Arab Culture In Yasmin's Honor

“Honor” is a story that illustrates the patriarchal nature of the Arab culture. There are two different families described in this story each with contrasting beliefs. The first family exhibits a progressive lifestyle while the second family is a traditional Arab family with Muslim beliefs. Throughout “Honor” I was introduced to many different characters who all demonstrated a different view on family. Yasmin has innovative thoughts and an independent mind resulting from her parents' beliefs. Wafa was influenced by the Muslim beliefs but still wanted the best for Sawsan, and was starting to question her Uncle and Father’s views on honor and family. In Addition, I could empathize with Sawsan, who took the risk of dishonoring her family to do something independent, such as going to the coffee shop. Although all of these interested me, my favorite character is Yasmin’s mother. Yasmin’s mother has an innovative and progressive view of gender roles in contrast to the traditional Muslim community in which they live. Yasmin’s mother portrayed disdain for conservative Arab sexist culture. She and her husband worked together as equals in their relationship and …show more content…
I learned the scarring effect of Arab culture, including “Honor Killings”. In the story, a family attempts to murder their own daughter, to restore their social status. It is disheartening to find that such an unforgiving punishment still exists today. I also learned the significance of the hijab and its representation of female modesty as well as the patriarchal nature of Arab society where females are not able to leave home alone, marriages are arranged to much older men, and the mindset is that a woman is here only to serve a male. The quote “What is a man, if he cannot control the women in his life?” represents the mentality of the story, a man’s control over a woman’s thoughts and