Nine Parts of Desire

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American 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.
The specific topic of this book is the oppression of women. Its overall purpose is to understand the women behind the veils and why the Muslim women take up the hijab. The purpose is also to show how political, religious, and cultural factors shape the women’s lives. It is written for the average westerner because they have been exposed to more negative and one-sided views about the religion, however they are clueless about what really goes on in the religion of Islam, which concludes that there are many stereotypes and judgments on the subject. Brooks is probably used to this because she was raised in Australia as a Jew. Knowing about the Jewish background and how they were discriminated against could have been an important factor in the writing of Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women. It also contributes to the concept of gender identification. This book suggests that Islam is a patriarchal religion where the women have no status and the men rule over all. For example; a married woman cannot divorce her husband only under the circumstance of Talaq, which is divorce by repudiation. The husband has to repeat the words “I divorce you” three times, and then they can carry out the divorce, and that still gives the husband all of the power. The Koran states that women lower their gaze and be modest, display their adornment to only that which is apparent, and cover their bosoms. Nine Parts of Desire presents many