Home > Work > Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
41 " To the gnarled old imam, sending his daughters out of the home—to walk in the streets, even if veiled, to sit among strangers, even if all girls—was wicked. His "
― Geraldine Brooks , Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
42 " the dangerous female body that somehow, in Muslim society, had been made to carry the heavy burden of male honor. "
43 " The women have been told it’s written in the Koran that they must do these things,” she said. She could tell them it wasn’t but, as an outsider and a woman, her word meant little against the word of the village sheik. "
44 " I’ve watched them. Watched them walking with this stupid smile on their faces into the biggest risk you can take in this life. "
45 " they knew that what they hoped for from the operation was to safeguard their daughters’ chastity, because upon that chastity depended the honor of the girls’ fathers and brothers. "
46 " In most Muslim countries women are the custodians of their male relatives’ honor. If "
47 " Women, it says, “manufacture men and play a great role in guiding and educating the [new] generation. The "
48 " women had been sent back home, to manufacture male babies and avoid waste in household expenditures. "
49 " No, no,” he said. “She can’t raise it at all. She may only clap. Women must be very careful of their voices. If "
50 " She must not speak in a delicate tone. This is from the Koran. Things begun with a few words will continue to other things. "
51 " trouble is, these people don’t understand their own culture,” said "
52 " You can ask for things, but you can’t just reach out and take things as if it’s your right.” A "
53 " This is Islamic dress—but not to them. According to them, the colors in the embroidery are haram. Where "
54 " Women without their own drivers could get around only at the whim of husbands and sons. Some "
55 " For these women, Hamas’s view of women was laughable. And since they couldn’t hear the appeal of such views themselves, they were deaf to the appeal they held for their students. "
56 " All the women who actually drove were mature professionals who had international drivers’ licenses they’d acquired overseas. Many "
57 " They argued that women of the prophet’s era had ridden camels, the main mode of transportation of their day. The "
58 " It was only then that I realized the distance between uncle and nephew wasn’t nearly as great as I’d assumed. "
59 " From there, the future is a place that looks darker every day. "
60 " Women of all ages are in-fantilized by the Saudi system. A woman, no matter how old, has to be able to show a signed permission from her husband, son or grandson before she is free to travel, even inside her own country. "