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Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution
Headscarves and Hymens explodes the myth that we should stand back and watch while women are disempowered and abused in the name of religion.
In this laceratingly honest account, Eltahawy takes aim both at attitudes in the Middle East and at the western liberals who mistake misogyny for cultural difference. Her argument is clear: unless political revolution in the Arab world is accompanied by social and sexual revolution, no progress will be made.
Headscarves and Hymens is the book the world has been crying out for: a powerful, fearless account of what it really means to be a woman in the Muslim world.
In this laceratingly honest account, Eltahawy takes aim both at attitudes in the Middle East and at the western liberals who mistake misogyny for cultural difference. Her argument is clear: unless political revolution in the Arab world is accompanied by social and sexual revolution, no progress will be made.
Headscarves and Hymens is the book the world has been crying out for: a powerful, fearless account of what it really means to be a woman in the Muslim world.
Paperback
Published March 3, 2016
About the author
Mona Eltahawy
14 books631 followersMona Eltahawy is an Egyptian-American journalist based in New York. She is a feminist.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 22, 2024
4.5/5
I have read this book before, and it’s still as beautiful as ever. It’s a feminist manifesto directed at Middle East women. I read it back in the years, but it was before I had Goodreads. I needed to read it again, especially the books I had read before this app. I follow Mona’s feminist blog, and her essays are always so beautiful and succinct. You can feel the anger yet quite soft. I love how she navigated through personal stories of things happening in Egypt and the MENA region. Sometimes, I wonder how you’d read Mona and not believe in feminism in the sense of revolution, especially from a Middle East perspective.
I have read this book before, and it’s still as beautiful as ever. It’s a feminist manifesto directed at Middle East women. I read it back in the years, but it was before I had Goodreads. I needed to read it again, especially the books I had read before this app. I follow Mona’s feminist blog, and her essays are always so beautiful and succinct. You can feel the anger yet quite soft. I love how she navigated through personal stories of things happening in Egypt and the MENA region. Sometimes, I wonder how you’d read Mona and not believe in feminism in the sense of revolution, especially from a Middle East perspective.
April 11, 2024
I enjoyed the beginning of this book but don’t feel like the argument progressed much past the first 100 pages. Definitely some interesting parts - I particularly enjoyed reading about the author’s relationship to wearing the headscarf. But the rest was quite repetitive and just felt like it was missing some deeper analysis.
June 14, 2024
Whilst I appreciate mona’s insight into the many struggles of women in the Middle East, I feel it was missing a lot of productive context and history. Her position on banning the niqab in the west for example I disagree with, which is a good example of how ideas don’t really stand up when they’re only spoke about in isolation to other surrounding factors
April 8, 2024
Although I was very interested in the topics and issues raised I felt that at times it was too statistical for my liking.
This led me to get lost at times and I was only strung back in when more personal stories were shared.
This led me to get lost at times and I was only strung back in when more personal stories were shared.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews