What Do Muslim Women Want?

Naomi Wolf makes an important point in her post: Western women (and men) tend to automatically associate Muslim women's head covering with oppression. In fact, the issue is much more complicated than simply defending or attacking the "hijab" - as it is called in the Arab world. What women wear is often much less important than obtaining real, concrete rights and achievements: freedom from "honor killings" and arbitrary divorce, the right to child custody and support, the ability to choose husbands and complete their educations. While her point is important, she is still only giving us one small part of the story. The struggle for women's rights does not take place only in the palaces of the Arab world and among the super-educated former CNN journalists. It also takes place daily among the washerwomen and secretaries and non-employed mothers struggling to make choices within the constraints of deteriorating economies, growing Islamist influence, and (occasionally) less-than-­supportive male relatives. As one who has lived for extended time in the Arab world and spent much of my time in middle class and lower-middle class neighborhoods, I support Wolf's position but urge her to look beyond the tiny slice of upper crust intellectual life she encountered.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost