Negotiating Islam, Modernity, and Gender

A Discourse Analysis of Muslim Women’s Responses to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030

Abstract

The social reform movement launched through Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia represents a new phase of Islamic modernity by positioning women’s empowerment as a key pillar of national transformation. This study aims to examine Muslim women’s responses to these reforms and analyze how contemporary Islamic discourse reconstructs the meaning of women’s roles within the framework of modern Islamic civilization. Positioned within a critical-descriptive approach, this study employs a qualitative literature analysis using Foucault’s discourse theory integrated with Amina Wadud’s Islamic feminist perspective. Data were obtained from Vision 2030 policy documents, international reports, scholarly publications, and Twitter/X discussions reflecting Saudi women’s opinions. The findings reveal three major patterns of response: adaptive, resistant, and ambivalent. Furthermore, the state uses Islam as an ideological instrument through three discursive stages: religious legitimation by clerical authorities, reinterpretation of teachings in global religious forums, and internalization of moderate values in social policy. The study concludes that Vision 2030 reforms signify not only gender policy transformation but also the recontextualization of Islamic discourse that situates women as active agents in negotiating religion, culture, and modernity. On a transnational scale, these dynamics offer a critical comparative lens for the evolution of moderate Islamic (wasathiyyah) discourse and gender mainstreaming initiatives across the global Muslim world, while providing vital reflections for the domestic context in Indonesia.