Portraits of Believers: Ahmadi Women Performing Faith in the Diaspora

This paper is a look at how South Asian Ahmadi women in Southern California express their agency through their religious performance in the diaspora. This paper also tries to dispel the notion of a homogenized Muslim people and an Islamic faith in the USA. Western feminist work reflects diverse women’s lives and experiences. A study of immigrant women who organize their lives along ethnic (South Asian) and religious (Islam/Ahmadiyyat) prescriptions will contribute to western feminism by expanding its scope, while at the same time challenging its perceived static hegemonic status. Ahmadi women, while cognizant of the gender hierarchy and the “holy patriarchy” of their faith, are willing to “compromise” their own need for autonomy in an endeavor to fulfill their spiritual needs and the security their prescribed roles bring about