Women and Islam

If some ninety million little boys were having their penises amputated, would the world have acted to prevent it by now? You bet. -Geraldine Brooks

After reading Geraldine Brooks’ Nine Parts of Desire, I was left with a much better idea of the role of women in different parts of the Middle East. In her accounts, Brooks is careful to differentiate between the differences in Islam based on region. Although she paid close attention to the oppression of women based on religious beliefs and cultural customs, I felt that she gave voice to the opinion that many women choose to live veiled and restricted,while arguing that in some ways it could be considered the most progressive option available to them.

I particularly appreciated the background information this novel revealed about Muhammad and the founding principles of the Islamic faith. For educational purposes, Brooks does an excellent job defining key terms, such as the different schools of thought and the different acts associated with Islam. In this way, Nine Parts of Desire would be a useful tool in the secondary or college level course; although, one might carefully consider pairing it with a work that challenges the "anti-veil" feminist approach, such as Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes, by Dr. Katherine Bullock. I have not yet studied this work, but I will post more about it soon.

In her book, Brooks carefully analyzes different interpretations of the Koran, and points out that many practices that oppress and brutalize women are not founded on the teachings of Muhammad at all, but merely ancient traditions that continue even today. It was horrifying for me to read that the practice of genital mutilation was legal even until 1994 within the United States. Brooks argues that more needs to be done to protect women who are threatened by their culture, such as granting the right to asylum to women who have a "well-founded fear of persecution." This suggestion, which would only help women with the means to escape their situation, seems to be the very least that should happen.

While I was reading this book, I kept trying to put myself in the position of the women in Brooks' stories. What if I were forbidden to leave the house without my father or my husband? What my daughter was mutilated on an operating table? As an unwed mother, I would be marginalized and scoffed at, if not imprisoned, or perhaps killed by my male relatives. It pains me to think of the women that are refused such basic human rights by their very own people, as the rest of the world keeps moving forward, turning a blind eye to them all.