**1. Introduction**

One of the most disputed practices associated with gender issues in Islamic societies is gender segregation or the public/private or inside/outside divide. This idea of a Muslim public/private spatial dichotomy has long been used to publicise images of isolated Muslim women who are separated from public life. This polarity is often reflected as a distinct feature of Muslim communities that many scholars consider as a central, cross-cultural component of Muslim social life (Fewkes 2019). In Muslim societies, this division is depicted in the mosques where there is strict separation between women and men, and the gender segregation is ingrained in women's child-bearing role and a perceived need to control women's sexuality (Ahmed 1992; Hammer 2012b; Mernissi 1975). Strict gender segregation in mosques, in the form of separate rooms and entrances, is also a common practice among Muslim communities in Europe and other Western countries (Auda 2017; Nyhagen and Halsaa 2016). Australian Muslim communities are no exception. Most mosques practice gender segregation. Despite growing scholarship on mosques as gendered spaces in Australian contexts, there is still little research on women's views and experiences of attending their local mosques. Currently, the inclusion of women in mosque activities is a contested issue (Nyhagen 2019). Although some research indicates Muslim women in Australia are participating in mosques (Hussain 2009; Woodlock 2010a), the practice of gender segregation is still happening and women are often not involved in decision making (Rane et al. 2020; Sohrabi 2016). Therefore, the mosque space remains overwhelmingly male-centred. The cultural practice of gender segregation in many mosques leads to a general lack of women's participation in public events and restrictions on their role in places of worship. It is noteworthy that the segregation in the mosques is not merely based on gender. Particularly in countries where Muslims are a minority, there is often a social segregation based on theological views or ethnicity (Kamil and Darojat 2019).

By 2016, there were over 340 mosques in Australia, most of which were built after the late 1970s.

The earliest mosque in Australia was built in Maree, South Australia, likely in the 1860s (Bowker 2016). In Australia, similar to other Western countries, mosques have mostly been founded by immigrant communities and culturally situated in their Islamic traditions and interpretations of religion (Woodlock 2010b). Predictably, these mosques reproduced the culture of the mosques in their home countries which were mainly conservative in terms of women's role and participation in the mosque (Hussain 2009). Mosques in Australia are generally run by men. Men also hold the positions of religious leaders or Imams, who lead the prayers. Attending Friday prayer is only a religious obligation for men, while women are encouraged to pray at home. These first Muslim communities provided little opportunity for the participation of women in mosques, relying heavily on the cultural practices of their home countries, which encouraged gender segregation and were mainly exclusionary towards women (Woodlock 2010a). The exclusion of women and having their own religious space has functioned as a shelter for women from the public (male) gaze through the shield provided by curtains, walls, and closed gates (Jaschok 2012). Women's attendance is dependent on the availability of a gender segregated place separated entirely from the main prayer room and a separate entrance (Shannahan 2014). Mosques that are open to women usually allocate women worse physical spaces compared to those provided for men which reveals "an overall prioritization of male space and needs" (2014, p. 15). When women go to mosques, they are peripheral, separate, and invisible.

On the other hand, the importance of religious institutions in the reception and resettlement of immigrants in Western host countries is not limited to Muslims (Karimshah et al. 2014). Some studies (Foley and Hoge 2007; Wilson 2011) found that for immigrants, membership in a place of worship not only serves religious needs but plays an important role in providing social connections in an unfamiliar environment. Therefore, the ability to access the religious space is vital for community belonging. However, in recent years, Muslim women, mainly in North America and Europe, have challenged the gender segregation and absence of Muslim women in the mosques. They have developed alternative pathways where traditional hierarchical religious discourses were replaced by more inclusive, integrated, and egalitarian perspectives (Hoel 2013). They established inclusive mosques and led prayers in mixed gender congregations. Regrettably, in Australia, the current patriarchal structure of mosques has not often been questioned by Muslim communities. This research tries to open the discussion for progressive Muslim women to express their views on gender segregation. This paper seeks to address the identified research gap by examining the mosque as a gendered space via a qualitative study of twenty Muslim women and their experiences, expectations and challenges with regard to accessing mosques.

#### **2. Background**

#### *2.1. Muslim Women's Status in the Mosque*

The mosque has always been central to the communal lives of Muslims. The first mosque in the world was established by prophet Muhammad in Medina (Saudi Arabia) in 610 C.E. It was filled with the presence of women, who joined congregational prayers, prayed individually or were involved in group discussions (Mattson 2006). All Muslims regardless of sex or race have the right to access the mosque (Woodlock 2010a). Auda (2017) explores the role of women in the mosques based on Quran, Hadith and the prophet's tradition thoroughly. He argues that some Quranic verses about mosques urge all believers, men and women, who seek guidance and knowledge to attend mosques. Moreover, the tradition of the prophet comprises many authentic narrations about women's presence in the mosques on all occasions and all times (Auda 2017). There are many examples of equality between men and women in leadership roles in mosques and women who became famous preachers (Krausen 2013). Kalmbach (2012) states that before the sixteenth century, there were a number of female religious figures in Islamic sources who had roles as prophet's companions, transmitters of Hadith and scholars. These historical examples legitimise contemporary Muslim women's claim to gender equality in religious institutions. Women activists and Muslim feminists (as some Muslims call

themselves) have based their argument about gender quality on this historic evidence (Nyhagen 2019). Muslim women scholars (Wadud (2006); Barlas (2006); Hassan (1999); Mernissi (1991); Badran (2011); Mir Hosseini (2011)) have attempted to unpack dominant patriarchal interpretations of Islam in an attempt to produce a re-interpretation of Islam based on gender equality and justice (Al-Sharmani 2014). This multifaceted practice of resistance to traditional gender norms is rooted in Muslim women's invoking of "authentic Islam" as a gender-equal religion. In particular, Amina Wadud is well known as the first Muslim woman who led Friday prayer for a mixed gender congregation in New York on 18 March 2005. Since then, there have been other female leaders who have led mixed gender prayers or women only prayers. In North America, five other Muslim women have since been prompted to lead mixed gender public prayers (Sharify-Funk and Kassam Haddad 2012). In Scandinavia, at least four women have openly demanded the title of Imam since 2001, and others have either been granted the title or claimed it in their local communities. Similarly, in Germany, at least three women utilise the Imam title (Petersen 2019). Globally, however, some women deliver the khutbah1 and lead Friday prayer without claiming the Imam title (2019). Therefore, despite the current increasing segregation of the sexes in the Muslim community, there has been a surge of Muslim women's activism in different arenas, particularly in women's claims to religious authority. There are indications that Muslim women are rapidly developing religious knowledge and authority (Kalmbach 2012).

#### *2.2. Gender, Religion and Space*

Gender is a prominent feature of religion. All around the world many religious beliefs and traditions determine gendered and sexual practices and routines (Avishai et al. 2015). Applying a feminist lens to study the intersection of gender and religion means studying how religions "produce and reproduce gendered identities and institutions, as well as how men and women live their lives and negotiate with dominant ideas and identities" (2015, p. 13). Historically, studies of gender and religion were dedicated to women's religious experiences and interpreting oppressive religious traditions. The discussion of gender and religion began in the 1970s and 1980s with feminist critiques of religion such as Nason-Clark (1997) and Braude (1987). Following the history of gender studies, much of this scholarship was produced by women sociologists who were active in the women's movement and who excoriated women's experiences within different religious traditions (Avishai and Irby 2013). More recently, studies have focused on critical feminist scholarship such as the meaning and impact of the participation of women and men in conservative religions (Avishai et al. 2015).

Furthermore, the ways people understand, organise and communicate about the spaces around them play an important role in the development of social relations. Successively, social relations, impact on how environments are defined and experienced (Massey 1994). Religions have a strong impact on the making of space and reproducing the power relations (Knott 2005). Often religion is used to create space into binaries such as male/female, public/private, and sacred/ordinary. In contrast, some people utilise their faith to challenge existing hierarchies and power relations (Prickett 2015). As Kong (2010) affirms, everyday spaces are associated with religious meaning making, maintaining and also challenging religious beliefs and practices. On the other hand, feminist theorists and geographers argue that any social space is always gendered (Massey 1994). They have highlighted the important and complex ways in which space and place are created and experienced in gendered ways. Gender as a social construction influences the life chances and spatial experiences of women and men in a range of different localities (Hopkins 2009). Kong (2001) also explains that religious places are socially structured spaces therefore, both religion and space are experienced in different ways by men and women. Regarding gender inequality in religious spaces, the hegemonic patriarchal views and attitudes which exclude women can be contested. Therefore, religious spaces are complicated and the intersection between religion and gender result in a conflicting argument that religion can both reinforce oppression of women and

1 prayer and sermon delivered in the mosques.

empower them to achieve gender justice (Wang 2017). Here, the intersection of religion (Islam), gender and space (mosque) will be explored through Muslim women's views and experiences of attending their local mosques.