- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group); New edition edition (7 Sep 1995)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0553408143
- ISBN-13: 978-0553408140
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.4 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 121,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
As a little girl, Fatima Mernissi was often puzzled by the idea of the harem. Even if you accepted that men and women needed to be kept apart, she asked, why couldn't it be the woman who walked freely in the streets, while men stayed locked behind the harem gates? In this story, she tells of her childhood in a Fez harem in the 1940s, a period of social transition in Morocco. Yasmina, Fatima's grandmother, was one of nine co-wives. She had the freedom to go out and about on her husband's farm and the surrounding countryside, but she carried around within her the "hudud", or sacred frontier that seperates women from men. Fatima's mother was an only wife, but she lived with the other women of her extended family inside an enclosed courtyard in the city, guarded by a gatekeeper whose sole duty it was to keep women from going out into the street. Fatima herself grew up in this enchanted prison, where contact with the outside world was often limited to the imaginary journey's in the tales of Aunt Habiba. But then the French colonists introduced schools for girls in Morocco, and in due course Fatima was able to leave the Harem to forge an independent life. In this memoir Fatima Mernissi shows clearly the roles assigned to women and men by traditional Muslim society. She also shows the intimacy and sense of fun that can unite women in and enclosed community.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This started off as an excellent book which is about a Moroccan girl's upbringing in a harem (not as the West envisages a harem). According to the author, a harem is apparently a place where women, whether divorced or married, young or old, are kept locked in the men's household, unable to go out, even to shop for essentials, unless given permission and (if they are) accompanied by a chaperone. These women apparently spend their days analysing what life must be like outside the harem and dreaming of what it must be like to live a free life. Some women long for the embrace of their husband, but have to wait their turn because their husband has several (or even hundreds) of co-wives so they must wait and take their turn to spend a night with their husband. This book was a must read at the beginning but half way through concentrates on the women speculating on tales of women who tried to make their mark in liberating women in the middle east, whether real or fictional and as such becomes not so much Fatima's memoirs but an analysis (whether real or mythical) of women of bygone eras.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Like being there...
31 Dec 2007
Format:Paperback
This book gives a powerful look at the Fez, Morocco of days gone by and the changes that swept through a very cloistered society at the end of the French protectorate. It's a fascinating read and I highly recommend it.
A wonderful accompaniment to my trip to Morocco
22 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A male acquaintance from Iceland who had lived in Morocco suggested that I read this wonderful book by Fatima Mernissi which describes her upbringing in a Harem in Fes and her personal growth and development. It is an extraordinary tale that added great richness to my recent trip to Morocco. The language is beautiful. I am in awe of her description of her youthful, budding self-awareness and the wonderful games and stories that unfolded within the harem walls. Her mother and grandmother and her Aunt Habiba are unforgettable figures, too. A fabulous read.
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