May 24

Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women who are Transforming the Arab World (2016)
By Katherine Zoepf

Zoepf is a young reporter covering women's issues in Middle Eastern countries, especially Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.  While it's encouraging to hear that more Arab women now attend universities than men it's still hard to understand why women are blamed for all of men's sexual indiscretions.  One acquaintance of Zoepf went so far as to justify covering her hair so it would not incite pedophilia against a child.  There are beginning to be female women's rights activities but, even so, navigating their way through the mazes of voting rights, driving rights (Saudi Arabia) and, more importantly, laws against honor killing - is complicated by women's adherence to what they see as religious rules, though some of these anti-women laws predate the founding of Islam.  For westerners wishing to intervene, it's helpful to note the complexities of women's adherence to the faith while trying to move more towards an equitable status (in some countries, women are not considered adults and must obtain a guardian's permission to visit friend, work, travel, etc); the guardian would be a father, husband or son age 12 or older.  While Zoepf's experiences may not be universal (these are accounts of her own experiences and observations), this book is nevertheless a helpful - and hopeful - look at women in several Muslim countries.