In the modern Muslim world, many states emerging from conflict or shaped by authoritarian legacies sustain power through centralized systems of coercive governance. These regimes often justify their authority through claims of religious legitimacy, national security, or social order; narratives enforced by militaries, intelligence agencies, and police forces. Yet dissent persists in diverse forms; from civic activism and religious movements to transnational advocacy for human rights and justice. Women play a critical role in these struggles: as activists, scholars, and community leaders, they challenge both state repression and patriarchal interpretations of religion and law. This course explores how women resist coercive systems of governance and security, and how law, religion, and legitimacy intersect in these struggles. Drawing on political science, feminist theory, Islamic legal thought, and human rights scholarship, it examines how coercive institutions justify and sustain authority; how Islamic legal, ethical, and philosophical traditions are mobilized or contested; and how international norms, local moral orders, and transnational feminist movements interact in shaping political opposition, reform, and agency. Case studies focus on Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.