Affective Matrivocality and Women’s Voices: A History of Muslim Women Writers in China

China has a unique heritage of matriliny and matrifocality among ethnic minorities. Focusing on what I call matrivocality, this chapter highlights Hui Muslim women’s growing—albeit still limited—influence, from women’s mosques to the public sphere in China. The first section offers a historical review of Chinese Muslim women’s changing status in social and religious life. In the second section, I trace the active participation of Hui Muslim women in the public sphere from the first half of the twentieth century until today, particularly through literature and mass media. The circulation of Muslim women’s work has significantly expanded the scope of their influence beyond the home, into workplaces and women’s mosques. In conclusion, I argue that Hui Muslim women have been cultivating a moderate, non-factional image of Islam in China through cultural representations in public spheres. The changing gender consciousness manifested through the works of Huo Da, Ma Jinlian, and other Hui women writers’ works reflects what I call the affective dimension of matrivocality within the heterogeneous Hui communities in China, thus challenging the stereotypical misconception of Muslim women as passive, submissive, and voiceless that is common among Muslims and non-Muslims both inside and outside of China.