Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression [Kindle Edition]

Dr. Ida Lichter's book Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression is an extraodinary portrait of Muslim women around the globe and their courageous and chilling experiences. Writing with powerful elegance, she provides each story with a powerful and thought-provoking message. Capturing the heroic actions of each of the women profiled with an in-depth analysis of their day-to-day challenges, Dr. Lichter gives voice to their spirit with sensitivity, compassion and insight.
Take, for instance, Barakzai from Afghanistan who successfully campaigned for a seat in Parliament. Or Yanar Mohammed who cofounded the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq and has contributed to speaking up for women's rights and equality. Rania Al-Baz in Saudi Arabia worked to bring national attention to battered Saudi women after her own husband beat her unconscious following an argument. Each of the stories contained in this book provide insight into a better understanding of their world.
I loved this authentic and scholarly book. Each struggle captivated, intrigued, horrified, amazed and ultimately gave me a sense of hope for equal rights for all women. Dr. Lichter humanized their struggles with frankness and dignity. This is a must read for everyone who is interested in human rights, particularly those women who risked their own lives to speak out for freedom, justice and equality.

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 the information in this books s 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.

In Muslim Women Reformers, Ida Lichter does an exhaustive survey of the state of Muslim womens' rights in countries around the world and profiles women and organizations in each country working on the issues. While there is some degree of suppression of womens' rights in each country as compared to Western countries, there are differences with some countries completely restrictive while some have started work on the issues.

The book covers the mid-Eastern countries that the reader would expect, but also covers Muslim women's rights and struggles in African countries as well as countries such as the United States and Canada. The range of issues is wide. Women are often considered legally half the worth of a man. Honor killings are tolerated in some countries. Education is a major issue in all the countries, as the reformers realise that without an educated female population, it is unlikely that reform will occur. Female circumsion is very common in some Muslim countries, less so in others. In some countries, focus has been concentrated on items as seemingly prosaic as a woman's right to drive a car. While this is a commonplace right in Western societies, it is not as accepted in many countries. There are issues with driving uncovered; taking a driver's license picture, and the ability to travel without male supervision.

The women who have been highlighted are heroes. They have given up employment, been imprisoned, forced to live in secretcy, and even tortued. Yet, they continue the fight, and slowly, slowly they are making changes. Some are adamently opposed to Islam. Others are devout Muslims who believe that the religion has been misinterpreted by male clerics. They want to redefine Islam in a way that promotes gender equality, which they believe was the original intent.

This book is recommended reading for all those interested in human rights, and especially those focused on womens' rights. The sustained courage and vision of these women is awe-inspiring, and it makes the reader question how far would they be willing to go to fight for their rights in a similiar situation.