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Gender inequalities of women in the middle East
Gender inequalities of women in the middle East
Gender roles in islamic society
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The Underground Girls of Kabul by Jenny Nordberg is a nonfiction documenting the stories of young girls in the Middle East through a series of interviews with them. She represents the sexual discrimination in the Middle East through her encounters with a few young girls as they search for a way to achieve personal freedoms. The primary focus of her book is studying how young girls chose to cross-dress as the liberated sex in the post-Taliban era Afghanistan. Through her interviews of Kabul’s Bacha Posh population, Nordberg establishes for the Western reader how the maltreated young girls of Afghanistan constantly dream of an elusive freedom granted to their brothers, fathers, and husbands, and how few establish the otherwise unattainable …show more content…
In Afghanistan, boys are allowed greater liberty to act as they chose and society and are not viewed as if they can break and lose their value. Boys are given freedom in society to climb trees, run freely, and act generally reckless. However, it is instead believed that daughters should instead be protected from society, and live a more sheltered life. The ability to live a free life is a draw that is determined at birth, and as Norberg was once told, “Regardless of who they are, whether they are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, Afghan women often describe the difference between men and women in just one word: freedom. As in: Men have it, women do not.” (Nordberg, 268). It is initially and undeniably human to not only fight for freedom for yourself, but to fight for your children to be endowed with the same right. In patriarchal societies such as the one in Afghanistan, women are not granted with the same opportunities than male counterparts, in order to give their children greater opportunities and a sense of freedom, parents have adopted the centuries old tradition of disguising their children as Bacha …show more content…
In a society where the majority of women are barred from merely going outside unescorted, it can be a challenge for many families to earn a sizeable income. Instead of dressing as a boy for freedom of choice or for the reputation of their family, many girls are required to behave like a boy so that their family does not starve. When a father abandons his children and wife, they have no means to support themselves, such as the case for ten years old Niima, how has to work as an errand boy so that her family may eat. For her, being Bacha Posh is not a fun adventure nor a liberating experience, and as Nordberg states, “Niima poses as a boy purely for the survival of her family. There is nothing voluntary about it and her act hardly contains an element of freedom” (63). Unfortunately, while being Bacha Posh is a fun and liberating experience for some, however this is mainly reserved for the middle and upper class. The darker side of the tradition comes from young children labouring to feed their families because it would be improper for their mothers to do so. Lower class Bacha Posh are forced to do so out of necessity, so that they may support their family and keep them from becoming
Rumors spread to Najmah that “woman wearing henna on their fingertips had their fingers chopped off”(Staples 12). When Najmah heard the clink of bangles under a woman’s burqa and the click of her heels on the pavement, the sound created an unsettling sensation within her. Suddenly, Najmah recalled how the “Taliban would whip women whose shoes made a sound on paving stones (Staples 180).” She wanted to warn the woman, for her mother had told her that “women risk their lives by hiding their jewelry” (Staples 180). As for Nusrat, notwithstanding the fact that she just moved to Pakistan not long ago, she was extremely vigilant and prudent when the Taliban was around. One time, a servant of Nusrat’s disappeared. Nusrat sent someone to search for her and discovered that “she had been badly beaten and was held without charges” (Staples 99). From this incident, the unfair treatment towards women helped Nusrat to learn more about the Taliban’s rules in Pakistan. Given the facts above, it is very apparent that Taliban’s cruelty toward women is depicted precisely and vividly through the different stories of two
The Taliban regime was infamous for its treatment of women. Windows had to be painted black so men could not look into the windows of houses and see the women inside. Women were unable to work. Under Taliban rule, women were not allowed to be educated, unable to go to school or university. 9 out of 10 Afghan women are illiterate. Unfortunately, Meena was unwillingly cast into the role of teacher to young girls who wanted to learn how to read. Because she had been to university, girls flocked to...
Sexism is very real, even in the least patriarchal societies of the world. From a western hemisphere point of view, the lives of women and young girls that are described in Nawal el Saadawi’s “In Camera” and Hanan al-Shaykh’s “The Women’s Swimming Pool” is almost unbelievable. Although these stories do not tell the whole story of women’s lives in these areas, it gives readers a general idea of how politics, social opportunities, and male privilege is overbearing in their way of life. While “In Camera” is has a more dark, and mature theme than “The Women’s Swimming Pool,” it is obvious that both relate in the way that their protagonists both suffer from the unnecessary and unexpected burden of being born a female.
One of the main controversies in this book is the plight of women and men’s struggles. Although both experienced different kinds of inequalities, women were the target of the Taliban. In 1978, women in Kabul were demanding their rights during the Afghan Women’s Year. The president who was in charge then was president Daoud, and he decreed, “The Afghan woman has the same right as the Afghan man to exercise personal freedom, choose a career, and fins a partner in marriage” (53). This decree was absolutely invalid when the Taliban expelled a humanitarian organization that was run by women, and because of that, the Taliban took over Kabul. Women were not allowed to work outside of home. Because of that, Latifa mentions that women in Kabul usually just bake bread, do embroidery,
The Islamic women of Afghanistan are denied many of the same liberties that Americans take for granted everyday. Although the religion that they have faith in, according to Janelle Brown’s “Terror’s First Victims”, “guarantee[s] women status in society as individuals and religious d...
Governments often claim that they are helping women gain equality when they invade and impress their values on other cultures. In “Feminism as Imperialism”, Katharine Viner states that “Bush cut off funding to international family planning organizations [and then claimed he] bombed Afghanistan to liberate the women from the burkas” (1). However, the problem with wars claiming to “save” women is that the majority of the time women are just becoming victims of western misogyny as opposed to eastern misogyny (Viner, 2). Just because some women choose to wear head coverings doesn’t make them repressed, “liberation for [Afghani women] does not encompass destroying their identity, religion, or culture and many of them want to retain the veil” (Viner, 2). Therefore, using women to justify war is counterproductive because it still represses women and ignores what the women actually
The three very basic rights in America that are not given to Afghan women are marriage, education and speech. Marriage in America is a choice, however in Afghanistan it is more of a business deal for the family. “80 percent of marriages in poor rural areas are either forced or arranged” (Life as an Afghan Woman). The father’s voice in a family overshadows the female leaving her with no say in a life long marriage. If a woman refuses to marry the man she is paired up with she will be punished for her rebellious actions. On the same hand, going to school is not as easy as it is here in America. All women in America are given the privilege by law to attend school free of charge, while it is much more difficult for an Afghan woman to receive an education. “ Only 40% of Afghan girls attend elementary school, and only one in 20 girls attend school beyond the sixth grade” (Life as an Afghan woman). Loads of families aren’t provided with option to attend school while others do not allow their women to receive an education because they are afraid their daughter will be punished for anything she does and could be killed on the way to school. Not only can women not get married and go to school without worries, but also they are not allowed to speak out for themselves in public. In Afghanistan people are allowed to practice their beliefs of any kind but any acts of
The United States is a developed country that people are lucky to be able to live in. In the past however, not everyone was given the same rights. Through legislation and even war, people have fought for change so that we could live in the world that we live in today. Similarly, in Afghanistan people are fighting for their rights everyday. They have been through war and oppression to reach their goals of the freedoms that every person deserves. In this country, women and children are restricted from rights that every person deserves, though they have revolutionized into a country that is somewhat better than it was in the past, they can improve marginally.
Over the last twenty years the Guerrilla Girls have established a strong following due to the fact that they challenged and consistently exhibited a strong supportive subject matter that defies societal expectations. In an interview “We reclaimed the word girl because it was so often used to belittle grown women. We also wanted to make older feminists sit up and n...
Islam has influenced many cultures around the world. For centuries, Islam has had an immense influence on the Afghan culture. According to this religion, women have no rights. The men took advantage of this system by translating only what they wanted from the Koran; to enslave the women in our culture for their own desires. From the beginning, the women on no account had any civil rights or have power over their own lives, and most were uneducated and had accepted what their teachers taught in schools and mosques. My family moved to the US when the Russians invaded Afghanistan. I thank god to be one of the lucky women who did not have to live in Afghanistan and for giving me a better place to live in America. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the majority of the Afghan women. Under the cruel Taliban government the women were banned to work, and were not allowed outside their homes without being escorted by a man. The film Osama, inspired by a true story, is about Osama, a young girl who did lived in Kabul while the Taliban regime. Through Osama's story, I had a chance to see what it was like to live in Afghanistan as a woman. This is a story of a girl whose faith was in the hands of many different people: her family, the Taliban soldiers, and the city judge. Osama and I have different lives on different continents; however, we both could have had more rights and better life if we were born men.
Swat Valley didn’t always be the way it is now. Before, it was a “picturesque.” It was not only a popular honeymoon destination, but Swat Valley was known for it’s music and tolerance towards their people. (Taliban Gun Down Girl Who Spoke Up for Women’s Right) But in 2007, everything changed. Swat Valley was stricken with the Taliban’s new, harsh rules. It became a dangerous and overwhelming place to be. TV and music were banned for everyone and the women had it worse. They could no longer hold a job, go to school, and enjoy shopping. (Malala’s Dream: A Brave Teen From Pakistan…) Women were isolated. Ziauddin Yousafzai’s school for girls was one of ...
This book by A. Widney Brown and LeShawn R.Jefferson reflects on the negative impacts of different Talib decrees on the overall development Afghan women.
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.
From the 1950’s until around 1985 the Soviet Union had Afghanistan under its control. This Soviet involvement in Afghanistan caused the ideologies of communism to spread into the Afghanistan culture. One of the communistic ideas that were assimilated into was the thought that every person is equal. This idea made life a lot easier for the women of Afghanistan. One of the freedoms they were given under Soviet control was the allowance of woman being educated, “The government had sponsored literacy classes for all women. Almost two-thirds of the students at Kabul University were women now… women who were studying law, medicine, engineering” (135) Hosseini expresses this through the character Laila. Laila’s father, Babi, was a professor and strongly urged the necessity for Laila to get an education. He was so dedicated that he would help out Laila with her homework every night. Hosseini expressed this when Laila claimed “Babi thought that the one thing that communists had done right- or at least intended to- ironically, was in the filed of education… More specifically the education of women.” (135). To Babi there was nothing more impertinent than the education of woman in Afghanistan. He knew that when half the population is illiterate the country cannot properly aspire to new and better things. Along with the new right to learn, women’s requirement to cover their skin was relaxed all throughout Afghanistan. ...
Print. The. "Society and Norms-Gender Roles: Women." Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web.