As a feminist of Egyptian and Muslim descent, my life's work has been informed by the belief that religion and culture must never be used to justify the subjugation of women.
Mona EltahawyRead
My family moved to Saudi Arabia from Glasgow when I was 15. Being a 15-year-old girl anywhere is difficult - all those hormones and everything - but being a 15-year-old girl in Saudi Arabia... it was like someone had turned the light off in my head. I could not get a grasp on why women were treated like this.
Interpretation
Adolescence is challenging, and moving to a new culture can amplify those struggles, especially regarding gender roles.
In this quote, Mona Eltahawy reflects on her difficult transition into adolescence while navigating a new cultural landscape in Saudi Arabia. The experience emphasizes the struggles of young women in restrictive societies, highlighting the confusion and frustration stemming from the contrasting expectations placed on them compared to their peers in more liberal environments.
In practice
In a discussion about cultural differences in gender roles during a seminar on women's rights.
As a feminist of Egyptian and Muslim descent, my life's work has been informed by the belief that religion and culture must never be used to justify the subjugation of women.
I'm no fan of Sarkozy, but I support a ban on face veils because they erase women from society and are promoted by an ultra-conservative ideology that equates piety with the disappearance of women.
It is the harassers and assaulters who make us 'look bad,' not the women who have every right to expose crimes against them.
I can write about my culture and religion because I am a product of both. Even when I'm accused of giving ammunition to the Islamophobic right, in the struggle between 'community' and 'women,' I always choose the women.
I believe at the heart of any revolution for social justice and human dignity are consent and agency, the unequivocal belief that I own my body - not the state, not the church/mosque/temple, not the street and not the family.
I will never ally with Islamophobes and racists. But in the choice between 'community' and Muslim women, I will always choose my sisters.
I got along without you before I met you and I'll get along without you a long time after you're gone.
She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman.
I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.
I am the drying meadow; you the unspoken apology; he is the fluctuating distance between mother and son; she is the first gesture that creates a quiet that is full enough to make the baby sleep. My genes, my love, are rubber bands and rope; make yourself a structure you can live inside. Amen.
Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.
I was called a 'CD' by a suicidal teenager, who is alive today because I became her 'Chosen Dad,' who loved her. We all have the potential to re-parent ourselves and others.
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