Representation of Muslim Women in Literature

1. Representation of Muslim Women in Literature Presented by Nabilah Bt Lokmal Atteya Bt Mustaffa Nur Yuhanis Bt Hassan Aini Fatimah Bt Amat Kamal Edited by Dr. Md. Mahmudul Hasan International Islamic University Malaysia 2010

2. Naguib Mahfouz(1911–2006)

3. Mahfouz was born into a lower middle-class Muslim family in the Gamaleyya quarters of Cairo. • He studied philosophy at Cairo University and graduated in 1934. • His works are mostly written in Arabic and are translated into English and other languages worldwide.

4. In 1988, Mahfouz won the Nobel prize for Literature. • He authored famous works like Cairo Trilogy (1950s) which consists of Palace walk, Palace of Desire and Sugar street; Tharthara Fawq Al Neel (Chitchat on the Nile,1966); and Children of Gebelawi (Children of our Alley,1959). • He wrote some other well-known novels, 350 short stories and five plays in his 70-year literary career.

5. Mahfouz believes in freedom of expression. • However, in an interview with Salmawy (2006), Mahfouz expresses his reservations about the Danish caricature of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). • He states: “every man has the right to stretch his arms, for example, but not to the extent that he hits the face of the person next to him.”

6. He strongly argues that one man’s freedom ends where another man’s face begins. • On the caricature he strongly feels that it has been a slap on everyone’s faces and it is not a valid exercise of freedom. When it comes to religion there are barriers that should not be violated. • He is against mockery of all religious symbols, as he states: “we believe in prophets and it is upsetting when any of this symbol is portrayed in an insulting manner.”

7. Palace Walk

8. Background of the novel • Originally published in 1956 with the title Bayn al-qasrayn (literally, Between the Two Palaces). • Palace Walk was translated into English in 1990. • It is the first book of the Cairo Trilogy, which is set in Cairo, Egypt. • Palace walk begins in 1917, during World War I, and ends in 1919, the year of the Egyptian nationalist revolution.

9. The literal translation of the novel – “between the two palaces” – points to the cultural and political transition Egypt experienced during this period of time. • The developments are brought into focus by the lives of the El Gawad family. • This novel shows how women in the family of the patriarch el-Sayyed Ahmed Abd el-Gawad are treated.

10. Representation of Muslim women in Palace walk • Amina, Khadijah and Aisha are the major female characters in this novel. Amina, el-Sayyed’s wife, is the protagonist. • Khadijah and Aisha are his daughters. Like Amina, they are also afraid of el-Sayyed. • Under purdah, they are not allowed to leave the house or seen by men. Women in this household have little freedom. • The men in the family are allowed to lead their lives as they wish as long as they bow to their father’s authority in everything. • The women, on the other hand, are not allowed to go anywhere. They have to be veiled most of the time and this limits their freedom. • Through this novel, Mahfouz critiques conventional Egyptian society and describes how the power of patriarchy and the oppression of women are reinforced and regenerated into the future. He cautions how women will be treated in the future if nothing is done to ameliorate their condition now. • This novel shows the split between the quiet world of home and the homosocial male world of commerce, politics, and the fulfillment of sexual desire.

11. The women in the family have to serve men all the time and they have to be alert every time men ask for a favour. • Scared, Amina does not rebel even though she knows that her husband philanders behind her back and commits other misdeeds. • El–Sayyed asks his women in the family to take care of the family’s dignity, but he drinks, gambles and regularly visits the courtesans. • Mahfouz brilliantly portrays the relationship between the sisters. They are jealous and envious to each other, this because of their cloistered life.

12. Women’s appearance in public is regarded as dishonor to the family. • Mahfouz is aware of women’s condition in Egypt and is sympathetic to their plight. He bluntly discusses how Amina is punished because of appearing in public without the knowledge of el-Sayyed. • Mahfouz critiques men’s double standard through el- Sayyed’s actions. El–Sayyed expels Amina from the house simply because she ventured out to visit a shrine with her son. Mahfouz points to men’s unjust treatment of women and to the fact that men are blind to their own wrongdoings.

13. One very interesting quote from Naguib Mahfouz: “The portrayal of Arab women in past and contemporary Arab literature does not reflect a genuine image of her. It is Arab woman as seen through the eyes of the Arab men, and therefore tends to be incomplete, distorted and devoid of a clear understanding and consciousness.”

14. Representation of Muslim Women in Nawal El-Saadawi’s Works

15. Biography - Nawal El-Saadawi was born in Egypt on 27 October 1931. - She is the eldest of nine children. - Her father was a government official in the Ministry of Education and plays a big role in her life. - Both of her parents died when she was young. So she had to take care of her siblings. - In 1955, she graduated as a medical doctor from Cairo University.

16. Nawal gained experience of working as a doctor in villages across Egypt. • She witnessed women’s oppression in different forms, such as: prostitution, sexual abuse, honour killings and so on. - In 1964, she married SherifHetata whom she met while working at the Ministry of Health. - From this marriage, she has a son and a daughter. - The Guardian once regarded her as “the new Salman Rushdie.”

17. - Some of her works: > Memoirs of a Woman Doctor (1958) > Al-Mar’a wa Al-Jins (Women and Sex, 1972) > The Hidden Face of Eve (1977) > Women at Point Zero (1979) > She Has No Place in Paradise (1979) > Death of an Ex-Minister (1980) > Two Women in One (1983) > Love in the Kingdom of Oild

18. The Hidden Face of Eve (1977) - It is apparently based on her observation of oppression against woman in Egyptian society. - She argues that the veil, polygamy and legal inequality are incompatible with the essence of Islam. - She explores the causes of gender injustices, which comes from the family institution and cultural traditions.

19. Woman at Point Zero (1979) - It is based on the true story of a woman named Firdaus who was prosecuted for murder. - Nawal went to Firdaus’s prison cell to interview her. - Basically, this novel fictionalizes Firdaus’s life since childhood, her marital life, and social life until the day before her execution.

20. Representation of Muslim Women • The Hidden Face of Eve (1977) - Women are bound by their cultural tradition. For example, Nawal herself was forced by her family to do circumcision. - Women are regarded as the key of the honour of the family. If a woman does a good thing, then society will see her family as a good one, and vice versa.

21. Women at Point Zero (1979) - Women as victims of: • a dysfunctional family institution = Firdaus has been abused by her father. • ill-mannered men = Firdaus has been used by Bayoumi and others for their pleasure. - Women love to be educated. Firdaus wants to seek knowledge and even dreams to become a scholar. - Women are brave. Firdaus goes through a lot of hardships and obstacles, but she never gives in or gives up.

22. AHDAF SOUEIF (1950-)

23. She is an Egyptian writer. • She was born into an intellectual family in Cairo in 1950. • She has lived in Egypt and England. • She left Egypt for England after graduating in English from the University of Cairo (1971) and obtaining an MA from the American University in Cairo (1973).

24. Soueif's works: • Collection of short stories- Aisha (1983), Sandpiper (1996) and Think of You (2007) • Novels- In the Eye of the Sun (1992) The Map of Love (1999) Non-fiction: Mezzaterra (2004) • Prizes and awards: • 1983 Guardian Fiction Prize (shortlisted) for Aisha • 1996 Cairo International Book Fair Best Collection of Short Stories – Sandpiper • 1999 Booker Prize for Fiction (shortlisted) for The Map of Love.

25. foci of her writing • The portrayal of Arab-Muslim society and its struggle for modernization in a globalized world • Understanding culture, cultural identity and intercultural relationships. • Her writings portray her characters' experiences in Egyptian and Western societies. • Modern Egyptian women • Ahdaf Soueif presents the voice of Arab women and their struggles to defend their rights. • In her novel In The Eye of The Sun, we see the development of the character of Asya al-Ulama who becomes an liberated Egyptian woman and insists on maintaining that cultural identity.

26. Asked if she is a feminist, she says: "Yes I am. I think that it's sad that a lot of women, particularly Arab women, reject feminism. However, they clearly are feminists in that they believe that women are equal as men and they believe that women should be paid the same amount of money for doing the same job [….] But [they avoid feminism] because it has been associated with a sort of 'man hating' attitude, not wearing make-up and letting yourself look horrible, being generally embattled and obnoxious, which is not at all what it is about. These are all very superficial."

27. her works • Aisha (1983) • Aisha is a collection of linked stories. • The first three stories in Aisha are: "Knowing," "1964" and "Returning“ • These three short stories describe how Aisha enters and exits parts of her life in London and Egypt as a child, as a teenager and as a woman. The stories reflect upon her memories and her mixed identity. • In The Eye of The Sun (1992) • Her first novel. • Originally banned in the Arab world for its portrayal of sexuality. • The story is about how Asya, as a Muslim woman, struggles and adapts with the life in the west.

28. Representation of Muslim Women • Aisha • A Muslim girl who is exposed to British culture and influence • Aisha has no doubts that she will be accepted within the circles of English schoolchildren because she feels that she is very much westernized. She speaks the English language well and she and her upper-middle-class Cairo family are "Western" in their taste in clothes, politics, and lifestyle. • Struggles to ascertain her identity • At the age of fifteen, Aisha is exposed to two worlds, Egypt and England, each viewing the other with suspicion. Though she tried hard to be part of English society, she remains a misfit in it, and longs for the familiarity of home.

29. Asya Ulama • Highly educated • Asya graduates with a Bachelor's degree and is accepted for a PhD program in English Literature at an elite British university. She also plans to become a university professor as her parents. • Betrayal • Asya has been unhappily married for five years. • She feels lonely, as she understands that her husband does not love her. This loneliness leads to her affairs with the other men. • The changing treatment of women in Egyptian society • Asya rejects the stereotype that Muslim Women should be unquestionably submissive to their husbands. • She believes that Saif loves her only when she behaves the way he wants her to behave, and this realization transforms her to a new way of thinking.

30. Katherine Bullock How the dominant West came to view the veil as a symbol of oppression for Muslim women Underlying assumptions in post-colonial debates on the veil A positive theory about the role of the veil in today’s world

31. Bullock’s important works • Rethinking Muslim Women and The Veil: Challenging Historical and Modern Stereotypes published by The International Institute of Islamic Thought • “You Don’t Have to Wear That in Canada: The Hijab Experience of Canadian Muslim Women”; March/April 1998 issue of Islamic Horizons magazine

33. She reverted to Islam one and a half years into her doctoral studies. • She used to feel sorry for Muslim women who complied to the prescription of wearing the hijab. • The hijab was initially a stumbling block when she contemplated the thought of embracing Islam. • Now she herself lives through the true experience of wearing the hijab.

34. How did the West formulate its views on the hijab? • The colonial period • Mme Pommerol and the Mozabite women of the Sahara • Lady Mary Wortley Montagu

35. Prevalent Orientalist Perspective on the Veil • Brook Shields’ movie, Harem • Image of the veiled Middle Eastern women as being exotic

36. Underlying assumptions in post-colonial debates • The veil as a symbol of oppression • The veil as a major stumbling block towards a civilized nation • The West as the epitome of civilization • The men are still seen to be the deciding factor in becoming a more civilized nation, while the women are stepping stones.

37. Positive theory about the veil • The Hijab Is A Commandment From God ‘When asked to explain why they covered, the women I interviewed said they believed that in the Qur’an God commanded women to cover their hair, and that Prophetic statements backed that up. For them, Hijab symbolizes, not oppression or terrorism, as it does in mainstream Western discourse, but “purity,” “modesty,” a “woman's Islamic identity,” and “obedience, or submission to God and a testament that you're Muslim.” Halima, a convert to Islam, adds that Hijab symbolizes “the woman's power to take back her own dignity and her own sexuality”.’ Katherine Bullock

38. Hijab Gives Women Self-Esteem. “An aspect of Hijab that came through strongly in the interviews was how wearing Hijab gives these women sources of inner strength and a high level of confidence and self-esteem. For example, men and women learn from an early age that women (all of them) are beautiful, and this is the reason they cover. That message is good for women's self-esteem, as well as for the way men think about women. The message compares favorably to that of the West where we see anorexia and bulimia on the increase as young women attempt to reach an unattainable ideal of female beauty.” • Katherine Bullock

39. Hijab Gives Women Inner Peace. ‘Many women stressed how comfortable they felt wearing Hijab, how it made them feel good about themselves, and brought them a feeling of inner “peace”. Ellen, a convert to Islam, stresses that in Hijab she feels “like I am doing something to please God, you know […] it makes you feel good about yourself. You feel different in a good way, because you're not exposing yourself and you know, you're not exposed to many things like you would be if you're not covering”.’ Katherine Bullock