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
What this quote means
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.
Themes
FamilyCultureAdolescenceGenderIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about cultural differences in gender roles during a seminar on women's rights.
More from Mona Eltahawy
All quotes →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.
Mona EltahawyRead
It is the harassers and assaulters who make us 'look bad,' not the women who have every right to expose crimes against them.
Mona EltahawyRead
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.
Mona EltahawyRead
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.
Mona EltahawyRead
I will never ally with Islamophobes and racists. But in the choice between 'community' and Muslim women, I will always choose my sisters.
Mona EltahawyRead
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