In Do Muslim Women Need Saving?, author Lila Abu-Lughod has challenged and discussed contemporary notions of culture, Islam, and universal human rights by addressing the structures, politics, and media that have influenced society, and more precisely, Western society’s understanding of these topics. The message she argues throughout the book attempts to change the ideas the post-9/11 mindset has created about predominately Muslim communities and subsequently, the role of Islam in the oppression of women. Based on her experiences in Egypt and Palestine and complementary research, six chapters delve into understanding the complexities of the oppression of women by removing stigmas against an entire religion and culture, emphasizing the need to
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As previously mentioned, Muslim women’s rights have become a form of commodity that is used and re-used to fit certain agendas of states’ and religion’s politics and institutions. Although Muslim women should not be a labeled into a single category that can be discussed in an unanimous way, the “new common sense” language as discussed in Chapter 2 allows for it. Abu-Lughod argues for the analysis of these women’s rights as more complex and therefore, become more appropriate for different social contexts. Her analysis of the two areas where she has conducted her research—Egypt and Palestine—are exemplary of this complexity. In Palestine, NGO projects and occupation have aided in the advancement of women’s rights in the region and stayed true to their commitment. While in Egypt, a clash between women’s rights, local and international organizations and religious institutions has led to a “governance feminism” by the elite and a commodification of women’s …show more content…
From the introduction of the book to the introduction of each chapter, she points to the importance of understanding the history and context of a situation. Yet, she rarely explores these topics that are in fact, essential to her argument. For example, in Chapter 5, the subcategory “Egypt: In Shifting Fields” begins with a thorough explanation of the history of the women’s movements in Egypt beginning in 1899 with the publication of Quasim Amin’s book and ending with the uprising in Egypt in 2011. It would have been interesting to see the same level of analysis of context and history for issues such as the War on Terror or within Palestine where she focused on a single local movement and not the situation as a
As previously mentioned, Muslim women’s rights have become a form of commodity that is used and re-used to fit certain agendas of states’ and religion’s politics and institutions. Although Muslim women should not be a labeled into a single category that can be discussed in an unanimous way, the “new common sense” language as discussed in Chapter 2 allows for it. Abu-Lughod argues for the analysis of these women’s rights as more complex and therefore, become more appropriate for different social contexts. Her analysis of the two areas where she has conducted her research—Egypt and Palestine—are exemplary of this complexity. In Palestine, NGO projects and occupation have aided in the advancement of women’s rights in the region and stayed true to their commitment. While in Egypt, a clash between women’s rights, local and international organizations and religious institutions has led to a “governance feminism” by the elite and a commodification of women’s …show more content…
From the introduction of the book to the introduction of each chapter, she points to the importance of understanding the history and context of a situation. Yet, she rarely explores these topics that are in fact, essential to her argument. For example, in Chapter 5, the subcategory “Egypt: In Shifting Fields” begins with a thorough explanation of the history of the women’s movements in Egypt beginning in 1899 with the publication of Quasim Amin’s book and ending with the uprising in Egypt in 2011. It would have been interesting to see the same level of analysis of context and history for issues such as the War on Terror or within Palestine where she focused on a single local movement and not the situation as a