Preview

Middle East Women

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1535 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Middle East Women
Jay Sammelmann
Dr. Holzhauer
UI350-01
4/24/13
Women of the Middle East The women of the Middle East are very interesting to look in to. They are not just another person or treated by the same standards like they are treated here in the United States. There is a lot of controversy and fighting for women’s rights throughout the Middle East. They have an extreme lack of power there and they are fighting to change that. It is not right that women are such inferior people over there because they are no different than any other female in this world. Sexism plays a big role in the Middle East and the women are getting sick of putting up with this treatment. This is a big part of what I will be looking into in the research paper: “What kind of role do women play in a typical Middle Eastern society?” I will also analyze a typical Middle Eastern woman’s daily life and I will also look into their dress. There dress is unlike any other place in the world. When I see a veil, I automatically think about a Middle Eastern woman, as the veil is kind of like the symbol of Middle Eastern women’s dress. The first issue I will address when examining women in the Middle East is their rights. I have always been under the impression that women couldn’t do certain things that are freedoms in the United States, like dressing however you may wish, because of their religion. Most women’s religion over there is Islam. Actually through research I have discovered that religion is not what holds back Middle Eastern women. The Quran actually has given Middle Eastern women many important rights that even women here in the United States and the West in general didn’t have until fairly recently when you look back through history. For example, Muslim women have always been able to retain their own assets, while the property of women in England was given to their husbands once they married all the way up until 1882 (Global Connections). Also, “Muslim women in many countries kept their own

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    This book elaborately discusses numerous inaccurate depictions of Muslim society. However, the central stereotype, which is being challenged throughout the text, relates to Islamic women and how they are seen as limited by their religious beliefs. It is important that Wilson…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender equality has long been an issue all over the world. Though the issue is not that nasty in current society, problems still exist. Woman status rises a lot to a much higher-level compared to before. Feminism develops and spreads out at a rapid rate and more and more women now a day express their thoughts of being independent. Christina Larsen and Leila Ahmed both talk about the changing of women status in modern society, but in two different countries. In her essay “The Startling Plight of China’s Leftover Ladies”, Larsen points out that Chinese women now have a higher social status than compare to the past. Ahmed, in her essay “Reinventing the Veil”, also mentions that Muslin women now advocate their independent status and have much more…

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the 1800’s to present day, the Middle East has undergone many changes and continuities causing formation of their national identity, main factors that contributed were social aspects on society, government structure, and the strong religious roots they possess. The majority of changes occurred through the society aspects with the treatment of women and the discovery of oil. In Middle Eastern history women have had limited rights and have always been unequal to men. Women have always remained very conservative; being sheltered from other men not being able to go in public being covered from head to toe. The discovery of oil has also created many opportunities for the Middle East giving them a national identity and increasing economy. Their religion and government mostly continued to stay the same. They maintained to have Islam as their dominant religion throughout most of Middle Eastern history. Small changes occurred but never enough to overthrow their well known strong religious roots. In the earlier years of the 1800s to present day, the Middle East has had a moderately oppressive government where citizens had little to no power. Recently citizens have started revolts and revolutions, over throwing the government and are starting to become more democratic.…

    • 823 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nine Parts of Desire

    • 1250 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.…

    • 1250 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Contrary to popular belief, not all Muslim women are being oppressed into fully covering their bodies. Instead, a majority of Muslim women around the world have made the decision themselves to wear a head covering or veil. The belief concerning the oppression of Muslim women has resulted from the negative connotation of head coverings associated with Islam. Many people are convinced that Islamic head coverings represent fundamentalist Islam and oppression of Muslim women. This belief is highly misinformed and untrue. Muslim women who choose to veil do so to represent their dedication to their religion. In the past there were many Middle Eastern and African countries that banned different types of headscarves for security reasons or to protect their women.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What characterizes the Arabic culture the most is probably the difference between men and women when it comes to rights and power because the middle-East is very male-dominated. The separation of power gives the Arabic women very few rights as human beings and the restrictions about interactions with men in public makes it difficult for the women to carry on the same life style that we in the western regions take for granted. For example, women play little or no role in neither entertainment nor business, only 7 percent of the female Saudi Arabic population account of the total workforce. Women are required to wear abayas in public and not show their bodies or even hair in for other men. In some Arabic countries their faces also have to be covered up.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rise and expansion of Islam both broadened and restricted women's rights throughout the 20th century. There is evidence of prior advancements towards women's rights found in the ancient writings of The Holy Qur'an. Women in every religion, especially Islam, had to fight for their own rights. In Islam, that fight is continuing and many documents, photos, quotes and other sources show the back-and-forth struggle to get women out from under the veils and into the lights.…

    • 839 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Muslim’s have always been faced with struggles in their lives, especially when entering into the United States. They are a popular minority group in America that is strongly discriminated against. They face every day struggles that make their lives that much more difficult. Muslim women in particular is what I am going to be discussing in my research paper. Women in general, are still being discriminated against in the world today, but being a Muslim women in America, has unthinkable consequences and daily hardships that many of us American’s could not begin to understand. Along with the everyday stereotypes they face because they are Muslim, they also face, ignorance about Islam, gender-based discrimination, violence, fear, and discrimination about their clothing (head covering).…

    • 3795 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale delves well into the horrid nature of extreme control and immoral limitations in defining the corrupt theocratic government at large, and more specifically the effect this control has on the society’s women. In an age in which a newly emerged and merciless governmental system called the Republic of Gilead has “put life back to the middle ages,” sparked by a widespread panic of infertility, personal freedom and individuality have become unimaginably reduced (Genny 1). Handmaids selected to live in the houses of wealthy, well-respected couples go through a life entirely designed by the government for the sole purpose of bearing children. Caught between following the strict rules made for women by the Republic and breaking them in secret for the sake of her sanity, the protagonist Offred essentially but not purposefully offers close to nothing for her society’s benefit. Not allowed to read, write, speak her thoughts or even look another in the eye, the most she can offer proves to be occasional, well-monitored grocery errands and the slight possibility of providing the gift of life for an elite Commander and his Wife. Parallel to a dystopia in which Offred has been stripped of the most simplistic allowances, women in today’s various Middle Eastern societies find relatively equal difficulty in utilizing their strengths due to the severe suppression and forced structure of their daily lives. Regardless of the varying context of these two scenarios, they both present themselves problematically in light of women’s personal struggle to contribute in society—in both Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the modern Middle East, seemingly unethical yet extreme theocratic government exercises examples of such radically unformed control over its people that the exploitation and demeaning of the natural rights of women become prevalent. But on what grounds should the…

    • 1588 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Veil of Not to Veil

    • 696 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It appears that some people of the west fail to do before making assumptions about Middle Eastern oppression of women, many stop to ask a Muslim woman what she thinks about wearing a veil. In their case study Ghazel and Bartkowski talked to twelve veiled women and twelve unveiled women in Austin, Texas and asked them questions surrounding the controversy of the hijab. Islamic women’s motivations for veiling seem to vary dramatically. The range can be broad as expressing their strongly held conviction, to critique western culture, for strictly religious purposes, and to be viewed not just as women, but as intellectual equals. Some of verses in the Qur’an and Hadiths (Islam’s holy texts) say that women must wear to hijab to not tempt men and that to be a good Muslim woman she must conceal her body. This belief makes women overall much more modest and submissive. The Islamic religion according to the article is very much a patriarchal religious institution and some of the bureaucratic men in the society are said to see the veil as a way to keep women subservient in their society. This appears to be the central reason why unveiled women do not wear a hijab. They believe that because the head covering wasn’t originally created by Islam they shouldn’t have to wear it to achieve spiritual welfare or be considered of higher…

    • 696 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Muslim Women

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The life of women in the a Islamic society is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and a patriarchy society. From their daily actions at home, to their physical appearance, women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the Islamic society do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied their rights. Living in a society dominated by men, life in some cases is difficult for women in the Islamic society. There is constant fight for a change as they balance their traditional roles with those of modern society.…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Iraq Women Analysis

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Women in Iraq live a significantly different life from women in the west. The culture in 1950’s Iraq differs from that in the west in many way, and Fatima, being a woman from the rural village of El Nahra, would be closer to more traditional Iraqi culture than a woman from Baghdad or other cities. She would place a greater emphasis on family, a woman’s responsibility to her family, and more traditional interpretations of the Koran. Fatima would argue that the position of women in Iraqi culture is superior to that in the west because of stronger family ties, influence over their families and care of elderly family members, especially women. Fatima would not see the freedoms that women in the west hold dear as much of a benefit, she would instead…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women's Rights In Iraq

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    So in order to actually learn about women of the Middle East, one must have to navigate by understanding the practices of women who inhabit the Middle East while trying to eliminate any misconception about them. One stereotype made regarding Middle Eastern women was the harems which are part of a house designated for women only. After having a clear mind disregarding the stereotypes, one can learn about how women benefited from its state reforms in Egypt and in Iraq. Women in both of the countries benefited through education and political means but the women in Iraq suffered under the rule of Saddam Hussein. Leaders would build their nation through women and although after the reforms were taken away and some women got punished, women still benefited heavily which changed the way people view the Middle…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Iraq Women

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1970 the Iraqi Provisional Constitution was made for equal rights to women and other laws to protect a women’s right to vote, go to school, run for political office, and own any form of property. Due to this constitution, women and girls have been more than pleased with lots of their counterparts in the Middle East. Although since the Gulf War of 1991, women’s position in Iraqi society has decreased quickly and immensely. The women in Iraq were unequally affected by the economic ramifications due to the U.N. sanctions. Causing women to have limited access to food, health care, and education. Changes within the law made it difficult for women’s mobility and entry to apply for the jobs that their male co-worker is going to get.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The Middle East

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From what I know it seems like women have always been treated poorly than men, whether the issue is voting, working, educating, getting equal salaries, getting same positions in jobs etc they’ve always be left out. Women have been hiding in the shadows for as long as time can tell especially women from the Middle East, due to rules which have no sensible or vital reason to it. In America, women can now show their rights by participating in votes. Women in America can even aspire to be presidents if they choose to because their right are highly respected. But in the Middle East it’s a whole different ball game. Here are some differences between the amount of freedoms women experience in the Middle East.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics