Women And Culture In The Middle East

Societies like those in the Middle East have been characterized as obsessed with honor and shame, marked by Islamic fatalism or rife with agonistic jockeying between fragmenting tribal segments or calculating individuals", writes Abu-Lughod in the Introduction to her book, Writing Women's Worlds (p.22). Especially post 9/11, "Moslem" is synonymous with "terrorist", the veil is associated with "the oppression of Muslim women" and Islam is emblematic of violence and backwardness. In today's world, much of the Western Feminist criticism of Muslim women comes from their docile acceptance of perpetuating this image of Islam, a powerful force that not only prevents Islamic societies from emulating the "progress" of the West but that also keeps women in a state of "abject slavery". These contemporary Western feminist assumptions stem from the general constellation of ideas coined by Edward Said known as "Orientalism". This term used to represent an exaggerated and distorted way of viewing the differences in culture between the East and the West. "The West" has constructed "the East" as extremely different and inferior, barbaric, violent and uncultured, and therefore, in need of Western intervention or "rescue". Amongst the most popular perceptions that permeate the West even today are Muslim women being oppressed by their religion, forced to cover themselves completely, denied education and treated poorly by their men, especially through the "widespread" practice of polygyny. Although both Lila Abu-Lughod and Lara Deeb conduct their ethnographic research in two very different Muslim communities, in different time periods, and have their unique styles of writing, both successfully dismantle generalist assumptions around Muslim women by illustrating their daily lives from an objective lens. Thereby, effectively addressing the complexities that accompany Muslim women's power and position. In Writing Women's Worlds, Abu Lughod uses the technique of "writing against culture" to urge the readers not to reduce diverse situations and attitudes of millions of Muslim women based on a single item of clothing or a certain cultural practice. In fact, by zooming into the ordinariness of their daily lives and particulars, she depicts that these women are like any other women. They are "not automatons programmed according to "cultural" rules or acting out social roles, but are people going through life wondering what they should do, making mistakes, being opinionated, vacillating, trying to make themselves look good, enduring tragic losses, enjoying others and finding moments of laughter"(p.27, W.W.W). Abu-Lughod's attempt to deconstruct this notion of "otherness" is one of her main tools to prevent an ethnocentric interpretation of the lives of these women by her audience. Only once the reader is able to embrace the familiarity of their lives, can one understand the complexities that exist around the key themes of patrilineage, polygyny, reproduction, cousin marriage, and honor and shame. Each chapter of her book addresses certain larger themes and focuses on one female character as the central figure in that section. Through this, Abu-Lughod presents the context and circumstances that shape the different attitudes and behaviors of each of the individual women. Additionally, she underscores the diversity of opinion, religious beliefs, certain cultural practices and lifestyles that persist or evolve over time - even within the members of the Awlad' Ali tribe. For example, Gateefa who, despite being treated well by her husband, has to share him with two other co-wives. On the contrary, Midgim and Kamla- who are independent, opinionated and assertive women- make sure that their voices are heard in issues of importance to them, such as in the choice of their husbands. As the narrative focus shifts from Midgim to Kamla over the course of the book, it symbolizes more than just the passage of time. It allows the reader to compare the change in cultural practices and ways of life over the generations, which debunks the Western idea of stagnation of Muslim societies. In "Honor and Shame", Abu-Lughod's narrative provides a stark contrast to Western ideas about the oppression of Muslim women and their lack of agency. In her essay, Kamla's writes: "The Bedouin girl tries to overcome the special obstacles she must confront.in a way that doesn't tie her up or block the path before her"(p.224, W.W.W). From her own life's example, too, we see that not only does her father support her in pursuing a higher education, but he also arranges her marriage to an educated man outside of her kinship. This is symbolic both of her agency to make and influence decisions as well as a shift in traditional cultural practices in her community. She uses her religious education as moral arguments against polygyny, for instance, which further demonstrates that it is not Islam that is oppressive, but distorted interpretations of the religious texts by those in power. In fact, the concept of the veil is also cultural practice pre-dated to even before the advent of Islam. Different cultures adopt different forms of covering. Kamla also claims that it is wrong for a woman to veil her face. However, she herself would like to replace her kerchief with the new Islamic head covering, the hijab, but "she was afraid her family would object"(p.237, W.W.W). Interestingly enough, this sheds light to the misconception that all Muslim women wear the veil and are forced to cover themselves. Kamla, even with all her education, wants to embrace the hijab. Where Abu-Lughod's narrative of 'life as lived' portrays the deadening effect generalist assumptions can have on one's capacity to appreciate the diversity of individual Muslim women, Lara Deeb's ethnography An Enchanted Modern addresses the complexities around simplistic Western Feminist assumptions. By exploring the entanglements of modernity, Islamic religiosity and gender roles in al-Dahiyya, the Shi'i Muslim community in Lebanon, Deeb presents a compelling argument against Western stereotypes. It is clear that as a response to Western feminism, rather than being 'another Islamist society', representing the "anti-modern antitheses to a supposedly secular West", (p.24, E.M) this community is in the crux of moving towards spiritual and material progress. This "progress" involves a move away from "tradition" and into a new kind of authenticated Islam, "one that involves conscious and conscientious commitment" (p.5). Before I address the impact of her ethnographic research, I believe it is important to take into consideration the political environment in which this book was written, as well as the fact that "progress" nowadays is measured solely by women's status in a society: more specifically in terms of their involvement in public life. By documenting the new forms of piety that the Shi'i Muslim community struggles to achieve in response to Western ideas, Deeb highlights the ways that individual and collective expressions of piety have been debated, contested and reformulated. As women claim center-stage in this process of 'modern-ness' and authenticating Islam, contradictions and complexities exist, especially within gender roles. She demolishes the simplicity of Western Feminist assumptions by examining the ways notions of piety and modern-ness are lived, debated and shaped. Through the increased role of women in the development of the "pious modern ideal" and their "gender jihad", it is evident that these women do have agency. By drawing upon historical figures in Islam, like Zaynab and Aisha, these women highlight the value of their public roles in the community in order to be a woman, "one who is educated, outspoken, strong and visible, while also being pious and committed to her faith, family and community" (p.217, E.M). In effect, the pious modern alternative poses a threat to the Western Feminist ideal as she is not the "traditional person" that can be rescued nor is she the "empty modern" but rather a relational self, "both embedded in social relations and possessing agentive potential" (p.31, E.M). Furthermore, women's abilities to reinterpret religious texts, through education, religious awareness and debate with men for their rights, underscores the ability women have to make their voices heard, along with dismissing the misconception of Islam being patriarchal. Clearly, it is not the religion that oppresses, but culture. Adding on, public piety comes hand in hand with this pious modern ideal and so, Muslim women are also expected to take on a greater role in the public sphere through community service and participation in Ashura commemorations. Even though these are all important social transformations within al-Dahiyya in attaining the status of the pious modern, my primary focus will be on the role of the hijab, partly due to entanglements around a woman's decisions to adopt the hijab and also in response to the Western media obsession with it. What is apparently a symbol of oppression is seen as an externally visible indication of a woman's morality. Instead of denying a Muslim woman rights, and restricting her, surprisingly the hijab offers a woman, at least in this community, greater respect, mobility and opportunities for public participation. It is also a conscious decision made by most women in light of their religious knowledge and constant struggle to climb the ladder of piety. Even in The Light In Her Eyes, Houda explains: "God made the hijab an obligation to protect a woman from inappropriate looks and acts". The increasing number of educated Muslim women in the Middle East adopting the hijab speaks for itself. Unlike in Writing Women's Worlds where for earlier generations, veiling was just a traditional, meaningless form of covering, the hijab takes on greater meaning for Muslim women in this community. Even Kamla, who represents the educated, modern Bedouin woman, appreciates the hijab. For the educated Muslim woman, it is an expression of identity, piety and modesty. Then how can one claim that it is oppressive? Certainly, it is reductive to make such far-fetched generalist assumptions about Muslim women's lives. As one woman in The Light in Her Eyes describes "customs and traditions being like a cage that imprison us all" and for different communities, whether it is the Awlad' Ali Bedouin tribe in Egypt, the al-Dahiyya community in Lebanon or Houda's community in Syria, it is evident that religious Islamic education provides an escape from this cage. I believe that both Abu-Lughod and Deeb carefully address the stereotypes encompassing Muslim women and successfully deconstruct these assumptions by revealing how complex and unique the lives of Muslim women across and within various communities are. However, there are certain differences between the two communities worth noting. Firstly, being products of different time periods we notice how in Writing Women's Worlds, the Muslim women's "progress" is more personal. Over the generations, there is recognition of self-worth coupled with an understanding of basic rights like education. The Bedouin women only start becoming consciously aware of the Western feminist assumptions upon receiving education. On the other hand, in the al-Dahiyya community, there is a move towards spiritual and material progress of the community as a whole. The women's "gender jihad" is more than just an internal struggle. It extends to the public arena as well as the outside world. As Hajjeh Amal says, "We are also fighting the outside image of a Muslim woman.we have to set a new example for the world, an example of women who are Muslim but strong and educated"(p.219, E.M). Ironically, what is intensifying their struggle and implicitly oppressing these women is greater public participation and higher social expectations, augmented by Western Feminist assumptions! In order to demolish these binary constructions of modern vs. antimodern, secular vs. religious and pious modern vs. traditional woman, the expectations of women within the public sphere and at home have been amplified. With this keen awareness of being constantly scrutinized by the outside world as a marker of their "level of modern-ness"(p.218, E.M), the Muslim women combat external stereotypes of being "oppressed" and "traditional" while confronting patriarchal norms within their community. The relationship between public and personal piety varied from person to person, from moment to moment. Those who felt disconnected either did not agree with the practices of public piety or lead a "double life"(p.22, E.M). Some wore their hijab "just for appearances"(p.221, E.M) while others refrained from it. Even Kamla, seemed to "accept her double life with equanimity"(p.240, W.W.W). Therefore, by combating assumptions about Muslim women, Abu-Lughod and Deeb both reveal the challenges that exist in their attempt to fuse together incompatible desires; "the desire to undermine dominant western discourses about being modern and the desire to be modern - according to those same discourses"(p.33, E.M).