Badr's A Balcony over the Fakihani, Pillars of Salt, by Fadia Faqir, and Al-Atrash's A Woman of Five Seasons
Struggles for independence from foreign conquerors, civil tyrants, and the hands of the oppressive have long been the backdrop for life in the Arab World. This struggle is compounded for Arab women, who have the added worries of societal and cultural constraints. The 20th century was a notably gory one, particularly in the Middle East. There have been numerous, almost continuous aggressive confrontations in the region since the dawn of the 20th century, beginning with Ibn Saud?s campaign against the Ottoman Empire (Diller 384) and concluding with the suicide bombings of contemporary daily news. Typically, the actors of this violence have been predominantly men, yet such far reaching, and pervading circumstances of violence have inevitably had an impact on the daily lives and consciousness of countless generations of Arab women. This impact has also saturated the minds of many Arab women writers, and the depth of this effect comes across very well in the works of Liyana Badr, Leila Al-Atrash, and Fadia Faqir. The political and historical contexts of each novel are extremely telling. This ever-present aggressive backdrop influences settings and personal storylines of characters in Badr?s A Balcony over the Fakihani, Faqir?s Pillars of Salt, and Al-Atrash?s A Woman of Five Seasons overwhelmingly.
Pillars of Salt, which is set in the early 20s in Jordan, has the earliest setting of all three novels and happens to be one of the more violent. In 1920, Transjordan was p! laced under British mandate. The British left in May of 1923, and then Emir Abdullah attempted to appease and unite various Bedouin groups and form a unit of men able to protect the land from invaders (Diller 261). It is with this historical context that we happen upon the story of Maha and her struggle for survival and independence.
The novel begins with the storyteller?s muddy mixture of fact and fable. The storyteller recounts his first encounter with the English, and describes the way ?their cars exhaled black smoke into the clear blue sky? (Faqir 3). The storyteller is somewhat removed from the political context because he is ?half-Arab? (Faqir 3), yet it is still evident that there is some ill feeling towards the English. Later on, we are presented with another political opinion of the storyteller. He describes the story of the Balfour Declaration, and portrays it in a very negative manner, calling i! t the result of Lord Balfour?
Critics have already begun a heated debate over the success of the book that has addressed both its strengths and weaknesses. The debate may rage for a few years but it will eventually fizzle out as the success of the novel sustains. The characters, plot, emotional appeal, and easily relatable situations are too strong for this book to crumble. The internal characteristics have provided a strong base to withstand the petty attacks on underdeveloped metaphors and transparent descriptions. The novel does not need confrontations with the Middle East to remain a staple in modern reading, it can hold its own based on its life lessons that anyone can use.
Ahmed, Leila. “Early Islam and the Position of Women: The Problem of Interpretation.” In Women in Middle Eastern History: Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender, ed. Nikki R. Keddie and Beth Baron. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1991.
According to Gamble and Brennan (2000), the effectiveness of medication for schizophrenia to relieve patients from psychotic symptoms is limited. Although patients have adequate medication, some received little or no benefit from it and almost half of them still experience psychotic symptoms. They are also more likely to suffer relapse (Gamble and Brennan, 2000). Furthermore, Valmaggia, et al. (2005) found that 50% of patients who fully adhere to anti-psychotic medication regimes still have ongoing positi...
8. Nawal El-Saadawi, "The Hidden Face of Eve, Women in the Arab World," translated and edited by Sherif Hettata, Zed Press, London, 1980, pg.33
Joyce, James. “Araby”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Eds. R.V. Cassill and Richard Bausch. Shorter Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2000. 427 - 431.
Moosa, Matti. The Early Novels of Naguib Mahfouz: Images of Modern Egypt. Gainesville, FL: University of Florida, 1994. Print.
Joyce, James. “Araby.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Eighth Edition. Eds. Jerome Beaty, Alison Booth, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W.Norton.
Lila Abu-Lughod’s article titled, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” takes a closer look at the problematic ethnocentric approach many have when trying to gain an understanding of another culture that may be foreign to that individual. In this analytical paper, Lughod looks at women in Islam, specifically the treatment of women and how it might be utilized as a justification for invading into a country and liberating its people. The country Lughod refers to in her article is Afghanistan, and Lughod points out the misunderstanding from the people to the Bush administration like First Lady Laura Bush who believed that intervention was necessary to free women from the captivity of their own homes. It is important to consider the role that different lenses play into all of this, especially when one’s lenses are being shaped by the media. Depictions of covered women secluded from society leave a permanent image in the minds of many, who would then later support the idea of liberation. This paper will discuss that the practice of using propaganda when referring to the lifestyle in the Middle East is not exclusive to the U.S; rather it has been utilized throughout history. Additionally, we will take a closer look on the importance of symbols, such as veils in this case; help to further emphasize the cause to liberate. Finally, we will analyze Lughod’s plea towards cultural relativism and away from liberal imperialism.
The portrayal of the Arab woman has always been through several different perceptions. Some believe that these women are weak, dependant and victims of a hyper patriarchal tradition and culture. They live their lives as if caged from one man to another. First it is their father and brothers and then their husbands and sons. It is true that Arab women do live within patriarchal traditions and cultures but the same can be said for majority of the women around the globe. A much more accurate perception can come only through the realization that what popular Western concepts conceive as women liberation and independence does not necessarily apply to every women around the world. One must understand the culture, religion and traditions and history of a people to know what their ideas regarding concepts such as liberation and independence are. In the west for example women were allowed to vote relatively recently compared to Muslim women who were allowed to vote over fourteen hundred years ago, the same could be said for owning businesses and property and the right to a career. One of the most popular beliefs in the Western world today regarding oppression is that women in Arabia are sexually controlled by their men. This has been brought about especially by the concept of the Hijab as being one of the channels to control women’s sexuality and freedom. It can be argued that in various cases this is true but one cannot commit such a grave injustice and put all Arab women under one umbrella and stamp them as sexually oppressed. The fact is that the Middle East is a region where many states, cultures and identities exist.
In our Women and Politics in the Middle East class this semester we watched three films that brought to surface social issues faced by women in the Middle East. Caramel, Divorce Iranian Style and Persepolis are films that speak of issues of taboo that are critical for women in the Middle East. The themes that connect all three films are social issues, female identity, and politics that are aimed against women’s rights. In all three films the protagonists are women who struggle with the government and society to get their rights in their own countries. Even though one film is a documentary and one film is a comedy/drama and the last one is a cartoon, all three of the films are similar in their themes and struggles. All three films show critical issues that women face in the Middle East on a daily bases.
The function of Human Resources in corporations usually includes the use of metrics and analytics through collection of data on the employees’ efficiency. HR metrics are used to quantify the cost and the impact of employee programs and HR processes and measure the success or failure of HR initiatives (Missildine, 2013). The company is able to track trends and changes with the data collected as it provides for measurement function that helps with HR planning. HR metrics measure the value of the time and money spent on HR activities in the company and together with HR metrics is the HR analytics which is the process of combining data mining with business analytics techniques to analyze human resources data (Missildine, 2013) and provide an organization with considerations for the effective management of employees and quickly and efficiently reach organizational goals. The main issue lies on whether the managers know what to measure and how measurement must be conducted.
Both el Saadawi and Al-Shaykh both show how perception and expression are both affected within the confines of politics, social opportunities, and male privilege depicted in their stories. Whether the reader is a follower of the feminist movement or not, it is very clear and easy to see that these women are not being treated with the respect that any human being deserves. The misogynistic stranglehold on society, especially in this part of the world, is excessive and avoidable in today’s world but it is very likely that the traditional, conservative ways of the past will continue to control and inhibit women from being able to be fully treated as equals for many years to come, perhaps even after this generation has
This source is helpful since it really demonstrates the main points of Mandela's achievements. For instance he gave hope to millions of Africans and inspired them. The article strongly states the effect he had on African people which is a crucial part of my essay. It is well organized in terms of chronoligal order and importance which is essential in my essay.
...ller” not only takes a lot of courage in the Arab society while being a woman, but portrays the mentally strong character, in this case, Firdaus.
The first essential means by which the writings can be connected is through the settings of both the authors and the writings presented. Some basic research of both Nawal El Saadawi and Laurie Penny will expose the underlying beliefs held by both authors, namely feminism, or essential human rights in general. The society and culture of both Britain and Egypt provide ample opportunity for one to conn...