Abbreviations -- List of transliterations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- SECTION ONE SELECTED SOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF SOUTH ASIAN MUSLIM WOMEN -- A. South Asia an Introduction -- I. Locating People and Spaces -- (a) General Studies on South Asia -- (b) Selected Studies on Islam in South Asia -- (c) Encyclopaedias of Islam -- (d) Encyclopaedias of Muslim Women -- (e) Dictionaries of Islam -- (f) Qur'an/Hadith/ and Traditions of Prophet Muhammad -- II. Bibliographies and Research Guides for the Study of South Asian Muslim Women -- III. Bibliographic Review Essays -- IV. Catalogues of Library Holdings -- V. Biographical Compendiums of Prominent Muslim Women -- VI. Invisibility of Muslim Women in Research Studies -- B. Women's Status in Religious Texts -- I. Women's Status in the Qur'an -- II. Rejecting Patriarchal Reading of the Qur'an -- III. Status of Women in the Hadith -- IV. Role Models for Muslim Women: Prophet's Wives and Daughters -- SECTION TWO MUSLIM WOMEN IN THE HISTORY OF SOUTH ASIA -- A. Women in Medieval India -- I. General Studies -- II. Radiyyah Sultan or Raziyat al-Dunya wal-Din (r. 1236-40) -- III. Cand Bibi of the Nizam Shahi Kingdom (b. 1547-1600) and Other Women in Power in the Deccan -- B. Women in the Age of the Mughals (1526-1707) -- I. General Studies -- II. Gulbadan Bano Begam (1522/3-1603), Daughter of Babur, Emperor of Hindustan (1526-1530) -- III. Nur Jahan Begam (d. 1645), wife of Emperor Jahangir (b. 1569-d. 1627) -- IV. Mumtaz Mahal (1592-1631), Wife of Emperor Shah Jahan (b. 1592-d. 1666) -- V. Jahan Ara Begam (b. 1614-d. 1681), Daughter of Emperor Shah Jahan -- VI. Zeb-un Nisa' Begam (1638-1702) Daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb, (b. 1619-d. 1707) -- C. Mughal Women as Patrons of Art and Architecture -- D. Muslim Women from the 18th to the Early 20th Century India -- I. The Kingdom of Awadh (1722-1856).

II. Muslim Women in the Kingdom of Bengal -- III. A dynasty of women rulers: The Begams of Bhopal -- (a) General works -- (b) Nawwab Qudsiyah Begam (Period of Regency 1819-1837) -- (c) Nawwab Sikandar Begam (Regency 1843-1868) -- (d) Nawwab Sahjahan Begam (b. 1838-d. 1901) -- (e) Nawwab Sultan Jahan Begam (b. 1858-d. 1930) -- IV. Begam Samroo (also spelt as Sombre/Samru) (1753-1836) of Sardhana -- V. Women in Hyderabad, Deccan -- E. Muslim Women's Encounter with the West -- I. Women and the First War of Independence, 1858 -- II. Women under the British Colonial Regime -- III. Muslim Women in the Narratives of the Christian Missions -- SECTION THREE ISLAMIC TRADITIONS, MUSLIM WOMEN AND THE REFORM MOVEMENT -- A. Women in the Discourse of the sufis and the masha'ikh -- I. Women Sufis -- II. Women's Image in Sufi Literature -- III. Women in the Reformist (islahi) Traditions in the 18th and the19th Centuries -- (a) Women, shari'at and the bid'at Discourse -- (b) Patriarchal Construction of Muslim Women -- B. Modernist Reform Movements and Women's Issues -- I. Men in Support of Women's Rights -- (a) Making Connections: Role Models from Other Muslim Societies -- (b) South Asian Muslim Women Compared With Women in Other Regions -- II. Ideal Muslim Woman Defined -- (a) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan's (1817-1898) 'Model Muslim Woman' -- (b) Syed Ameer Ali (1849-1928) -- (c) Saiyyid Mumtaz Ali and Huquq un-niswan (1860-1935) -- (d) Rashidul Khairi (1868-1936) -- III. Muslim Woman in the New Muslim Consciousness -- (a) The Bihishti Zewar of Ashraf 'Ali Thanawi (1864-1943) -- (b) Abul Kalam Azad's Views on the Status of Women -- (c) Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) -- IV. Women Claiming their Rights -- SECTION FOUR PARDAH-MUSLIM WOMEN IN/OUT OF SECLUSION -- A. Discourse on the Interpretation of the Qur'anic Verses on hijab.

B. Fatawa and Male Religious Opinions on Veiling/pardah -- I. Male supporters of pardah -- II. Men who opposed the pardah -- C. Women Challenging pardah Restrictions -- I. Women in Support of pardah -- D. Pardah's Impact on Women's Lives -- E. Burqa' -- F. Life Inside Pardah Households Observing -- SECTION FIVE RELIGIOUS PRACTICES -- A. Fatawa: Male Authority and Women's Status -- I. Resisting the Use of Fatawa against Women -- B. Prohibition on Women's Presence in the Mosque and Shrines -- C. Women's Prayer (salat) -- I. Women and 'Id Prayers -- II. Shrine Visitation and Women -- D. Women and Religious Practices -- I. Milad or Maulud Sharif: Celebrations of Prophet Muhammad's Noble Birth -- II. Milad namey/Milad Tracts for Women and by Women -- III. Milad as Bid'at (Heresy) -- E. Hajj and Women Pilgrims: Early Pilgrimage Accounts (Medieval India) -- I. Pilgrimage in the Nineteenth Century -- II. Pilgrimage in the Twentieth Century -- F. Women's Travelogues: Women out of pardah -- SECTION SIX IN SEARCH OF THEIR IDENTITY: MUSLIM WOMEN SETTING NEW GOALS -- A. Perspectives on Women's Roles -- I. The Status of Muslim Women Compared to that of Women of Other Faiths -- II. Women and Activism: Movement for Social and Political Change -- (a) General Works -- (b) The Suffrage Movement -- B. Muslim Women Making Connections -- I. In support of the Ladies Conference -- II. Against the Ladies Conference -- III. History of the All India Muslim Ladies' Conference -- IV. The All India Ladies Association -- V. Women's Associations in Hyderabad, Deccan -- VI. The All India Women's Conference -- VII. Muslim Women in the National Reformist Movement -- (a) Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) -- (b) Sughra Humayun Mirza (1884-1958) -- (c) Fyzee Sisters -- C. Women's Role in the Pakistan Movement -- D. Freedom/Partition: Women's Experiences -- I. Women Freedom Fighters.

(a) Abadi Banu Begam (Bi Amman) (1852-1924) -- (b) Begam Muhammad Ali (Amjadi Begam) -- (c) Begam Hasrat Mohani (Nishatunnisa) (1885-1937) -- (d) Fatimah Jinnah (1893-1967) -- (e) Ruttie Jinnah (-d. 1929) -- SECTION SEVEN WOMEN, NATIONALISM, AND RELIGION -- A. Muslim women in Pakistan: An Overview -- I. Punjabi Women -- II. Sindhi Women -- III. Pashtun Women -- IV. Baloch Women -- V. Women of Hunza/Gilgit/Chitral -- B. Women in Bangladesh: An Overview -- C. Muslim Women in India: An Overview -- D. Women, State and Religious Authority: Post-independence South Asia -- I. The Case of Pakistan -- II. The Case of Bangladesh -- III. The Case of India -- E. Women and Political Representation -- I. Discourse on Women's Political Leadership -- (a) Benazir Bhutto -- F. The Martial Law (1977-88) in Pakistan: Islam Reinterpreted for Women -- I. The Hudood (Hudod) Ordinance -- II. Post-martial Law Gender-identity Construction -- G. Religious Activism of Women Converts to Islam -- I. Maryam Jameelah [Margaret Marcus] (1936-) -- SECTION EIGHT MUSLIM WOMEN'S MOVEMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA -- A. Women's Movement in Pakistan -- B. Women's Movement in Bangladesh -- C. Muslim Women's Movement in India -- D. Muslim Women in Sri Lanka -- E. Women's Movement in The Maldives -- SECTION NINE THE LIFE CYCLE OF SOUTH ASIAN MUSLIM WOMEN -- A. Daughters Not Liked -- I. Son Preference -- II. Adolescent Girls -- (a) Menstruation -- (b) Clitorodectomy: Female Circumcision -- B. Marriage and Family Life -- I. Child Marriages -- II. Age at Marriage -- III. Nikah: Marriage in Islam -- IV. Selection of Spouses -- V. Role of wali (Guardian) in a Marriage Contract -- C. Wife-husband Relationship -- I. Male-female Attitude Towards Family Life -- II. Manuals for Household Management -- D. Marriage Patterns in South Asia -- I. Arranged Marriages -- II. Consanguineous Marriages.

III. Endogamous Marriages -- IV. Matrilineal Customs -- V. Muslim Women Marrying Christian Men -- VI. Polygamy -- VII. Muta'h: Temporary Marriages -- E. Wedding Ceremonies and Celebrations -- I. Dowry -- F. Pregnancy and Childbirth -- I. Motherhood/Childcare -- II. Breastfeeding -- G. End of Marriage: Widowhood, Remarriage of Widows and Divorce -- I. Idda-Waiting Period -- II. Dissolution of Marriage: talaq (Divorce) -- III. Triple talaq -- IV. Talaq-i-tafwid (delegation Power of Divorce) -- V. Khul' (khula) -- VI. Apostasy ( irtidad) for Dissolution (tansikh-i-nikah) of Marriage -- H. Mahr: Dower -- I. Payment of mahr and Maintenance for Divorced Women -- II. Legal Battles over Payment of Maintenance (nafaqah): The Shah Bano Case -- SECTION TEN WOMEN'S RIGHTS TO INHERIT PROPERTY -- A. Inheritance Rights of Muslim Women Misappropriated -- I. Customary Law (riwaj-i 'am) and Women -- II. Legal Services for Women: Access to Lawyers and Courts of Law -- B. Muslim Family Law in South Asia -- I. The Family Laws in Pakistan -- II. Uniform Civil Code in India: A Panacea for Muslim Women's Plight? -- III. Legal Reforms in Bangladesh -- IV. Islamic Laws and Women in Sri Lanka -- SECTION ELEVEN EDUCATION OF SOUTH ASIAN MUSLIM WOMEN -- A. General Works on the History of Women's Education -- B. Beginning of Women's New System of Education: Local Enterprise and Colonial Efforts -- I. Promotional Tracts for Female Education -- II. Tracts against Women's Education -- C. Supporters of Women's Education (hami-yi ta'lim-i niswan) -- I. Khawajah Altaf Husain Hali (1837-1914) -- II. Shamsul 'Ulama Maulawi Nadhir (also spelt as Nazir) Ahmad, (1831-1912) -- D. Those Who Opposed School Education for Women -- I. Sir Syed [also spelt as Saiyyid] Ahmed Khan -- II. Other Prominent Opposition -- E. Support for Women's Education in the Early 20th Century.

I. Male Founders of Schools for Women.