Diversity in Women's Pursuit of Justice

We may want justice for women, but can we accept that there might be different ideas about justice and that different women might want, or choose, different futures from what we envision is best?" (788). what might be best for a woman in the United States might not be what is best for a woman in Afghanistan? There may be some overlap and agreement, but there maybe there won't be. The important thing to recognize is that this is okay to have different views. It is okay to have different beliefs and fight for different causes. Women around the world do not all want the same things, and shouldn't feel like they must. Abu-Lughod continues, "My point is to remind us to be aware of differences, respectful of other paths toward social change that

might give women better lives. Can there be a liberation that is Islamic? And, beyond this, is liberation even a goal for which all women or people strives? Are emancipation, equality, and rights part of a universal language we must use?" (788). these are questions that I think every person should consider.
Abu-Lughod's discussion of respecting and understanding differences connects to the larger idea of choice.

I can't help but recognize how dominant this theme has been throughout, and how important it is to recognize that women everywhere deserve to have choices. The same idea applies to feminism. Feminists come in all shapes and sizes. When the authors of Manifesta came to speak, they talked about how there is no one definition of feminism - it means different things to different people. Can a woman be pro-life and be a feminist? Of course. Can a woman be a Muslim and be a feminist? Why not? More importantly, who has the right to argue otherwise? Imposing certain beliefs on others, feminist or otherwise, does not seem to benefit anyone. What we could all benefit from is taking Abu-Lughod's words to heart - we all must ask ourselves how we might contribute to making the world a more just place for

everyone.
I didn’t find the essay persuasive being because I am a Muslim and I know the customs and the reason behind it which is unknown to many non-Islamic individuals.

My belief is that Lila Abu-Lughod’s essay is a critical reflection on the mushrooming industry, and its representatives, representations, and bureaucracy. I can justify that Abu-Laughed succeeds exposing several stubbornly persistent myths. She critically assesses the vast number of sensational representations of women, written by Muslims and others, about the general repression in a so-called Islam Land. She follows the trail of global feminism in the extensive bureaucracy, institutions and non-governmental organizations that have emerged since the 1990s, all claiming to save Muslim women… Her focus on analyzing how individual Muslim women experience freedom, rights and constraints bring a much-needed perspective. She offers a panoramic view of women’s multiple experiences in their own contexts, thereby dismissing sweeping generalizations about these women being a homogeneous oppressed mass. She urges us to look at contexts shaped by global politics, international capital and modern state institutions that all contribute to changing landscapes of family and community. Abu-Lughod reminds us that rights may be universal but above all, they are projects bounded by political contexts, institutions, and language… This book is destined to unsettle the convictions of those concerned with saving Muslim women. Many will find

it shocking for its uncompromising critique of recent moral crusades, while careful readers will doubtless find in it enough ammunition to deconstruct projects that may seem worth pursuing, but ultimately are not as focused on improving women’s lives in faraway places as they first appear. Abu-Lughod dissolves geographical boundaries exposes the limits of global morality and deconstructs the international power context that allows Muslim women to remain that distant voiceless other, awaiting intervention.