Anyone able to suggest to me good biographies focused on muslim women?

I've been searching for specific biographies, and my latest interests have turned me to looking for a good book about muslim/islam women and the difficulties of their day to day life and the struggles they go through being the less important gender....etc.
if anyone could suggest me some good titles, that would be great!

Geraldine Brooke's book Nine Parts of Desire is brilliant on the lives of Muslim women. It includes thoughts and interviews from prominent Muslim women and is infinitely readable, (and shocking.)

It's not strickly an autobiography, but you should read 'What's wrong with Islam today' I can't remember the author but I got the book through Amazon so they will get it for you if you want it. Another excelent book was written by an Austrian woman who married a Saudi prince and she describes the kind of life she had before she finally managed to divorce him. I have passed the book on and with my poor memory I can't remember the title b ut someone else who reads this post may know it.

Ian

'sold' by zana muhsen with Andrew crofts. True story of a young Birmingham girl tricked and sold into marriage by her father to a Yemeni husband. There's also a sequel 'a promise to Nadia'. One of the very few books I have read over and over again.

How about 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' by Azar Nafisi, a very enlightening read.

You might have a look at the following:

Princess
Daughters Of Arabia: Princess 2
Out Of Iran: One Woman's Escape from the Ayatollahs
Voices behind the Veil: Women on the Women of Islam

A Thousand Splendid Suns, By Khaled Hosseini.

In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, By Daniyal Mueenuddin.

Daughters Of Shame, By Jasvinder Sanghera

A few you might want to read.

love this topic have read loads of differnet types of books these one stick out in my memory.... post what you end up getting

forbidden lessons in a kabul guest house
no one take my children
for the love of a son
heroine of the desert
in the name of honor
my forbidden face
a promise to nadia
prisoner of tehran
not without my daughter
the imam daughter
sold
burned alive

It's depressing to see a fair few recommendations for books that look as if they were written simply to strengthen negative stereotypes of Islam (and I'm pretty sure that such books don't mention horrific practices done in the name of other religions). It's been a while since I've read it, but I thought Why I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey was thought-provoking & well-written, though it's not a straight autobiography--more a memoir mixed with reasons for the author (a woman) choosing Islam. In any case it's a corrective to the notion that Islam is a belief encouraging abuse of women. (And no, I'm not Muslim.)

One I read years ago, but still available on Amazon, is "I Dared to Call Him, 'Father'" by Bilquis Sheikh.

Hi
I too read these type of books but the one that stands out from the rest is The Imams Daughter. When i see young asian girls going about their everyday business I now often wonder what type of life the 'typical british asian girl' has.
This book will move you to tears.

For the People, By the People is an anthology that chronicles the lives of Muslim women (mostly) and some men too. It contains real- life accounts- sexual abuse, special needs, the search for identity, a kaleidoscopic of all the things that life is made of. You might want to read it.
For the People, By the People

sold by zana muhsen i have read this book several times brilliant

Joy says
A really good book that will appeal to you if like reading about muslims etc. is "Married to a Bedouin" It is about a New Zealand girl who went on holiday to Petra with a friend. She fell in love with a Bedouin and stayed there and the friend went home. It tells of her life living in a cave.

i read a lot of muslim books about women, as i use to live in a arabic country,Without Mercy,Miriam Ali. A promise to nadia,Zana Muhsen, A caged virgin, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Prisoner of Tehran, Marina Nemat, Fatwa living with a death threat, jacky trevane, latifa my forbidden face, and last ,,,although i have more, is burned alive, souad . i hope this has helped you

Try Dina Zaman's 'I am Muslim', written by a brilliant Malaysian who won a British Government scholarship. You might also look at the work of Sisters in Islam, an NGO in Malaysia which looks at the challenges faced by Muslim women, and seeks to promote gender equality in an Islamic context.

I too have read many books about muslim women, but Souad seems to be the one that really stayed with me.

I have just finished a most inspiring factual book called The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, it tells the story of a group of young women living in Kabul in Taliban days and their amazing ability to start a dressmaking business .They are very brave and make a great contribution to the lives of women in Kabul at that time many of whom were trying to care for the families on their own, men were away food was scarce and new rules introduced on a daily basis

I have just finished a most inspiring factual book called The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, it tells the story of a group of young women living in Kabul in Taliban days and their amazing ability to start a dressmaking business .They are very brave and make a great contribution to the lives of women in Kabul at that time many of whom were trying to care for the families on their own, men were away food was scarce and new rules introduced on a daily basis

An excellent read about life for Muslim women in Afghanistan is No More Mulberries by Mary Smith. It's not a biography but a novel - paints a pretty authentic picture, though. The women have tough lives but are not portrayed as downtrodden victims.

A Bed of Red Flowers: In search of my Afghanistan by Neloffer Pazira. She grew up in Kabul and lived through the Soviet occupation, joining a resistance group. Eventually her family leave Afghanistan for Canada but when her friend stops writing, she decided to go and search for her. She was the star of the film Kandahar

Saira Shah's The Storyteller's Daughter is about her journey back to Afghanistan after growing up in England to find for herself what it's really like.

I think the title was "The dropping of the veil"