Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

I was very pleased to have been assigned Lila Abu-Lughod’s article for our last reading, especially as we move into our Global Feminism Projects. Abu-Lughod raises several important issues regarding Western views on Middle Eastern women and their supposed “need to be saved,” and I was particularly satisfied with her emphasis on explaining the role that colonialism has played in shaping our rhetoric and beliefs. Early in the article, Abu-Lughod suggests the following: “the question is why knowing about the “culture” of the region, and particularly its religious beliefs and treatment of women, [is] more urgent than exploring the history of the development repressive regimes in the region and the U.S. role in this history” (784). I think that Abu-Lughod correctly highlights that by ignoring past colonial occupation of many of these Middle Eastern countries, we are unable to understand why we use the rhetoric we do, and consequently fail to address ways to counteract this tendency.

Additionally, I found Abu-Lughod inclusion of specific country examples to be most interesting especially since I currently am taking a history seminar focused on the interwar period in Egypt – a time that directly reflected the 1882 British occupation and responded in many ways to colonization. As many modern Egyptian scholars have suggested, the Orientalist imagery that the West has consistently associated with Egypt has led us to view Egypt as a “veiled protectorate of Britain,” utilizing the traditional covering of women for political means. It is within this framework that Abu-Lughod states that we must re-evaluate how view issues that are ‘other’ from what we believe to be the norm. As Mohanty stated in her article, one issue that Western feminist rhetoric has encountered is the formation of the “Third World Women,” suggesting that women from all countries other than the West all lack the same rights and are striving for the same goals. I think that Abu-Lughod’s inclusion of country-specific examples helps to demonstrate that within each country and population groups, different norms, traditions, and environments all converge and influence how people in these specifics areas view and value their lives. It is impossible to speak of the Middle Eastern women as one entity – however, just as the British did in Egypt, it allows for useful political rhetoric that mobilizes the masses.

Throughout the course of the semester, I have been lucky enough to have a class filled with personal anecdotes from a professor who is a Muslim, but also is of Indian descent with strong family ties in both Egypt and Pakistan. Having spent considerable time in many Middle Eastern countries, it is quite eye-opening to hear her take on the position of women in many of these countries. While we often hear in the news that all Middle Eastern women lack essential rights – an assumption largely based on the fact that women in the Middle East mostly cover themselves to some extent – my professor has been able to show my classmates and I that this truly is not the case everywhere. While she has tremendous issues with the current regime in Saudi Arabia, many women in India, Egypt, and Pakistan really do have the same choices as many women do in the West. However, it is often times very difficult for us to believe this because we are unable to fathom why a woman would choose to cover herself and remain confined to the house (as many do in rural Egyptian villages). And while we often talk of the debate between whether we should extend our reach onto other populations or simply mind our own business, even if human rights violations are occurring, what I have learned the most from my seminar is that through truly learning and engaging and listening to another culture, one begins to realize that there is no formula for how to address these issues – whether they be issues at all. Additionally, one may take note of Arvind Sharma’s comprehensive study, Are Human Rights Western?, in which he proposed over 40 ways in which are current human rights rhetoric may be consider Western, consequently causing one to question whether then our conception of ‘human rights’ are in fact universal. Although much remains uncertain, what remains known is that current discourse in dominated by Western imperialism and rhetoric, and in order to truly engage in a global partnership and understanding with countries that differ from our own, a conversation must begin and be devoid of any political agendas – a task that seems quite impossible today and even throughout the years to come.