Essay Samarkand

Throughout the times women have proven to themselves as well as people around them that they can take on roles just as important as men. This paper will begin by detailing the work experience and cultural barriers of Hatshepsut, the queen that reigned in Egypt during 1479- 1458 B.C. Followed by the impact she had on gender roles and issues. Next the cultural challenges and obstacles faced by women in Saudi Arabia will be addressed. These women have had many years of restrictive traditions placed upon them and now they have the chance to get a higher-level education and become professionals in their society. Lastly, the paper will discuss the impact the women who worked in factories during World War II had on gender roles. As well as what their culture thought was meant to be all they accomplished during their lifetime.

Sultana is an actual princess living the “rich” more successful life than others in Saudi Arabia. She grew up in a luxury mansion since her dad came from a royal family closely related to a King. She literally has four mansions on three continents, has her very own private jet, different types of jewels and designer dresses. But in reality she’s not happy with all she has because she’s living like a slave in her own gilded cage with absolutely no time of freedom. She can’t ever leave the house, she has no control over her own life and no value. Behind her veil she is more like a prisoner jailed by her own dad, husband, as well as her

In our society, it is inferred that conforming to the masses is the American way. Whereas, in a Native American culture, where everything is connected, one would think that conformity would be encouraged and individuality would be frowned upon. Yet, we see in the stories of Zitkala-Sa the importance of individuality being taught to her growing up, and her attempts as a child, as well as an adult, to rebel against anything that would oppose it. We see her fight and struggle to hold on to her individuality, despite, as a child being forced to become Americanized. Through her stories, Zitkala Sa demonstrates to us that freedom, culture, and Faith are fundamentally interwoven into our identity, each one speaks to the intrinsic design of a

This is an interesting exception to the stereotypical and usual relationship between a Muslim man and woman. Usually the man would have the majority of power in the relationship, but the protagonist has made the relationship on her terms only. We also learn from the narrator that the protagonist has a strong disposition. We can conclude that she seems to exude some power . We also learn that her father thinks highly of her and feels that she is “intelligent”, “well brought up”, and “obviously knows the value of traditions and respects them.”

In most societies, men feel the need to reinforce the idea of their superiority upon women, so thus they use religion to prove their dominance. A Talib told Mariam of how ‘God made us differently’(Hosseini 324). These “differences” that the Talib speaks of is one of main ways patriarchy is defended, since God made man and woman differently, the Afghan community assumes that they must be treated differently as well. Also, there must be one sex that is superior to the other then, many communities along with the Afghan community chose to place men above women due to sexist beliefs of the

The systematic victimization of women by patriarchal institutions is a direct result of the corrupting influence of absolute power. When the Taliban gained control over Kabul, they enforced laws heavily restricting women. They were so petty and harsh, that if a woman painted her nails, she would lose a finger. The Taliban made what Rasheed was doing, the basis for the perfect citizen. These laws from the book are very important: “Girls are forbidden from attending

The film opened with Mona doing a model shoot. She was listening to her demanding white photographer ordering her to have more provocative looks. This Mona, has conformed into the white supremacy, adapting preconscious beliefs, abstract to black culture, and stubborn towards black ideas. Mona had no connection to her inner being and had little insight on who she really was. While continuing to capture photos, Mona and her photographer decides to capture near the Fortress. She becomes distracted by a drummer who leads her inside of the Fortress. Mona is now suddenly locked in a dark room. When she does find light, she noticed that she is surrounded by other Africans who were bound and shackled

In their life, at one point or another, people deny to themselves and others what they really feel and what really happened. Some people go on living their entire lives denying their true emotions. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, characters constantly denied their feelings and their actions. Sula Peace, her best friend Nel Wright, and Nel’s mother do not listen to their feelings and hide from their true emotions.

Men have always been and most likely are the leaders of their families. Men are always supposed to be strong and fend for themselves, and always take care of the women and the children. In this case though, things are rather switched around. In the Arabian Nights, women play a very empowering role. It seems that in most cases the women are equal to the men and play the same roles as the men in Arabian Nights. The stories in Arabian Nights give a different insight as to what was going on during this time. The women were not valued as much as they should have been, they were often punished for not being as womanly as the man would like them to be.

Shamhat was the priestess of Ishtar, the great goddess of love and war. She was hired by Gilgamesh to tame Enkidu as Enkidu was not civilized in any way and had come to be Gilgamesh's soul brother and companion. Shamhat was a hierodule and was asked to seduce Enkidu and use her charming ways to make a man out of Enkidu, the animal like. Shamhat, being a hierodule, is a woman dedicated to Priesthood and God. Hence, she would only deal with the godly. She was allocated the task of making Enkidu aware of the human nature and lifestyle, which was different from the animal world that he was coming from. Shamhat had tactically and implicitly understood the path that she would have to take towards the betterment of Enkidu. She revealed to him

In her memoir the princess Sultana expresses how she was looked down upon by the men of her country and how she was never loved by her father due to the lack of a male organ. She also describes that men are taught from an early age that they are superior to women in every way. They grow up witnessing their fathers abuse the women of the family, which leads them to scorn all females. By the time an Arab man marries he treats his wife as a virtual slave who must obey his every command. Throughout her life she witnesses many events that demonstrate these beliefs. Some of her earliest memories are of her older brother Ali and the abuses she suffered because of him (Sasson ch.1). The worst tragedy that occurred in the book was the marrying of Sultana’s sixteen year old sister to a man of sixty-eight. After five weeks of marriage her sister tried to commit suicide. Her husband was a sadistic who subjected her sister to horrible sexual

If a woman displayed herself in a sexy manner, as Sanaubar did, she would be considered "dishonorable" (8). If an unwed woman held a conversation with a man, she would be seen as a "lochak" (146), or in other words a brazen girl. The honor of a girl mattered so much because virtuous girls brought in respectable "suitable suitors" (148), and one of the most important things an Afghani girl needed was a husband. This cultural belief gave men an overbearing advantage once they married. The men essentially controlled how their wives lived their lives. The prime example in this case would be General Taheri, who had many opinions on how women should behave. The General forbade his wife to sing in public because he thought it was a job for people with "lesser reputations" (177), he didn't "approve of women drinking alcohol," (183), and was constantly worried about the public perception of his family. Baba, to some extent also represented these views. He talked about losing ones honor in a very somber manner, and believed that a man's honor rested in the "chastity of a wife. Or a daughter." (145)

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

Unfortunately, the era of men and women being equal was hasty. Briefly after Mohammed’s death Islamic society changed, so did the interpretations of the Quran to meet different circumstances. Almost simultaneously women became inferior almost being viewed as possessions and property. Having choices was no longer an option for women, whatever the man said became the law. Girls at birth could be killed by their father’s because boys carried the name of the family while girls usually were concubines, workers, or sold. Most significantly women’s roles depended largely on what the husband’s economic status was. If the husband was a farmer the wife had to help in the fields or if the husband worked in the city she had to help run the business.

When reading Veiled Sentiments, I got the impression that the existing social hierarchy among the Awlad' Ali was based on gender, age, wisdom, and wealth, "Women are always dependent," and "…the powerful have obligations and responsibilities to protect and care for the weak. The weaker members epitomized by the helpless infant, and by extension all children. (p.80-81)" Abu- Lughod did a good job depicting the ways that the social hierarchy works, by including terminology such as wliyya, and by vividly describing situations where women, and children seemed weaker than the adult males in the community, who in most situations appeared to be the head of households. The author also goes further into the ideals of the Awlad' Ali by discussing the relations between female modesty (hasham), "natural inferiority", and sexuality. She depicts the ideal woman in the eyes of the Bedouin people, describing her as soft spoken, and "well-behaved," and with no open thoughts on sexuality. Apart from discussing the importance of hasham in a woman, Abu- Lughod points out that emotion of love and affection between men and women is a taboo. Men that show emotion towards a woman are seen to be weak and are shunned upon by their male peers, as well as women in the community. "Women claim, for instance, that "real men" control all their dependents and beat their wives when the wives do stupid things ( p.89)". In