women and children's access to health care; and identify the roles played by religion and spirituality in these circumstances.

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Acknowledgments Introduction Zayn R. Kassam Part I. Woman, Family, and Environment 1. Balinese Dancers on the Global Stage: Negotiating Motherhood, Religion, and Politics during the Suharto Regime Maria Talamantes 2. The Holy "Mother Who Is Not a Mother": Saradamani Chattopadhyay Narasingha P. Sil 3. Crisis of Transnational Families and Restoration of a Medium's Marriage Life in Northeast Thailand Visisya Pinthongvijayakul 4. Indian Women Through the Ages: Mother's Roles in Mythology, Current Practices, and Future Prospects Lavanya Vemsani Part II. Socioeconomics, Politics, Authority 5. From Secession to Social Activism: Muslim Women's Movements in the Philippines Vivienne SM Angeles 6. Speaking Shadows to Light: Vernacular Narrative as a Vehicle for Rajasthani Female Sadhus Voicing Vulnerability and Violence Antoinette E. DeNapoli 7. The Martyr Bomber Becomes a Goddess: Women, Theosis, and Sacrificial Violence in Sri Lanka William Harman 8. Women of the Clouds: The Cordillera Religion and the Shaping of the Economic, Political, and Social Empowerment of Women Jae Woo Jang Part III. Body, Mind, and Spirit 9. Gender, Popular Religion, and the Politics of Memory in Taiwan's Urban Renewal: The Case of the Twenty-Five Ladies' Tomb Anru Lee and Wen-hui Anna Tang 10. Shakti's New Voice: Anandmurti Gurumaa and Female Empowerment Angela Rudert 11. Storytelling for Change: Women's Activism and the Theater of Pritham Chakravarthy Kristen Rudisill 12. Women Living Buddhism in the West: Spiritual Practice and Daily Life Leesa S. Davis Part IV. Sexuality, Power, and Vulnerability 13. Losing Faith, Gaining Empowerment: Changing Identities of Devadasis in Karnataka, India Nicole Aaron 14. A Politics of Empathy: Christianity and Women's Peace Activism in U.S. Military Prostitution in South Korea Keun-Joo Christine Pae 15. Transforming Trauma: From Partition Hauntings to Post 9/11 Angst in South Asian Cinema Khani Begum Part V. Women, Worldview, and Religious Practice 16. The Virtuous Life of a Thai Buddhist Nun Petcharat Lovichakorntikul, Phramaha Min Putthithanasombat, and John Walsh 17. Women in Contemporary Japanese Religious Civil Society Groups Paola Cavaliere 18. From the Old Lady of the Grove to Ekatmika Bhava: Women's Mysticism, Devotion, and Possession Trance in Popular Bengali Shaktism June McDaniel 19. The Rise of Female Vipassana Meditation Teachers in Southeast Asia Brooke Schedneck Abbreviations Glossary Bibliography Index About the Editor and Contributors