I have read many books, fiction and non-fiction, that have influenced my way of thinking, enlightened me and positively changed me. One of them is Headscarves And Hymens: Why The Middle East Needs A Revolution published on April 21, 2015 and authored by Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian-American writer, a campaigner and a commentator on women's issues worldwide. She focused particularly on the Middle East in this book.
Please keep an open mind as you read along.
The dedication page of this book reads,
To the girls of the Middle East and North Africa: Be immodest, rebel, disobey and know you deserve to be free. (Emphasis mine)
Growing up in an environment and a country where freedom is like an inestimable gem and available only to the wealthy class, I could understand where this author was coming from.
A quick question (if you have not read this book) - what was your first thought upon sighting the title? For me, I saw "headscarves", "hymens" and "sexual revolution", I knew it's a must read and I would not remain the same after reading. This book focused on freedom, discrimination and the pursuit of gender equality.
It is not a lengthy book, just 240 pages so an average reader can finish it in one day. I did. Though an interesting read, I did not completely agree with some of the issues raised. The things that make me treasure this book are the issues of freedom and gender equality.
The author starts the book by recounting a part of an Egyptian-American writer, Alifa Rifaat's short story about a woman whose husband had sexual intercourse with her while she focused on the ceiling, noting the cobwebs and other areas she would clean after the tedious, uninteresting activity was over. This led the author to expound on how women have been 'hated', enslaved and denied freedom over the years.
Can it be said that freedom is not just a physical act but also a state of the mind? According to Dictionary.com, freedom is the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants. Wikipedia defines freedom as having the ability to act or change without constraint.
From time immemorial, human beings have always pursued freedom in all aspects because constraint of any form goes contrary to our nature as beings with free will. Not that I did not know, but this book drove home the reality that not all human beings are free and that the measure of freedom we have should be cherished.
The author wrote about some of her personal experience of sexual assaults and incidents of violence against women. Such violence have been justified by some as the author noted in her book,
The law gives men permission to beat their wives as long as it is "with good intentions". This means beatings that are not "severe" or "directed at the face".
The author covered the issues of female genital mutilation, sexual assault and discrimination. These issues are not limited to Africans and Arabs alone but all over the world.
Reading this book can be depressing (it was for me) especially for someone who is not so familiar with the level of female oppression in some parts of the world.
Though this book can spark debates, hateful and angry comments and arguments, it is a good subject and one I'll recommend to anyone (irrespective of gender) to read with an open mind.
My eyes are opened to the fact that we have systems around the world that make excuses by disguising discrimination into political, religious or cultural groups. Still, discrimination is wrong and not going away anytime soon.
I admire the courage of this author to pen down her message to the world even when it's seen as politically incorrect by some people. This book has generated a lot of controversial comments and discussions. Just as goodreads described this book, "...Headscarves and Hymens is as illuminating as it is incendiary."
Still, it is worth reading.
This is my entry to the Hive Book Club Community Contest #1. You may participate by clicking on the link. Remember to follow the rules.
References:
Source 1
Source 2
Image source from e-book format.