Maleiha Malik
Feminism’s outstanding contribution as an ideology and a political movement has been its insistence that theory and practice are intimately connected. Theory matters: not only because it can influence the way women are treated but also — and crucially — because it can influence women’s self-understanding. Yet, at the same time, thoughtful feminist scholars have recognised that when faced with stubborn empirical facts — the sincere claims of individual women — theory must align itself to practice.