Abstract
Zang Xiaowei is already well known for the sociological fieldwork he has carried out in various parts of north-west China and used as the main methodology for detailed analysis of gender and other social issues affecting Muslims in China. This book covers gender issues among Uyghurs. Its core research questions are about the impact of Islam on gender differentials in matters such as employment, income, household labour, domestic chores and spousal power.
The findings are complex and multifaceted. However, Zang finds that, although the trend is towards gender equality among the Uyghurs, there is still significant inequality. The striking part of his conclusion is that, in most main respects, this is due not so much to Islam as a whole, but to the family processes – most of which are associated with Islam. The methodology is essentially fieldwork in the Xinjiang capital Ürümchi in 2005 to 2008, especially a survey in 2007 (p. 36). However, it takes account of general theoretical matters relevant to gender internationally and to Muslim countries in particular.
Both gender and Islam appear to be a source of considerable academic interest in the contemporary world. To combine them in an intensive study of Chinese society is therefore both topical and academically important. As Zang points out, Muslim-majority countries tend to rank quite badly internationally in terms of gender issues. On the other hand, China and East Asia do quite well in such rankings. In terms of female employment and income, Zang finds that Uyghur women have advanced quite a bit, with Uyghur families enjoying a good degree of gender equality, and that Islam has not been a factor in holding them back.
Zang’s methodology includes both survey and intensive interviewing. This seems to me a very good way to go, because one can find out people’s attitudes in detail as well as discover how they have answered a particular question framed for a survey. In the book Zang has included detailed quotations from these interviews. For me, these quotations are among the most interesting parts of the book, because they involve ordinary people talking about things such as family and religion that obviously mean a great deal to them. This adds a highly personal touch to a very scholarly study and makes it more interesting.
As readers of this journal will know, there has been a great deal of discussion lately about Chinese government repression of Uyghurs, and especially their culture and religion. This book mentions such matters, but its starting point is to examine the situation as it is on the ground. That is very fruitful approach. The Uyghurs have become so enmeshed in controversy nowadays, with most Western observers tending to be much more ready to condemn the Chinese government than they would ethnic minorities, that it becomes difficult to retain a balanced and fair stand. This book is definitely fair and balanced, and there is no sign at all of bias against either Uyghurs or Han. This is a significant achievement.
As the title shows, the emphasis is on the relationship between religiosity and gender. Moreover, the fieldwork and interviews were carried out among Uyghurs, not Han. Comparisons between Han and Uyghurs are few, though there are some. One of them suggests that Uyghurs are more likely than Han to support the proposition that men are more skilful in the workplace whereas women are better at household work (p. 178) – an attitude found all over the world, but one that may be even stronger with the Uyghurs than Han.
One question of considerable importance for this study is why Islam is such a weak indicator of gender inequality. One reason Zang proposes is that, although almost all Uyghurs regard themselves as Muslims, they ‘might use Islam as their ethnic identity rather than as their guiding principles in everyday life’ (p. 175). My impression is that nowadays many urban (and probably other) Uyghurs do not put much weight on matters such as abstention from alcohol or, for men, praying at the mosque, and may not have a very reasoned or deep adherence to some aspects of Islamic belief. But, they would regard it as distinctly un-Uyghur to deny that they are Muslims.
Just about everywhere in this book, I found myself sharing the author’s judgements and admiring the way he has reached them. So I regard this as a timely and excellent book, which covers a range of important and controversial topics. It is well written and structured. It contributes to our understanding of theory as well as gender among China’s minorities. I definitely recommend it enthusiastically to students and scholars of China’s ethnic minorities, Islam and gender; and I believe it deserves attention also among a more generalist readership.