Forgotten Footprints of Faith a Systematic Literature Review of Female Sufis in South Asia

Abstract

Despite their significant contribution, the role of women in Sufi tradition of South Asia has largely been ignored in the extant literature. This paper which conducted systematic literature review of the study is composed of about 25 articles, books and other materials illuminates the subject on the role of women in Sufism in South Asia. The results indicate that the female Sufis played their role in numerous fields such as gender-free spirituality, shrine culture and religious consciousness. The results also indicate that most of the work done by female Sufis are unrecorded in a way that limits a proper judgment on how the Sufi culture in South Asia owed itself to the contribution of female Sufis.The female figure has been either demarginalized or unrepresented in South Asian religious traditions, particularly, in traditions formed on the basis of Islamic mysticism. This study sheds more light on the significance of the sacred and cultural roles that women have been playing to perpetuate and model Sufi practices. By reviewing a significant amount of an academic literature, one can see that their impact is very wide and significant. However, due to less documentation and identifications in history, a lot of that contribution is shadowed or ignored. Thus, this review underlines the necessity of additional studies, preservation, and representation of women and their position in Sufi customs, especially in the situation of the country of the South Asian region with its multicultural background and rich background.