Fadia Faqir’s Pillars of Salt The fictional accounts of women’s experiences in Fadia Faqir’s, Pillars of Salt, illustrate issues articulated by women’s rights activists in the Middle East. Traditional roles of women and men and a mythology of femininity and masculinity are juxtaposed with the disparate realities of the characters. The damaging forces of colonial rule, war, and Westernization are also exposed. I focused particularly on Pillars of Salt, because it contains very sophisticated juxtapositions of women’s reality and mythological accounts of women. It also demonstrates that issues of gender roles are much more complicated than a hierarchy of cruel, powerful men, bent on tradition who maintain the system and progressive women who are helpless to resist or oppose it. For example, the villains of the narratives, Daffash and Um Saad’s father and husband, represent perversions of traditional masculinity. Daffash the ‘more progressive’ (I use this phrase ironically) male character, does not adhere to his traditional duties to his family, to the extreme detriment of his sister and father. The novel does expose the flaws of a system that conditions women’s happiness and well-being on the idea that the men in her society will act in her interests. Also, many of the female characters trust in and are loyal to ideas that inhibit women’s ability to obtain rights and freedoms. The Islamically based conception of equality between men and women is “an equivalency of rights and duties so as to ensure complementarity” (Egypt’s reservations to Article 16, which regards marital law, of the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). This ideology which appears in most religious doctrines (... ... middle of paper ... ...hospital is not a paradise, not an escape, but an ultimate defeat. The fate and struggles of these characters address the tragedy of the under representation of women’s experiences, and a fatal flaw of societies which do not grant women equal status. Sexuality, privileging of males in terms of status law (and women’s control over their own choices in marriage), inheritance rights, restrictions on female mobility, lack of representation of women’s experiences, violence against women, the intersection between nationalist/ resistance struggles and women’s rights, tensions between modernization and cultural preservation, the haunting specter of (and the need to divorce their goals from those associated with) colonial or Westernizing forces, etc. are all issues represented in this book, that are major concerns of Middle Eastern feminist scholars and movements today.
With such a unanimous resentment, particularly in the dominating religious sect of Iran, it is important to address the ideologies within the religion enforce the country’s patriarchal social structure, i.e. the “form of social organization in which males dominate females” (text 38). Furthermore, with the Islamic Revolution of 1979, these attitudes were the driving force behind many of the discriminatory laws that confined women in Iran to a life defined by its limitations.
Khaled Hosseini’s novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, tells the stories of women in Afghanistan in the late twentieth century. Hosseini shows the women’s strengths, weaknesses, tribulations and accomplishments through their own actions, and how they are treated by other characters in the book, particularly the male characters. Hosseini portrays men in A Thousand Splendid Suns to create themes of justice and injustice within the novel. The justice, or lack thereof, served to the male characters is a result of their treatment and attitudes toward the female characters in the book and towards women in general.
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has
You will realize the nationalists’ dream. You will learn foreign languages, have a passport, devour books, and speak like a religious authority. At the very least, you will certainly be better off than your mother.” Reading this masterpiece we can easily see the Middle East women’s dreams for education and freedom, things that we the women from the West taking as granted.
Many argue the fact that commercialized labeled brands of bottled water have offered choices to people that tap water does not. Although most people often rely on these particular brands of bottled water, most are unaware that some companies are simply using unfiltered-tap water at a much higher charge. Bottled water is averagely sold either individually or in packs of 24 or more at your local grocery store ranging from three to five dollars. This is a high cost not just to one’s pocket but to our waste and
Are you spending more money than you need to? Well, the answer is yes, if you buy bottled water. You could be saving more money if you just drink tap water because it’s way less expensive. It states in the article, “Bottles water Vs. Tap Water: Rethink what you Drink” that, “While consumers' water bills vary, as does the price of bottled water (which ranges from 70 cents to $2), here's a telling contrast: Tap water costs less than 1 cent per gallon.” This clearly shows that when when ...
The development of families and individuals in the family affect parent child relations. This includes leaving home, marriage, first child birth, divorce, relocating, working outside the home, and possible illnesses or disability. The developments put tension, pressure, and stress on a child and parents relationship. Causing the child to resent and or feel slighted by the parent. They feel this way because of unfair treatment, not enough attention, recent failures, and a possible divorce. A child may feel as though their parent isn’t treating as though they should and it may cause tension in the parent child relationship. It could also cause resentment from the child to the parent. Leaving home can be a bad experience and feeling for the parent and the child. Depending on whom leaves home the parent or the child even if just ...
I purchase and drink from bottle water primarily for convenience purposes. It is easy to travel with, provide for others, take for an activity, and purchase from any location or vending machine. However, when investigating tap water versus bottled water, the environmental impact and hidden truths are alarming.
...eath is prescribed in the law of nature. Mankind seeks survival and thus death becomes a threat for them. This explains why humans will tend to believe there is such thing as an eternal life, that death is the ending of the worldly life and the beginning of a promising life given by God. However, if someone wants to believe of an after-life, then this state of belief will always surpass everything else along with the law of nature.
Believe it or not, water makes a commodious difference in people’s lives. Everyone knows that water is one of the crucial needs for survival. People drink water every day and need it for activities like sports. Some people grab a pre-packaged bottle of water and go as a quick and convenient way, but an even more convenient way to get water is to just fill up a reusable bottle. It saves money and is reuseable. Bottled water can contain many unhealthy contents such as caffeine and pharmaceuticals, which both lead to cancer. People should also realize that tap water has much more advantages than bottled water such as its convenience, economy, and health influences in positive ways.
According to One Green Planet, The United States consumes on average the most bottles of water. Followed in second by Mexico, then Brazil, and China. This means that it is mostly developed countries and not developing countries using bottled water. I found an interesting study done by BMC about the health beliefs surrounding bottled water. Its findings concluded that, “Convenience, cost, and taste were influential factors when making decisions as to whether to buy bottled water; health beliefs were unimportant motivating factors” (Ward et al.). In this study most people did not see that there was any health benefit or difference from drinking bottled water in comparison to tap. This makes me think then, why are so many people choosing convenience over this planet’s environment and the health of all who are on it? After all a Brita, which is still made of plastic, but is a much more environmentally friendly option, isn’t being used more frequently to replace bottled water. Even now water filters that connect right to ones tap that filter ones water. Some bottled water is not even really “filtered” and is simply tap water after all. Brands of water and how pure they are can be
The cost of bottled water is nearly 300 times the cost of tap water, putting holes in consumers’ wallets and the environment "The [bottled water] industry grossed a total of $11.8 billion on those 9.7 billion gallons in 2012, making bottled water about $1.22/gallon nationwide and 300x the cost of a gallon of tap
Is bottled water just glorified tap water? people are making money too easy just selling glorified tap water it’s like you're spending money on a natural resource you can pretty much find anywhere. people are causing a monopoly because they are just selling tap water which could have toxins or dangerous chemicals. If you knew bottled water contained chemicals would
Education is the vital issue of our lives. And we try to get or provide our children with the most qualified and most suitable education for us. There is not of course just one type of school or education. There are public schools and private schools in today’s world. To decide which one we will choose and we have to know the differences and similarities about the public and private schools as well. We can compare the two types of K-12 schools in the light of some criteria such as things which are graduation rates, cost, teachers, safety and taught.