Women's Religious Activity in the North Caucasus: Historical and Ethnographical Aspect (The Case of Dagestan)

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2025-4/136-144

Authors

Keywords:

Islam, gender, religion, women's activity, religious practice, North Caucasus, sufism, ziyarat, Dagestan

Abstract

The article examines the religious activity of Muslim women during the Soviet era and at present using archival and ethnographic materials, the results of field expeditions, empathy, and comparative historical analysis. The chronological framework of the study allows us to identify periods when women's religious activity increased or declined. The relevance of the topic stems from the surge in women's religious activity in the context of the re-Islamization of Dagestan society. The purpose of the work is to highlight the problems of gender asymmetry in religion and to identify the causes, opportunities and periods of women's activity in religion, revealing their real role in spiritual life and religious practices. Research showed that opportunities for women to participate in public religious activities arise for women during periods of extraordinary events. An increase in women's activity is noted during the anti-religious campaign of the 1920s and 1930s: instead of repressed clergy, many religious practices were carried out by women. Despite the multitude of publications on this topic, there is clearly a lack of research devoted specifically to Dagestan. In this regard, such a research is a very important step toward preserving the history of the region. 

Author Biographies

  • Saida Sirazhudinova, Dagestan State University of National Economy

    Sirazhudinova, Saida V. — Ph.D. in Political Sciences, Associate Professor, Dagestan State University of National Economy (Makhachkala, Russian Federation). E-mail: saida_kant@mail.ru  ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6069-6076

  • Oksana Mutieva, Dagestan State University

    Mutieva, Oksana S. — Doctor in History, Professor, Dagestan State University (Makhachkala, Russian Federation). E-mail: mutiewa.oksana@yandex.ru ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7669-3558

    For citation: Sirazhudinova, S. V., and O. S. Mutieva. 2025. Women's Religious Activity in the North Caucasus: Historical and Ethnographical Aspect (The Case of Dagestan). Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik Antropologii) 4: 136–144.

    Funding: The study was funded by the Russian State Foundation, project No 22-28-00484, https://rscf.ru/project/22-28-00484/

    References

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Published

14.12.2025

Issue

No. 4 (2025): Herald of Anthropology (Vestnik antropologii)

Section

The Anthropology of Religion