ISSN 2736-1578
African Journal of Gender and Women Studies | Vol. 11, No. 2, February 2026 | pp. 49–56
DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/000202
Review Article
The Politics of the Veil and Female Agency in North African Higher Education
Yasmin El-Amrani¹, Leila Benali²
¹Department of Cultural Studies, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
²Faculty of Humanities, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
Abstract: Debates surrounding female Islamic dress codes in educational institutions often polarize modernist and traditionalist discourses across North Africa. This review article critically evaluates how female university students in Morocco and Tunisia negotiate personal piety, academic ambition, and political expression through their choice of attire. Drawing upon 38 qualitative studies published between 2015 and 2025, we challenge Western feminist frameworks that reduce the veil to a symbol of oppression or passive conformity. Instead, the literature demonstrates that wearing or rejecting the hijab functions as a dynamic performance of agency, resistance against state secular surveillance, and navigation of modern professional identities. The synthesis reveals generational shifts where young educated women articulate a hybrid feminist consciousness blending spiritual autonomy with civic engagement. The paper concludes that liberating female agency in the region requires dismantling both state-enforced dress restrictions and patriarchal policing of women’s bodies.
Keywords: Female agency, Islamic dress, higher education, North Africa, post-colonial feminism
Manuscript Timeline: Received: November 20, 2025; Revised: December 20, 2025; Accepted: January 08, 2026; Published: February 10, 2026
Citation: El-Amrani, Y., & Benali, L. (2026). The Politics of the Veil and Female Agency in North African Higher Education. African Journal of Gender and Women Studies, 11(2), 49–56. DOI: 10.46882/2026/AJGWS/000202
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