Abstract: The case discussed in the paper furnishes, on the one hand, an example of the significance of close examination of local situations for gaining a fuller understanding of global phenomena; on the other, it addresses gender issues by indicating the different ways employed by women who find themselves 'trapped' in 'traditionally-locked' situations. Thus, women of the Hadendaw tribe (an all-Muslim society) in Eastern Sudan have been found to have used a traditional educational institution - the Quranic School (Khalwa) - in their efforts to achieve greater social participation, both at the local and national levels. Also, if a phenomenon like Islamic revivalism is to be grasped, local dynamics - as in the above case - have to be studied, to determine the constraints to, and chances of its development.