Synopses & Reviews
This work is a unique ethnographic and historical account of the lives of urban women in the 20th century Republic of Azerbaijan. Drawing on archival, literary, and academic sources as well as extensive life stories of women of different generations, it explores changes for women, both in the context of developing capitalism and colonial relations in the pre-Soviet era as well as under the Soviet system. As an in-depth study of women and gender in a region of the Caucasus little explored by outsiders, the book offers rare insight into the lives of Muslim women under the Soviet system and following the post-Soviet transition. The ethnographic account is also revealing of the interaction of Russian, Soviet, Muslim, and Middle Eastern ideas and cultural influences that have shaped the everyday customs and tradition of a strategic country bordering Iran, Turkey, and Russia.
Synopsis
This study of women and gender in a Muslim society draws on archival and literary sources as well as the life stories of women of different generations to offer a unique ethnographic and historical account of the lives of urban women in contemporary Azerbaijan. Focussing on a group of professional women in Baku, it provides insight into the impact of the Soviet system on the position of Azeri women, their conceptions of femininity and the significant changes brought about by the post-Soviet transition to a market economy and growing western influence. Also explored are the ways in which local cultural expectations and Islamic beliefs were accommodated to different modernisation projects.