Beyond the Harem – Fall 2008

Résumé du document

In the feature films Persepolis and Rana's Wedding, we are told the stories of women who in the course of their lifetime have defied male patriarchy, and are therefore labeled as feminists. However, these and many others are exclusively individual examples, and it seems that there is no feminist movement per se in the Middle East, as stated by Nadia Hijab. Even though it is undeniable that there is no such a thing in the Arab world as a feminist movement strictly similar to feminist movements in Western countries, there are numerous varied women's movements that struggle to empower women or at least demand an acknowledgement of women's rights.

It seems unfair to deny these movements the label of feminism based solely on the grounds that they are not independent of the political and economic context in which they emerge. The Iranian and Palestinian examples prove that feminism exists in the Middle East, but most of all demonstrate the complex interactions between gender issues and the powers in place.

Extraits

[...] Beyond the Harem Fall 2008 In the feature films Persepolis and Rana's Wedding, we are told the stories of women who in the course of their lifetime have defied male patriarchy, and are therefore labeled as feminists. However, these and many others are exclusively individual examples, and it seems that there is no feminist movement per se in the Middle East, as stated by Nadia Hijab. Even though it is undeniable that there is no such a thing in the Arab world as a feminist movement strictly similar to feminist movements in Western countries, there are numerous varied women's movements that struggle to empower women or at least demand an acknowledgement of women's rights. [...]

[...] Every societal issue is considered through the lens of Islam, including gender and feminism. The Revolution's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, has stated that women deserve respect and a certain status, based solely on the praise they deserve for their role as good mothers raising good Iranian and Muslim men. Although this apparent defense of women's status seems to defend women's rights, it actually constrains them into the the role of mothers and housewives. In his Address to a Group of Women in Qum, the Ayatollah Khomeini describes women in the following way: carrying your infants in your arms, you came into the streets and supported Islam with your ardent demonstrations This shows that in spite of women's newly-found leverage, which consists in being able to participate in political action using the tool of demonstration, women are forever reminded that their prime occupation is motherhood, as indicated also by the sentence women have the function of rearing and training true men (p.263). [...]

[...] (1991). Hazards of Modernity and Morality. Women, Islam and the State, pp.48-76. Paronnaud, V. (Director), Satrapi, M. (Screenplay) (2007). Persepolis. [...]

[...] Moreover, we have seen that cooperation across national allegiances is possible, which shows that women in a way consider themselves as a separate social grouping. Finally, women in Palestine demand a similar status to that of men i.e. they demand equality. All in all, the women's movement in Palestine can be qualified as a feminist movement according to Nancy Cott's definition, but it does not correspond to Nadia Hijab's definition of feminism, as it is not independent of political and economic context. [...]

[...] In Adam and Adama, Sheila Hannah Katz writes that gender issues were central to the formation of nationalist responses to these challenges (p.85), which shows the interconnection of gender issues and political (in this case, nationalist) struggles. This is reminiscent of the interdependence of social (gender) issues and political (State-related) issues in Iran. Katz's text demonstrates that the Palestinian case is different from the other geographical case studies because here, instead of having the political context lead to the emergence of the gender question, gender issues are the ones who play a central role in inducing nationalist responses. [...]