Abstract:

The rhetoric of equality of women and men which is generally acknowledged in Alawite order constitutes the frame of perception of gender in Alawite order. The assertion of women and men equality is accepted as the main feature of Alawite belief and advocated with various reasons. For instance, it is admitted as an important indicator that men and women during the Cem (gathering) ritual share the same place as “can” which means leaving genders aside but pure soul. The proclamation that “women and men are equal” is grounded through certain historical female figures in Alawite order. In many studies, gender of woman is presented as a distinctive feature of communal identity without any critical analysis. Nonetheless the differentiation between the “idealized status” of woman and “reality” in Alawite order could be grasped by means of such studies that would infiltrate into the Alawite women’s position in religious life and everyday life.

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