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
As a woman in Saudi Arabia, you have one of two options. You either lose your mind - which at first happened to me because I fell into a deep depression - or you become a feminist.
Interpretation
Women in restrictive societies must choose between succumbing to despair or embracing change through feminism.
This quote highlights the challenges faced by women in Saudi Arabia, illustrating the emotional toll of living in a restrictive society. Eltahawy emphasizes that the path available to women is often fraught with difficulty, provoking a deep depression due to oppression, or the fight for liberation and equality through feminism. It reflects the resilience and strength needed to confront societal norms and push for personal and collective rights.
In practice
During a women's rights rally, this quote can be used to emphasize the need for activism.
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.
And here he was, a little halfling from the Shire, a simple hobbit of the quiet countryside, expected to find a way where the great ones could not go, or dared not go. It was an evil fate.
Many claim that it is insane to resist the system; but actually, it is insane not to.
The ultimate weapon isn't this plague out in Vegas, or any new super H-bomb. The ultimate weapon has always existed. Every man, every woman, and every child owns it. It's the ability to say No and take the consequences.
The right is ours. Have it we must. Use it we will.
We need someone who is going to stand up, speak up, and speak out for the people who need help, for the people who have been discriminated against.
Frequent and violent temptations were a proof that the citadel of the soul had not fallen and that the devil raged to make it fall.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.