Muslim Women Reformers by Ida Lichter

Title: Muslim Women Reformers
Author: Ida Lichter
Hardcover: 513 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books (May 26, 2009)
Genre: Non-Fiction
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

My thoughts:
When I first browsed through the book, all I saw was too much information. Just from the index I could tell that there were too many countries and too many reformers from each country. I thought it would be an overload and I would finish the book without knowledge about anything in particular.

But how wrong I was. After reading the book I can still say it has lot of information but everything is so nicely structured that I could go read it in sections without getting overwhelmed. It was definitely not an overload and I could tell how important it was to include as many reformers as possible. I would feel bad if even a single among them was excluded and I feel there was still room for more.

Every countries section begins with a brief but concise history of the reformation with how the countries past and present has affected the position of the women for better or for worse. Under each country we have the information on different women reformers and the work they have done and are still doing for the betterment of women. It also lists the awards won and books written if any and the various organizations that are working towards a single goal-the betterment of women.

I found Muslim Women Reformers an awesome resource on the work done by women from different Muslim countries. Although every country has it’s own laws, one thing remains common-the exploitation of Muslim women in the name of Islam. The problem is combining religion and politics and hence the misinterpretation of religion to achieve the political goals. Since most of these politicians are men, they use Islam as a way to keep women out from what they consider their territory. But women are learning to interpret Islam the correct way which is helping in fighting with these fundamentalists.

These are the women who are fighting for basic rights, both political and personal, and suffer tremendously for it. I am amazed by their courage and determination at the cost of their personal lives. The saddest part probably is that these women have to fight even for basic things like custody of their children, honour killings, right to decide if they want to wear a veil and right to express their opinion; and although it is a slow process, there is definitely progress in many parts of the Muslim world.

I am in no situation to say how accurate or inaccurate this information in this books is but I have faith that the author has done enough research before writing the book. I also understand that there are exceptions everywhere. For me, this books definitely deserves a place on my shelf. I highly recommend it.

Related/ Similar topics:
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