Islamic feminism critiques Islamic patriarchy by historicizing and reinterpreting sources of scriptural authority. Secular feminists, however, rule out any possible compatibility between feminism and Islam. Belgian social scientist Ghaliya Djelloul reviews the arguments and suggests a way past restrictive dichotomies.
A week after journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were found murdered in Slovakia, the investigation into their deaths risks being overshadowed by a growing political row in which the prime minister has suggested the president is under the influence of George Soros. His attack echoes populist tactics used by Viktor Orbán in neighbouring Hungary.
A marginal presence through 70 years of post-war Italian democracy, anti-partyism is now part of the political mainstream. The dilemma now facing the Five Star Movement is how to realize its ambition of creating direct, digital democracy without a formal party organization.
The story we have been telling ourselves about our origins is wrong, and perpetuates the idea of inevitable social inequality. David Graeber and David Wengrow ask why the myth of ‘agricultural revolution’ remains so persistent, and argue that there is a whole lot more we can learn from our ancestors.
On 25 February 2018, the bodies of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová were discovered in their village house in western Slovakia. Each of them had been shot dead. Kuciak’s murder is the first of a journalist in modern Slovak history. Samuel Abrahám, editor of Eurozine partner journal ‘Kritika & Kontext’, penned this response.
Whether as heritage or as kitsch, landscape is often thought of as being detached from everyday life. In literature, too, human history tends to be separated from geography. Writing from the Balkans reminds us of this intimate connection, says British poet Fiona Sampson.
Vladimir Putin’s ‘ordinary bloke’ appeal is cultivated through calculated breaches of political decorum. Donald Trump’s transgressions also cement his popularity, even if he lacks the traditionally masculine self-restraint of his Russian counterpart. From the Eurozine archive.
A vicious cycle of destitution locks large numbers of Hungarian women into sex work. Moving to western Europe to avoid prosecution, their vulnerability and isolation only increases. Réka Kinga Papp on systemic exploitation in the European sex trade.
Appeals to the European Court of Human Rights to enforce the ‘right to truth’ in connection with the Franco regime and the Katyń massacre have been refused on procedural grounds. A long history of delayed justice has become a permanent case of justice denied, argues human rights lawyer Grażyna Baranowska.
