Attached to Paper Session
Meeting Preference
What insights might be gained into Tanzanian women’s experience of Islam by studying radio? Through the lens of linguistic anthropology, my presentation addresses this question by examining Tanzanian women’s relationship to Muslim radio based on ethnographic research at Radio Nuur, a non-denominational Islamic station based in a small Muslim-majority city, Tanga, on the coast of Tanzania.
First, at the level of discourse, my presentation examines the types of discourses and attendant ideologies broadcast at Radio Nuur and how its female staff engages with them. Second, by centering women’s “voice” (and literal voices), my research offers a corrective to scholarship on Islamic discourse in East Africa that has focused mainly on men’s perspectives. While other Tanzania Muslim stations may not allow women to speak on the air or to participate in their call-in programs (Ng’atiwa 2014), Radio Nuur has at least three women on its staff, many women journalism students interning in its office, a dedicated program for women one day each week, and encourages women callers to speak on the air. I examine whether radio discourse by, for, or about women contributes to increased “voice” for them in the radio station workplace and their wider community.
Radio and other media have long been recognized as contributing to people’s conception of themselves as belonging to a community or nation and how they construct interpretations of others (Anderson 1991; Hall 1997). My research elucidates the role Islamic radio plays in creating or maintaining Tanzanian Muslims’ views of themselves as belonging to both a local religious community and a global community of Muslims, as well as how they navigate competing foreign and local, liberal and conservative, Sufi and Salafi discourses, in this case, about gender (cf. Schulz 2012). These questions have important implications for gendered, national, regional, and transnational communication flows within Tanzania and beyond, including understandings of Islam as a local and global religion.
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)
The study explores Tanzanian women's engagement with Islam through an ethnography of Radio Nuur, a non-denominational Islamic station in Tanga, Tanzania. Based on participant observation and interviews, the research investigates the discourse types and ideologies broadcasted, emphasizing women's participation and perspectives. Contrary to other stations, Radio Nuur actively involves women, both as staff and callers, potentially increasing their "voice" in the workplace and community. I examine how radio discourse shapes Tanzanian Muslims' sense of belonging to local and global religious communities and influences their interpretations of gender roles amidst diverse religious discourses. By studying media's role in constructing community identities and negotiating various ideological influences, the research sheds light on gendered communication dynamics within Tanzania and beyond, impacting understandings of Islam's local and global dimensions.