Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak

In Middle Eastern Muslim Women Speak, editors Fernea and Bezirgan havemade a valiant effort to unveil an important dimension of Middle Eastern historyand society, a dimension that has been for the most part, hidden from viewbecause of the false notion that the world of Islam is a world created by menfor men rather than a joint creation of men and women.The book is a collection of documents from different historical periods andregions of the Middle East, as well as from different social and economicgroups. it provides a somewhat clearer view of the conditions, aspirations,struggles, and achievements of Middle Eastern Muslim women.In some ways the book is a paradox. The editors show how Middle Easternwomen haved risen to greater political and public eminence than women inthe United States, while as a sex remaining largely subservient to men andenjoying less access to the means of personal advancement.The first book to use a documentary approach rather than essays by thirdpersons, it is also the first book to include material unavailable in English.Many of the selections of these autobiographical and biographical writingshave been translated by the editors from Arabic, Persian, or French. And,it is the first to gather together materials from A.D. 622 (beginning of Islam)to the present. Offering a fresh and lively approach the book should be ofvalue not only to those interested in the Middle East, but also to anthropologistsand social historians.From a vast area, the editors have chosen a sample of women from twelvecountries. Despite their different backgrounds and experiences, the womenrepresented have all worked out their own solutions within the context of localpractice established between the two contradictory poles of Koranic injunctionand family and tribal custom.The book has a well-presented Foreword, a detailed Introduction, and is ...