Short reflection essay about "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? by LILA ABU-LUGHOD

Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others Al-Zoubi, AbdelRahman International University of Catalunya Paper on the Gender Equity in the Urban, Dr Apen

Short reflection essay about "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others." by LILA ABU-LUGHOD. 1. Major claims & Significance: The author trying to emphasis and spot the light on the idea of cultural differences and how it has been misunderstood from the western discourse toward westernizing the under developing societies (I.e. Afghanistan), and how that is disrespecting the spatial culture of the people. Also, it argues about the contemporary colonialization in interfering with the "Others". I think such claims are very important for an anthropology point of view, because it offer a frame to analyze the issue of gender, mainly women in a society where religion and social traditions constructed for many years. In addition to that, the concept of helping those countries to get developed through colonialism, was significant to the readers, so it shows the impact of war and development on gender aspect of the Afghani society.

2. Important concept: "portable seclusion": I understand it as a social way of the women in specific regions (I.e. Afghanistan) to adopt to the social regime and structure of power, by creating a solution for her protection, at the same time being social and active in the daily life where masculinity took the big role.

3. Notable quotation: "As Laura Bush said, "Because of our recent military gains in much of Afghanistan, women are no longer imprisoned in their homes, They can listen to music and teach their daughters without fear of punishment, The fight against terrorism is also a fight for the rights and dignity of women" (U.S. Government 2002)" Abu Lughod, Pg 784, Para 5.

I found this provocative sentence frustrating to me, which implies more than saying that women need to listen to music, and go out of their homes... As I perceive it, Laura connected the victory of the US Army over Taliban in Afghani lands with the social responsibility and community development mainly women empowerment (as she claim AL-ZOUBI, ABDELRAHMAN

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in her speech) But, in fact between winning the war and freeing the women, there were thousands of people killed, poverty created, families have been homeless, and women lost everything, and a country lost everything. I found it ironic to show how the WHITE SAVIOUR trying to give a hand for people in need, to me, it is the same as the colonization happen in last century with the same reasons in Asia and Africa.

4. Reflect on how the ideas and arguments presented by the authors differ or are similar.

To support Abu Lughod's idea, colonialism never respected the culture of "Others" in that way, a conflict of interest and ideas is happening until our days, I remember that Jordan has been signing to some of the international policies in order the give women their rights as equally to men (as they claim that we are not developed in that sense), and one of the mail point is make the women do what she want to do freely, mainly if she want to veil, then give her the freedom to unveil. In fact, that was a big miss for many reasons; the disrespect of the strong already established system of power and culture; the westernized mind of thoughts (as external body of knowledge and well developed) to give you as (undeveloped society, from their perspective) the keys to get modernized in couple of years, where the hierarchy of power and gender role is taking place for hundreds of years; last thing the issue that was very clear to me but not to the white people, is that changing the appearance of the women will never be the solution to the situation of women in the Islamic world, the reality showed that most of the modest women that veiling their faces or heads, that comes from their our decision and they intentionally doing that, and there are already integrated very well (most of them) in the market place with men, and some had jobs in respected fields such as; medicine, academia.. Etc. Whereas some of the women who took the step to reveal themselves by unveiling, it was some home very hard for them to get it to the circle of their society which is considered as outsider identity. The true gender solution and feminism role in the Islamic world, from my point of view is by empowering women to be strong and responsible, to educate them on how to develop their own way of being feminism and support their own gender equality.

As Palestinian American author, Abu Lughod offered well-structured arguments to defense the idea of gender and feminism in the Islamic world. In fact, as I said in a previous discussion with my class mates, the idea of gender in the Islamic world Middle East – has deep roots to religion and hierarchy of power, to prevent any social problems such as harassment.

Abu-Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others. American Anthropologist, 104 (3), 783– 790.

AL-ZOUBI, ABDELRAHMAN

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