Summary Of Excellent Daughters By Katherine Zoepf
Katherine Zoepf’s nonfiction work “Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World” published by Penguin Books tells different stories of women throughout the Arab world. Zoepf takes readers on a journey beginning in Syria and ending in Egypt. Zoepf compares and contrasts the cultures, challenges and changes in women’s lives across five Arab countries. Zoepf’s interest in the Arab world began soon after the terror attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001. At the time, she was working as a research assistant at The New York Times. Three years later, Zoepf left the Times to study Arabic at the London School of Economics until she was encouraged by a former Times colleague to fly to Damascus to freelance
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report on terrorism and the war in Iraq. This is where it all began. Zoepf met with and heard the stories of women from five countries-Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate, all of which are very politically and culturally different. However, these women together were a part of the group that helped lead the Arab Spring and shake up the political climate in the Arab world. The first country that impacted Zoepf was (pre-war) Syria. In Damascus, Zoepf took classes to further advance her Arabic. This section of the book explored Islam and everything Zoepf learned about the religion from being in a Muslim-majority country. In Syria, she learns about the hijab why women are passionate about wearing it. In Damascus, Zoepf is familiarized with the Qubaisi sisterhood, one of the then-illegal Syrian women’s prayer groups. Zoepf tells the story of a Syrian woman, Zahra, who was killed in an “honor killing”. Zahra was killed by her brother after being raped. Since she was no longer a virgin she was killed to end her family's shame. There are laws in Syria that protect perpetrators of honor killings. Zahra’s murder became extremely relevant in Damascus and sparked a series of popular uprisings in the area. These uprisings in turn brought together like-minded women with a goal to have their voices be heard and perpetrators of honor killings be punished. Zoepf then goes on to continue reporting for the Times in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Readers learn that Lebanese women are under immense pressure to be a paradox. It is extremely important for them to maintain their virginity until marriage, but their image as sexual beings is just as important. “We have the most promiscuous virgins in the world,” said Dr. Khalaf, a Lebanese doctor who confirmed the importance of maintaining virginity, but went on to say that women will engage in oral and anal sex. Clothing styles are often sexualized for women in Lebanon. Their physique and beauty are extremely important to them as is being seen as feminine, but this isn’t easy for all Lebanese women. “We are seen as bimbos,” said a Lebanese woman who is displeased living up to that image. Zoepf’s interview with Dr. Khalaf uncovers the intense demand for cosmetic surgery in Lebanon. Gynecologists have the reputation to go above and beyond to protect the rights of women. They can perform a hymenoplasty procedure to protect women from being shamed for not maintaining their virginity. Many Lebanese gynecologists even perform abortions, which are illegal. The next chapter brought women’s stories from Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home of the two holiest Mosques.
The women interviewed were from Riyadh, the capital city. Zoepf begins this section will an explanation of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to drive. They must wear black abayas and head coverings at all times. They are not allowed to travel out of the country without a male guardian signature. Etc. The divide between men and women in Saudi Arabia is very real and very clear. To westerners, this lack of inequality is absurd. Some westerners believe Saudi women are “brainwashed” or “voiceless victims”. However, Zoepf uncovers that the majority of Saudi women do not disapprove or dislike their roles and privileges. They don’t see it as an issue; they see it as their culture. In another section about Saudi Arabia, Zoepf reveals the trend of women’s movements in the country. They began in 1990 when a group of women performed a driving protest. In the epilogue of the book, Zoepf discusses how Saudi women are now permitted to ride bicycles and to serve in the Shoura Council. The most recent movement Zoepf brings up is the idea of women being able to buy lingerie from other Saudi women. In 2011, Zoepf states, King Abdullah banned men from working in lingerie shops and ordered those jobs to be given to Saudi women. This caused a lot of unrest between conservatives and liberals in Saudi
Arabia. Zoepf briefly describes her encounters with women in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. She argues that wealthier countries in the Persian Gulf region developed extremely quick, which led to more opportunity than non-Gulf Arab countries. Zoepf tells the story a Jordanian woman coming to work in the United Arab Emirates and her struggles with her career vs. the image of muslim woman. “It is tough being a working female from a culture where women are supposed to be at home serving the children,” said Suzanne Saoub. Women come to work in the United Arab Emirates for new opportunities and more equal rights of women. Women working in the United Arab Emirates are able to live in their own place, which is not traditionally unacceptable in the Arab world. Women are often recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates as flight attendants. The last section of the book tells the disturbing stories of a young Egyptian woman named Samira. Samira was involved in the 2011 protests leading up to the downfall of then-president Hosni Mubarak. Samira shares the traumatizing memories of her capture by the regime and the torture that followed. Samira recalls being starved, beat, verbally abused and spit on by the guards. She describes the forced virginity test done by a male guard and the humiliation she felt as other guards watched, laughing and recording the entire thing. Samira got tested a second time after being pulled from the streets after another day of protesting. Women who participated in the protests were especially subject to arrest and cruel treatment. Zoepf describes theories that the crackdown of women protesting in Egypt was a “deliberate attempt to abort the popular uprising.” Zoepf also describes her surprise that many Egypt women weren’t particularly fond of the “feminist” label, whereas they were more focused on the labor movement, which did have many powerful female leaders. Samira’s story became widely popular throughout egypt in 2011 and in December 2011, Zoepf states that an Egyptian civilian court ordered an end to the practice of virginity testing. Overall, this book does a good job exploring vastly different cultures and countries and tells the stories of different types of women around the Middle East. Conservative to liberal, there is no denying that things are shaking up a little bit everywhere. Zoepf does a great job bridging the gap between what westerners perceive Arab women to be and what they really are. Zoepf continuously relates to her roots in the Jehovah's Witness background with her research about the Islamic religion and culture, which is helpful in a few ways. I think that background gave more context to her intentions in her research and gave her an interesting perspective and understanding of a sometimes negatively-perceived religion. The main critique I have of this book is the time span on which it was written. Zoepf begins this book in 2004 in Damascus, a pre-war Syria. She ends around 2011 in Egypt shortly after the end of the Mubarak regime. Although more of a challenge, I think this book would have been stronger either all leading up to the Arab Spring or all during/after the Arab Spring. Had she interviewed women in Syria and Saudi Arabia in the peak of the Arab Spring, we may have seen more activity and shifts in women’s roles. I think the Egypt section is by far the most compelling because it showed the oppression of women and how they rose up, whereas in Syria the work of women was extremely subtle.
report on terrorism and the war in Iraq. This is where it all began. Zoepf met with and heard the stories of women from five countries-Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate, all of which are very politically and culturally different. However, these women together were a part of the group that helped lead the Arab Spring and shake up the political climate in the Arab world. The first country that impacted Zoepf was (pre-war) Syria. In Damascus, Zoepf took classes to further advance her Arabic. This section of the book explored Islam and everything Zoepf learned about the religion from being in a Muslim-majority country. In Syria, she learns about the hijab why women are passionate about wearing it. In Damascus, Zoepf is familiarized with the Qubaisi sisterhood, one of the then-illegal Syrian women’s prayer groups. Zoepf tells the story of a Syrian woman, Zahra, who was killed in an “honor killing”. Zahra was killed by her brother after being raped. Since she was no longer a virgin she was killed to end her family's shame. There are laws in Syria that protect perpetrators of honor killings. Zahra’s murder became extremely relevant in Damascus and sparked a series of popular uprisings in the area. These uprisings in turn brought together like-minded women with a goal to have their voices be heard and perpetrators of honor killings be punished. Zoepf then goes on to continue reporting for the Times in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Readers learn that Lebanese women are under immense pressure to be a paradox. It is extremely important for them to maintain their virginity until marriage, but their image as sexual beings is just as important. “We have the most promiscuous virgins in the world,” said Dr. Khalaf, a Lebanese doctor who confirmed the importance of maintaining virginity, but went on to say that women will engage in oral and anal sex. Clothing styles are often sexualized for women in Lebanon. Their physique and beauty are extremely important to them as is being seen as feminine, but this isn’t easy for all Lebanese women. “We are seen as bimbos,” said a Lebanese woman who is displeased living up to that image. Zoepf’s interview with Dr. Khalaf uncovers the intense demand for cosmetic surgery in Lebanon. Gynecologists have the reputation to go above and beyond to protect the rights of women. They can perform a hymenoplasty procedure to protect women from being shamed for not maintaining their virginity. Many Lebanese gynecologists even perform abortions, which are illegal. The next chapter brought women’s stories from Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home of the two holiest Mosques.
The women interviewed were from Riyadh, the capital city. Zoepf begins this section will an explanation of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to drive. They must wear black abayas and head coverings at all times. They are not allowed to travel out of the country without a male guardian signature. Etc. The divide between men and women in Saudi Arabia is very real and very clear. To westerners, this lack of inequality is absurd. Some westerners believe Saudi women are “brainwashed” or “voiceless victims”. However, Zoepf uncovers that the majority of Saudi women do not disapprove or dislike their roles and privileges. They don’t see it as an issue; they see it as their culture. In another section about Saudi Arabia, Zoepf reveals the trend of women’s movements in the country. They began in 1990 when a group of women performed a driving protest. In the epilogue of the book, Zoepf discusses how Saudi women are now permitted to ride bicycles and to serve in the Shoura Council. The most recent movement Zoepf brings up is the idea of women being able to buy lingerie from other Saudi women. In 2011, Zoepf states, King Abdullah banned men from working in lingerie shops and ordered those jobs to be given to Saudi women. This caused a lot of unrest between conservatives and liberals in Saudi
Arabia. Zoepf briefly describes her encounters with women in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. She argues that wealthier countries in the Persian Gulf region developed extremely quick, which led to more opportunity than non-Gulf Arab countries. Zoepf tells the story a Jordanian woman coming to work in the United Arab Emirates and her struggles with her career vs. the image of muslim woman. “It is tough being a working female from a culture where women are supposed to be at home serving the children,” said Suzanne Saoub. Women come to work in the United Arab Emirates for new opportunities and more equal rights of women. Women working in the United Arab Emirates are able to live in their own place, which is not traditionally unacceptable in the Arab world. Women are often recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates as flight attendants. The last section of the book tells the disturbing stories of a young Egyptian woman named Samira. Samira was involved in the 2011 protests leading up to the downfall of then-president Hosni Mubarak. Samira shares the traumatizing memories of her capture by the regime and the torture that followed. Samira recalls being starved, beat, verbally abused and spit on by the guards. She describes the forced virginity test done by a male guard and the humiliation she felt as other guards watched, laughing and recording the entire thing. Samira got tested a second time after being pulled from the streets after another day of protesting. Women who participated in the protests were especially subject to arrest and cruel treatment. Zoepf describes theories that the crackdown of women protesting in Egypt was a “deliberate attempt to abort the popular uprising.” Zoepf also describes her surprise that many Egypt women weren’t particularly fond of the “feminist” label, whereas they were more focused on the labor movement, which did have many powerful female leaders. Samira’s story became widely popular throughout egypt in 2011 and in December 2011, Zoepf states that an Egyptian civilian court ordered an end to the practice of virginity testing. Overall, this book does a good job exploring vastly different cultures and countries and tells the stories of different types of women around the Middle East. Conservative to liberal, there is no denying that things are shaking up a little bit everywhere. Zoepf does a great job bridging the gap between what westerners perceive Arab women to be and what they really are. Zoepf continuously relates to her roots in the Jehovah's Witness background with her research about the Islamic religion and culture, which is helpful in a few ways. I think that background gave more context to her intentions in her research and gave her an interesting perspective and understanding of a sometimes negatively-perceived religion. The main critique I have of this book is the time span on which it was written. Zoepf begins this book in 2004 in Damascus, a pre-war Syria. She ends around 2011 in Egypt shortly after the end of the Mubarak regime. Although more of a challenge, I think this book would have been stronger either all leading up to the Arab Spring or all during/after the Arab Spring. Had she interviewed women in Syria and Saudi Arabia in the peak of the Arab Spring, we may have seen more activity and shifts in women’s roles. I think the Egypt section is by far the most compelling because it showed the oppression of women and how they rose up, whereas in Syria the work of women was extremely subtle.