Rafia Zakaria

Las mujeres blancas de clase media alta han sido las únicas que han ocupado durante mucho tiempo el lugar de «expertas» en feminismo. Han presidido organizaciones feministas multinacionales y han escrito gran parte de lo que consideramos el canon feminista, propugnando la liberación y la satisfacción sexual, la inclusión LGBTQ y la solidaridad racial, todo mientras marcan el lenguaje del movimiento mismo y la agenda de objetivos a cumplir. Una feminista blanca es aquella que se niega a aceptar el papel que la blanquitud y el privilegio racial que lleva aparejado han desempeñado y siguen desempeñando en la universalización de las inquietudes y las convicciones de las feministas blancas como las del feminismo en su totalidad. Para ser una feminista blanca no tienes por qué ser blanca. Es perfectamente posible ser blanca y feminista y no ser una feminista blanca. El término, en lugar de describir la identidad racial de sus sujetos, describe, más bien, una serie de supuestos y comportamientos que han sido integrados en el feminismo dominante occidental.… (altro)

Reminded me of the story of my college Sociology department and the Caucasian Dean that runs the department. Whose research interest was gender studies and was even a coordinator of the gender studies program. Apparently gender equality does not mean that women of color should get paid the same as Caucasian women. Despite length of service and having more publications. The non-white women are told by the Dean that "I know, I know, it is just not in our budget right now". Of course, when a Caucasian asks it's always at a time when it is in the budget.… (altro)

I RECEIVED AN ARC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA LIBRARYTHING. THANK YOU.

My Review: I read this book in a dazed state, slightly revolted that a man *can* take a second wife without ridding himself of the first one; utterly stunned that the first wife, unconsulted and apparently not considered in this decision, has no recourse; and appalled at religion's foul, slimy fingers choking yet another country's people into darkness and despair.

What I thought I would read was a memoir tied explicitly to historical developments in Pakistan's life as a country. Instead the author's family's turmoils were centered, and the times in which they occurred...a war in 1962 was the impetus for her family to up sticks from their Bombay home, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination signaled darker political days but her aunt's betrayal bit deeper...were the depressingly appropriate backdrop for the erosion of their collective happiness.

What this read lacked in propulsive plotting it more than made up for in food for fruitful mulling and turning and examining in one's mind. Most definitely a pleasure to have encountered this unique angle on the Rights of Woman honored in the breach not the observance.… (altro)

Veil by Rafia Zakaria is a study of one of the more controversial cross-cultural issues of the day. Zakaria is an attorney and political philosopher. She is a regular columnist for Al Jazeera America and Dawn Pakistan and has written for many publications around the world including The Hindu, The Calcutta Stateman, China Daily The Korea Herald and Le Monde. She is the first Muslim American woman to serve on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International USA for two consecutive terms.

The object lessons presented by Bloomsbury Academic are usually mundane and ordinary item we see in our daily life like bread, golf balls, hair, and phone booths. This edition contains a more controversial issue of the veil and its connection with repression. Countries have tried to ban the wearing of a veil or niqab -- the full head covering. It is a mixed subject and speaks to both repression and religious freedom. Just because some people in the West see it as a repressive symbol does not mean that the women who wear the veil see it that way.

I grew up in an ethnic Polish neighborhood and headscarves or "babushkas" were worn by many women outside of the house and especially in church. Historically, through the Renessiance, European women wore head coverings out of modesty. Even in the traditional marriage ceremony, the bride wears a veil that only the groom can remove. In religious texts, the veil is brought up:

"For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head."

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers...

The first quote defining the covering of a woman's hair is from 1 Corinthians. The second is from the Koran. While Paul tells women to cover their heads, the Koran simply states they must guard their modesty. What it boils down to is interpretation and in many Muslim countries where women do not have a voice, the interpretation comes down to men's interpretations. Telling a Muslim woman residing in a Western country that she cannot wear a head scarf contradicts one of the key Western aspect of freedom of religion. Banning it merely reinforces others to wear it.

Zakaria does present some Western concerns, not so much for a head scarf but for the niqab. Security and identification in travel present one issue. We are a culture that focuses on the face -- "Look at me when I am talking to you.", selfies, portraits, and Skype. We identify by face. In a lesser degree, the same was said about wearing a hoody -- you have something to hide, you are a thug, you are up to no good. Zakaria also presents some interesting court cases on the matter of the veil and how it is used and possibly abused.

Veil is different from other object studies because it is controversial and not really something we take for granted. Dust, eggs, and cigarette lighters of previous object studies do not touch on deeply held beliefs or fears. This is one that will create some controversy in what was until now a level and secular series. Like it or hate it, it will give the reader something to think about.







… (altro)