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An essay on the history of a family
History about family
Comparative analysis of family dynamics
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Harems were prevalent in Islamic tradition since the beginnings of Islam and the different dynasties that were being creating. The most famous harem of all was the Harem of the Ottoman Sultan which led to harems branching out to various other localities and dynasties. Western thought has mistaken harems for typically only having importance for sexual relations and have mistaken them for being brothels. Scholars of the western world saw the Ottoman Empire as something that was in decay during the 16th and 17th centuries, which is why they formulated the idea of harems only being about sexuality. The harems of Islamic tradition were fundamentally about family politics. The sexuality that would occur in the harems was primarily encompassed around sexual reproduction that was controlled for the succession to the throne. Women that were taken as concubines in the harem were not Muslim, because it is against Islamic law to enslave another Muslim. The concubines often used the harems as a way to advance in society. They used the harem as opportunities to influence events outside of the harem.
The particular harem in “The Sheikh’s Harem,” by Elizabeth Fernea is about the harem of Sheikh Haji Hamid. Sheikh Haji Hamid was sheikh of the El Eshadda tribe of the El Nehara village of Iraq, which was a Shia sect. Elizabeth Fernea accompanied her husband to the village of El Nehara and stayed there for two years during the 1950’s. Fernea’s husband was an anthropologist and together they studied Middle Eastern and African cultures. In the specific chapter, Fernea first enters the harem and is astonished by what she sees. Her husband was invited to lunch with the Sheikh, so she would have to spend the day in the harem.
As the excerpt begins, Fer...
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...ly. Sheikh Haji Hamid had more than one wife, and each of his wives had their own separate block of rooms for her and her children.
The harem has been a huge representation of Islamic culture especially when it came to dynasties and empires. Although they no longer exist, harems played a huge role in succession and the continuation of a family. The western notion of a harem has been negative and often viewed them as brothels but they played a part in family and political life. Elizabeth Fernea and her husband spent two years living with an Iraqi family and during this time, Fernea was able to understand the ways of Iraqi women that lived in the harem. It was a tough and learning experience, but Fernea was able to adjust to the customs and traditions that were presented in front of her to gain a better understanding of who these women were and what they represented.
This book differs from most ethnographies in that it was not authored by an anthropologist. Fernea originally set out to accompany her husband as he completed research for his doctorate in social anthropology from the University Chicago. Henceforth, Fernea did not enter the field with any specific goals, hypotheses, or particular interests. In many ways, Guests of the Sheik reads as a personal narrative, describing Ferneas struggles integrating into a society that has vastly different expectations and guidelines for women. Fernea recalls the culture shock she first experienced as well as her eagerness to overcome it. Her goals were mainly of a human nature: she wanted to feel a sense of belonging, to have friends, and to establish a life in El Nahra. The first part of Guests of the Sheik largely mimics Fernea's own journey to feeling accepted as it introduces readers to the various groups of women who soon become Fernea's close friends and confidants, most importantly Laila, who will later introduce many aspects of Muslim culture to Fernea. Throughout the book, each chapter emphasizes a different aspect of life as Fernea discovers it, or details an important event. As such, readers experience Ramadan and Eid, two staples of the Muslim culture, Weddings and marriage arrangements, discussions of monogamy and polygamy, the Pilgrimage to Karbala, and many other customs
Elizabeth Fernea entered El Nahra, Iraq as an innocent bystander. However, through her stay in the small Muslim village, she gained cultural insight to be passed on about not only El Nahra, but all foreign culture. As Fernea entered the village, she was viewed with a critical eye, ?It seemed to me that many times the women were talking about me, and not in a particularly friendly manner'; (70). The women of El Nahra could not understand why she was not with her entire family, and just her husband Bob. The women did not recognize her American lifestyle as proper. Conversely, BJ, as named by the village, and Bob did not view the El Nahra lifestyle as particularly proper either. They were viewing each other through their own cultural lenses. However, through their constant interaction, both sides began to recognize some benefits each culture possessed. It takes time, immersed in a particular community to understand the cultural ethos and eventually the community as a whole. Through Elizabeth Fernea?s ethnography on Iraq?s El Nahra village, we learn that all cultures have unique and equally important aspects.
All the way through Migdim's incident with arranged marriages, we can understand the old customs that has to do with marriage. It is obvious that, although women were believed to be obedient, they were capable to effectively convince men. Yet, today there seems to be a sign toward polygamous marriages that are eventu...
Back then, it was unacceptable for a woman to take care of a man. However, that belief no longer exists because education is now deemed important. Having a woman help in the house can help meet the bills. Moreover, when kibar families started sending their daughters to school, the community no longer considered educating women a disgrace. The kibar are families whose wealth has been passed on for generations, who live together in a large complex, and share a budget (Meneley 1996: 64-65). In other words, kibar’s financial status can be the equivalent of rich people in the United States. As a result, of the community moving forward, as well as, their views towards kibar families, Zabidi women’ roles have transformed from a passive to an active role inside and outside the household.
When Hebib was younger she moved to the United States in 1996 from Croatia, where she grew up. 1996 was a year after the conflict in the Balkan ended. Her mother was politically active at the time and moved to Germany. “We were apart for 3 years. In order to be together and for me to have an opportunity to pursue higher education in the so called "the land of opportunity", my mother, stepfather and I embarked on our USA journey.” With this in mind, Mias work relates to how nomadic the people of Islam were, always switching location of their Great mosques, and their capitals. Mias work, has a very portable quality that is similar to many of the rugs, articles of clothing, and vessels in traditional Islamic works.
2. The role of a wife in the Koran is one who is below their husband’s. The husbands may take double of the family’s inheritance. I feel that there is a lot of gender equality. For example, a woman’s testimony counts as half of her husband’s, because a woman is prone to forget. The Koran has plenty of sexual passages. For example, a man may have up to four wives, a man may marry a child, and slaves woman and girls can be used as sexual property for his pleasure. Also a man may hit his wife if he feels like it and not receive any punishment for it.
submissive, powerless objects of their husbands. Equality and balance within their marriages were of no
The significance of representing such a history is that it may open William Beckford’s narrative of the Arab Muslim woman to a new analysis and judgment. It may, as well, help in “allowing us to see them [Arab Muslim women] not as "culminations" of a natural truth, but "merely the current episodes in a series of subjugations" (Foucault 1977, 148)” (mohja), and to differentiate between them as represented in Western texts whose feet never touch earth, and the real –flesh and blood–ones whose “feet touch earth in Hamah or Rawalpindi or Rabat.”( MOHJA)
Aaron, Jane, Diana Hacker, and X.J. Kennedy. "Size 6: The Western Women’s Harem." Bedford reader. 10th Edition ed. S.l.: Bedford Bks St Martin'S, 2013. 252-257. Print.
...ionalists’ quest for women’s rights. The Mernissi women figth against a physical barrier showing solidarity toward each other, and teaching their children to stick to those of their gender. She is taught to be strong and to never depend on anyone of the opposite gender to save her, while at the same time she is taught that ultimate happiness happens with a good man, in a good relationship. The opening of the harem is gradually coming to the Mernissi household. Fatima is young enough to not be radically affected by the close doors, in great measure thanks to her mother who makes sure she is never measured any lower than anyone of the opposite gender. The effects of gender subjugation and the haremnization of women persist through out the decades even after the doors have been opened. Asya is a perfect example of seemingly open freedom but severe psychological damage.
“The Harem Within” is a life story that portrays Mernissi’s childhood experiences while growing up in her family house in Fez, Morocco. Fatema Mernissi was a daughter of wealthy landowners and agriculturalists family. Even though she was raised in indulging and a privileged neighborhood, detached from the poverty most Moroccans experienced, her childhood was spent in the limits of her household shape. Mernissi was raised in a “classical domestic harem”, which abides of extended family and was designed to keep the women sheltered from men outside of the family and the public in general. Occasionally, this exceedingly limitation nurtured feelings of frustrating separation and isolation. Mernissi’s upbringing in this habitat influenced her progress as a scholar and writer.
Middle Eastern women need to stand up for their rights and get educated to reverse the notion that they are servants and properties of their men. Furthermore, they need to rise up to their potentials and prove beyond doubt that they are equal to men. This practice would lead the path for future generations to follow and protect the inalienable rights of women. Finally, these women need to break the cycle of oppression by addressing these deeply rooted beliefs, gaining the tools to fight back, and joining forces to make lifelong changes.
Religious values of the predominately Muslim culture in Nadia al-Faqih in A Woman of Five Seasons are at a point where their practice will bring great adversity to her new found way of life. Nadia is married into a life of luxury where her husband Ihsan is in a constant state of yearning for greater wealth and lusting after other worldly gains. She is pushed into a life where what she should want, the latest fashions, perfumes, and celebrity magazines are constantly thrust in her face.
The Women of the Middle East have played substantial roles for their corresponding countries since the advent of colonialism in the region. Middle Eastern women have worked in all types of fields including medicine, education, agriculture, government, private sector, and even defense. They have kept roofs over their family’s heads while their husbands were away in wars, or even in foreign countries to work in jobs that they could not find in their own countries. The roles of women in the countries of Yemen and Oman are no exception, but while they still find ways to contribute to their country, they care constantly stereotyped, discriminated, and ridiculed by men who are known and unknown to them. This paper will discuss the individual contributions of the women living in Yemen and Oman, and will discuss in further state laws and cultural norms that are affecting the women living in these countries today.
A second point raised during the reading which exemplifies gender inequality tendencies of the society includes polygamy. In the story, after Modou and Binetou’s marriage, the guests go to Ramatoulaye’s house for a surprise visit. Tamsir, Modou’s older brother, tells Ramatoulaye that “God intended [Modou] to have a second wife” and that “there is nothing he can do about it” (Bâ, 2008, p. 38). He soon continued by saying that “a wife owes her husband [happiness]”