Niswiyya, Nisā'iyya and Unthawiyya Some Reflections on Arabic Terms for “Feminism”

Over the last thirty years, a new field of feminist hermeneutical studies known as “Islamic feminism” has been developing. Since its origins, this term has generated many conceptual and terminological debates. This paper presents a linguistic and morphological analysis of Arabic words that constitute the semantic field of feminism in Egypt. It argues that Muslim women’s feminist engagement has undergone an organic and gradual development in Egypt.