List of Muslim feminists

This is a list of important participants in Muslim feminism, originally sorted by surname within each period.
It may include, for instance, earlier authors who did not self-identify as feminists but have been claimed to have furthered "feminist consciousness" by a resistance of male dominance expressed in their works.

Early and mid 19th-century feminists

Born between 1801 and 1874.

Name	Country	Born	Died	Comments	Source
Nawab Faizunnesa	British India	1834	1903	female education advocate
Qasim Amin	Egypt	1863	1908	early advocate of women's rights
Hamida Javanshir	Azerbaijan	1873	1955	women's rights activist, philanthropist
Aisha Taymur	Egypt	1840	1902	social activist, novelist
Fatma Aliye Topuz	Turkey	1862	1936	women's rights activist, novelist
Jamil Sidqi al-Zahawi	Iraq	1863	1936	poet, Islamic philosopher
Zaynab Fawwaz	Lebanon	1860	1914	playwright, women's rights activist

Late 19th-century and early 20th-century feminists

Born between 1875 and 1939.

Name	Country	Born	Died	Comments	Source
Iffat Ara	Bangladesh	1939	–	writer, social activist
Margot Badran	United States	1934	-	Middle East historian and recognized scholar of Islamic feminism
Eugénie Le Brun	Egypt		1908
Hamid Dalwai	India	1932	1977	Socialist feminist
Tahar Haddad	Tunisia	1897	1935
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah	British India	1921	2000	pioneer in Pakistan
Shamsiah Fakeh	Malaysia	1924	2008	political leader, Malaysian nationalist
Hameeda Hossain	Bangladesh	1936	–	human rights activist, academic
Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim	Sudan	1933	2017
Raden Adjeng Kartini	Indonesia	1879	1904	Javanese advocate for native Indonesian women, critic of polygamous marriages and lack of education opportunities for women
Sufia Kamal	Bangladesh	1911	1999	advocate, nationalist, poet
Anbara Salam Khalidi	Lebanon	1897	1986	author
Shamsunnahar Mahmud	Pakistan	1908	1964	leader of the women's rights movement in Bengal
Malak Hifni Nasif	Egypt	1886	1918
Nizar Qabbani	Syria	1923	1998	poet, progressive intellectual
Alifa Rifaat	Egypt	1930	1996	novelist
Begum Rokeya	British India	1880	1932	writer, educator
Huda Sha'arawi	Egypt	1879	1947	organiser; founder of Egyptian Feminist Union
Hidaya Sultan al-Salem	Kuwait	1936	2001	writer, campaigner, suffragist
Rasuna Said	Indonesia	1910	1965	political leader, nationalist
Saiza Nabarawi	Egypt	1897	1985	journalist
Salma Sobhan	Bangladesh	1937	2003	lawyer, academic
Nurkhon Yuldasheva	Uzbekistan	1913	1929	dancer
Ismat Chughtai	India	1915	1991	novelist, director
Nazira Zain al-Dine	Lebanon	1908	1976	writer, women's rights activist

Mid to late 20th-century and notable 21st-century feminists

Born from 1940 to present

Name	Country	Born	Died	Comments	Source
Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur	United States	1974	–	Global health advocate
Sitara Achakzai	Afghanistan	1956	2009	leading Afghan women's rights activist, member of the regional parliament in Kandahar
Jamila Afghani	Afghanistan	1974	–	women's rights activist, created the first "gender-sensitive training in Afghanistan for Imams"
Mahnaz Afkhami	Iran	1941	–	women's rights activist, Minister without portfolio for Women's Affairs, Founder and President of Women's Learning Partnership
Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar	United Kingdom	1944	2022	professor of politics and women's studies, member of the British House of Lords
Nazir Afzal	United Kingdom	1962	–	Public prosecutor and campaigner focusing on violence against women and so-called honour crimes
Leila Ahmed	Egypt	1940	–	Writer on Islam and feminism
Safia Ahmed-jan	Afghanistan	1941	2006	Afghan women's rights advocate
Kecia Ali	United States	1972		scholar on the study of Islamic Jurisprudence and Women
Mariam Alhassan Alolo	Ghana	1957	–	female Islamic missionary
Amat Al Alim Alsoswa	Yemen	1958	–	journalist
Fadela Amara	France	1964	–	politician
Zainah Anwar	Malaysia		–	head of Sisters in Islam
Seyran Ateş	Germany	1963	–	lawyer
Shukria Barakzai	Afghanistan	1970	–	politician, journalist
Farzana Bari	Pakistan	1952	–	human rights activist
Asma Barlas	Pakistan	1950	–	academics
Benazir Bhutto	Pakistan	1953	2007	Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996
Zoubeïda Bittari	Algerian	1939	–	Author of O, My Muslim Sisters, Weep
Susan Carland	Australia	1978	–	academic
Kamala Chandrakirana	Indonesia		–	human rights activist
Shirin Ebadi	Iran	1947	–	; activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner for her efforts for the rights of women and children
Sineb El Masrar	Germany	1981	–	Moroccan-German author and magazine editor
Mona Eltahawy	Egypt	1967	–	journalist
Farid Esack	South Africa	1959	–	Muslim scholar, gender equity commissioner
Zahra Eshraghi	Iran	1964	–	activist, former government official
Soumaya Naamane Guessous	Morocco		–	sociologist, women's rights activist
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo	Iran	1968	–	reformist politician, contributed proposing a bill to join Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Mohammad Shafiq Hamdam	Afghanistan	1981	–	Chairman of the Afghan Anti-Corruption Network
Suheir Hammad	Jordan	1973	–	poet, political activist
Riffat Hassan	Pakistan	1943	–	theologian, scholar of the Qur'an
Hissa Hilal	Saudi Arabia		–	poet
Lubna al-Hussein	Sudan		–	journalist, human rights activist
Samira Ibrahim	Egypt	1987	–	activist
Ramziya al-Iryani	Yemen	1954	–	novelist, diplomat
Na'eem Jeenah	South Africa	1965	–	academic
Mohja Kahf	Syria	1967	–
Meena Keshwar Kamal	Afghanistan	1956	1987	women's rights activist, founder of Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Sultana Kamal	Bangladesh	1950	–	activist
Sadiq Khan	United Kingdom	1970	–	Mayor of London since 2016
Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani	Iran	20th century	–
Fawzia Koofi	Afghanistan	1975 or 1976	–	politician, women' rights activist
Elaheh Koulaei	Iran	1956	–
Konca Kuriş	Turkey	1961	1999	writer
Asma Lamrabet	Morocco
Mukhtār Mā'ī	Pakistan	1972	–	advocate for women's rights
Irshad Manji	Canada	1968	–
Farideh Mashini	Iran		2012	women's rights activist
Fatema Mernissi	Morocco	1940	2015
Ziba Mir-Hosseini	Iran	1952	–	academic of Islamic law and gender
Fakhrossadat Mohtashamipour	Iran		–	reformist activist, head of women's affairs at the Ministry of Interior
Ilham Moussaïd	France	1989	–	politician
Shirin Neshat	Iran	1957	–	visual artist
Asra Nomani	India	1965	–
Queen Noor of Jordan	Jordan	1951	–	queen consort of Jordan
Ayaz Latif Palijo	Pakistan	1968	–	politician
Zahra Rahnavard	Iran	1945	–	academic, politician
Queen Rania of Jordan	Jordan	1970	–	queen consort of Jordan
Raheel Raza	Pakistan	1949	–	journalist, activist
Nilofar Sakhi	Afghanistan	20th century	–	human rights activist
Zainab Salbi	Iraq	1969	–	humanitarian, CEO of Women for Women International
Linda Sarsour	United States	1980	–	Islamist political activist
Marjane Satrapi	France, Iran	1969	–	comic artist
Shamima Shaikh	South Africa	1960	1998	South African activist, member of the Muslim Youth Movement of South Africa, proponent of Islamic gender equality
Shahla Sherkat	Iran	1956	–	journalist
Nasrin Sotoudeh	Iran	1963	–	human rights lawyer
Hidayet Şefkatli Tuksal	Turkey	1963		human rights activist
Zil-e-Huma Usman	Pakistan	1971	2007	politician, women's rights activist
Amina Wadud	United States	1952
Rama Yade	France	1976		politician, writer
Nadia Yassine	Morocco	1958
Malala Yousafzai	Pakistan	1997	–	Pakistani activist for female education
Bilkisu Yusuf	Nigeria	1952	2015	journalist, NGO adviser
Kadra Yusuf	Norway	1980		activist
Musdah Mulia	Indonesia	1960		human rights activist, Islamic scholar, theologian, proponent of Islamic gender equality and LGBTIQ, interfaith activist, one of founders and leaders of ICRP - Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace
Manal al-Sharif	Saudi Arabia	1979		women's rights activist
Samar Badawi	Saudi Arabia	1981		women's rights activist
Nassima al-Sadah	Saudi Arabia	1974		women's rights activist
Rita Puspa Zakaria	Indonesia	1967		women's rights activist and health advocate

List of Muslim feminists

Early and mid 19th-century feminists

Late 19th-century and early 20th-century feminists

Mid to late 20th-century and notable 21st-century feminists

Muslim feminist movements