A writer and a sociologist recognized in the Arab world and France in particular as an influential feminist. Her work centers on the role and status of women in Islam and Muslim societies, and on notions of gender, identity, and sexuality. In her first book, titled Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society, Mernissi challenges existing interpretations of Hadiths, criticizing male jurists’ manipulative misrepresentation of Islam and reinterpreting religious texts using a feminist approach. Although it was first published in 1975, her book continues to be a widely read classic in modern-day discourse on women and Islam. Mernissi has a total of sixteen published books, a number of them focusing on Moroccan society.

Rassam, Amal and Lisa Worthington. “Mernissi, Fatima.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford Islamic Studies Online, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0527 (accessed 14-May-2017).