Women At Point Zero By Nawal El Saadawi

Women at Point Zero is a book written by Nawal El Saadawi where she focuses on the main character Firdaus and shares her story in a way that allows reader to get an idea of the patriarchal structures of Egyptian society. Her life story shows readers the obvious discontentment women have with the way society views them, and the glorification of things that go against normal societal structures. This book does an excellent job of portraying the patriarchal society and how women are dominated by men. However, it truly reinforces the stereotype that western culture has of Middle Eastern men as being animalistic beings ravaging defenseless women and the role of Islam.
Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian psychiatrist, feminist and an activist who has written many books on the subject of Middle Eastern women, and the practice of female genital cutting in the society. Initially, she went to this prison in order to do research in a female inmates, and their experience in the prison. However, after a while she got interested in meeting the woman he who had killed a man and had been sentenced to hanging. She based this book on her encounter with Firdaus and Firdau’s life story. Firdaus story is the contemporary story of sexism, discrimination and sexual abuse that occurs all around the world. She is abused by her father, her uncle, her husband and her one true love. Throughout the book, author shows the difficulty of being a woman in the patriarchal society during 1970’s in Egypt. At the same time, the entire book really perpetuates the stereotype that western culture has about gender discrimination in Middle Eastern nations.
The novel starts by introducing the main character Firdau, and how her past shaped her to become the woman she is wh...

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...the societal rule that was stopping her from finding freedom. Firdau’s story allowed people in Egypt to talk about women’s right and how the her one an act of defiance against the system which will cost her her life.
In Women at Point Zero, El Saadawi is making a statement about the need for the attitude toward women in Egypt to change. She is providing other women with a positive message of how it is necessary to the courage of protesting to the society that treats women are trash. It makes reader question the worth of women in the world and how they are perceived by men in general. At the same time, it also adds to the stereotype the western readers have about Middle Eastern women, and the society. Despite of that, this is an excellent book that allows readers to understand the struggles of being a woman not only in Egypt but all around the world during the 70’s.