Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World
by Jan Goodwin
On This Page
Description
Muslim women, the symbols of honor for their men, speak out in this timely and stunning book that takes us into the volatile heartland of Islam. The world's fastest-growing religion, with more than one billion adherents, Islam increasingly affects our lives: the oil-rich Muslim states of the Middle East are more important than ever in the aftermath of the Cold War, and here in America, Muslims now outnumber Jews. Yet Muslim culture remains a mystery to most Westerners. In Price of Honor, show more noted journalist Jan Goodwin shows how the restrictions on women's lives in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Gaza and the West Bank of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates act as a barometer to the growth of fundamentalism and the Muslim regimes' willingness to appease extremists. From royalty to rebels, from professional women to peasants, Price of Honor takes us into the hearts and homes of Muslim women. With devastating candor, these women relate the increasingly oppressive politics that govern their personal lives. They live in a world where women are confined, forbidden to work or be educated, and even killed because of men's "code of honor." Goodwin's interviews and reports include a princess who talks about her life as the sixteenth wife of a sheikh; a grandmother who was arrested and whipped eighty times when a lock of her hair slipped from under her veil; women who are raped and then imprisoned for "fornication"; doctors who perform hymen-restoration surgery on women about to be wed because nonvirgins may be killed by male relatives; and American converts to Islam who are completely veiled and accept their husbands' polygamy yet fear the increasing religious extremism and its effects on their lives. With these and many other telling stories, Goodwin brings to life a world in which women have become pawns in a bitter power game. Here is a provocative look inside Muslim society today - and a powerful wake-up call to the world. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Mostly, this book is depressing, and unlikely to change anyone’s mind about religion in general, or Islam in particular.
If you believe Islam is a religion of peace which instructs its adherents to treat women with respect, you will find support for that belief. If you believe fundamentalist Islams are interpreting the Koran to meet their own needs, and that women are disrespected, abused, and debased under it, you will find support for that belief. If you believe that organized religion in general is a massive scam perpetrated on the ignorant, the disenfranchised, and the easily influenced, you will find support for that belief.
Goodwin toured 10 Muslim countries in the Middle East as preparation for this book, studying their religious show more and political situations at the end of the 20th century, and interviewed dozens of Muslim women, from reformers to devout, privileged and destitute, native-born to Islam and former Christian converts. The story that emerges is appalling, disturbing, and intensely disheartening. show less
If you believe Islam is a religion of peace which instructs its adherents to treat women with respect, you will find support for that belief. If you believe fundamentalist Islams are interpreting the Koran to meet their own needs, and that women are disrespected, abused, and debased under it, you will find support for that belief. If you believe that organized religion in general is a massive scam perpetrated on the ignorant, the disenfranchised, and the easily influenced, you will find support for that belief.
Goodwin toured 10 Muslim countries in the Middle East as preparation for this book, studying their religious show more and political situations at the end of the 20th century, and interviewed dozens of Muslim women, from reformers to devout, privileged and destitute, native-born to Islam and former Christian converts. The story that emerges is appalling, disturbing, and intensely disheartening. show less
Goodwin traveled to nearly all major Middle Eastern "Muslim" countries, in order to understand how women are treated in the Islamic world. This book is very difficult to read at times, because Goodwin exposes a lot of repression, isolation, and violence against women throughout these countries. At the same time, this is a very important book for Westerners to read, in order to understand what's happening in the Islamic world in terms of women's rights and treatment. Because the standards vary significantly from country to country, this is an excellent resource to read and become more informed on what's happening (and some of the history) in the second largest world religion. Goodwin's anecdotes are fascinating, and the book is a quick show more read. I plan to purchase the revised edition for myself, as I'd like to refer back to it in the future. show less
4 Jahre lang lebte Jan Goodwin in 10 islamischen Ländern und bekam als Frau Einblicke in eine Welt, die männlichen Journalisten verborgen bleibt.
excellent and informative study of women in ten different countries in the islamic world
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
The Emergence of the Modern Middle East
289 works; 13 members
Women in Islam
120 works; 8 members
Author Information
4 Works 433 Members
Common Knowledge
- Epigraph
- THE JOURNEY
The journey of my life
begins from home,
ends at the graveyard.
My life is sent
like a corpse,
carried on the shoulders
of my father and brother,
husband and son.
Bathed in religion,
... (show all)attained in customs,
and buried in a grave
of ignorance.
-- Atiya Dawood, Sindhi Poet, Pakistan
HAND IN HAND
I want to walk beside you
through life
And you!
Want to put a ring in my nose
To pull me along.
Intoxicated by love,
I want to love you
And you!
Want to be god
Making and breaking me... (show all).
I want to dance forever in
the courtyard of your heart.
And you!
Singing songs of my helplessness
On the tambourine of my needs,
Want me to dance like a puppet.
I want to become a perfume
And permeate your body
But you!
Want to hide me in your pocket.
I want to cry:
And you!
Want to make me laught as
you flick your fingers.
-- Atiya Dawood, Sindhi Poet, Pakistan - Dedication
- For Donald G. and Marilyn B., for the greatest gift of all . . .
- First words
- It began with Maria.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The Islamists apparently have forgotten, or choose to ignore, the Prophet Mohammand's teaching: "There is no compulsion in Islam."
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, General Nonfiction, Sexuality and Gender Studies, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 305.486971 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social group - Age, Gender, Ethnicity Women Specific groups of women Women and religion
- LCC
- HQ1170 .G66 — Social sciences The family. Marriage, Women and Sexuality The Family. Marriage. Women Women. Feminism
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 385
- Popularity
- 81,447
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.78)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 6
