Fresh footprint; Religion and agency of pious traditional Muslim women

Studies in the field of religion and women consider the emancipation of women from the structure of patriarchy and the challenge of the beliefs and interpretations of traditional Islam to belong to the upper class and elite of society. In this study, this question arises whether traditional pious women of the lower classes also have the ability to re-interpret religion in their everyday lives? How do these women, without knowing the sources of religious intellectualism, re-interpret traditional religion and practically apply it in their lives? For this study, in-depth semi-structured interviews with traditional pious women in Ankara and Tehran were used. The results of this study show that women have not only used religion as a tool to expand their empowerment opportunities, but they have challenged traditional Islam and the interpretations that has tried to suppress them with the help of patriarchy for long years. They have inadvertently opened the space for the entry of religious intellectualism thoughts into their practical everyday life. Indirect opposition to the laws that have a jurisprudential basis has caused: firstly, women to go beyond the stage of resistance, and secondly, this opposition as intangible struggles has been able to change aspects of their lives, and eventually it shows a more concrete view of Islam's equality towards women.