Social justice under secular liberalism: Muslims’ everyday ethics and human development in India and the Netherlands
- What are Pakistani-Dutch Muslim women’s perspectives on and experience of well-being and development?
- How does the context of Dutch secularism impact their ability to achieve well-being?
Dr Fernande Pool, participant of the LEaDing Fellows Postdoc Programme of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) partnership is seeking answers to these questions.
Her multi-disciplinary research comprises a comparative study of Muslims’ everyday ethics under secular liberalism in India and the Netherlands and of perspectives on well-being, dignity and other related concepts.
The qualitative research takes place in the cities of The Hague and Almere in the Netherlands, using interviews and focus groups together with Muslim women with a Pakistani background.
What does human dignity mean for a discriminated minority in a secular country?
Why is this research relevant?
According to Dr Pool, secular liberalism has so far been unsuccessful in guaranteeing equal human dignity, especially in a time of polarization and anti-Muslim sentiments.
With this research she intends to gain better insights in what human dignity means for a discriminated religious minority in a secular country.
Moreover, she aims to contribute to academic, policy and public debates on migration, social justice and multiculturalism and to improve the policy and development frameworks that aim for inclusive social justice. In particular, the research’s intention is to draw attention to the role religion may play for development and integration policy and practice.
Collaboration and funding
Though hosted at the International Institute of Social Studies, Dr Pool will be collaborating with Leiden University, including the Leiden Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR), Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), and International Studies
