Synopses & Reviews
This powerful account of the oppression of women in the Muslim world remains as shocking today as when it was first published, more than a quarter of a century ago.
Nawal El Saadawi writes out of a powerful sense of the violence and injustice which permeated her society. Her experiences working as a doctor in villages around Egypt, witnessing prostitution, honour killings and sexual abuse, including female circumcision, drove her to give voice to this suffering. She goes on explore the causes of the situation through a discussion of the historical role of Arab women in religion and literature. Saadawi argues that the veil, polygamy and legal inequality are incompatible with the essence of Islam or any human faith.
Review
"The leading spokeswoman on the status of women in the Arab World." Guardian
Review
"Nawal El Saadawi...speaks directly on behalf of many women in the Third World and the daily struggles they face." West Africa
Synopsis
This is a personal and often disturbing account of growing up into womanhood in the Islamic world. The author ranges over a host of topics from sexual
aggression against female children and the circumcision of young girls, to prostitution, sexual relationships, marriage and divorce. She relates women's position in the Middle East to the struggles between the left and right in Islam, and shows how the political priorities of Western and Third World women differ.
Synopsis
Presents an account of brutality against women in the Muslim world. This work explores the causes of the situation through a discussion of the historical role of Arab women in religion and literature. It argues that the veil, polygamy and legal inequality are incompatible with the just and peaceful Islam.
About the Author
Nawal El Saadawi doctor, writer and militant advocate of Arab women's rights was born in Kafr Tahla village on the banks of the Nile. She was
Egypt's Director of Public Health, until summarily dismissed as a consequence of her political activities. Undeterred by this, the banning of her books, and a
period of imprisonment under Sadat, she continues to write about Arab women's problems and their struggle for liberation.