Western Perceptions of Arab Women & Their Lived Identities as Women Open Access
Elmongy, Sarah (Spring 2019)
Abstract
The current circulation of knowledge that Western audiences are exposed to leaves much to the imagination and little to be understood of the everyday realities of individuals of the MENA region and specifically its women. Western media and news often present Arab women as a homogenous group of silent women. Others, such as Arab women activists and scholars present Arab women as active, involved, dynamic and heterogeneous. The simplification that exists in the media was the motivation behind prioritizing the voices of Arab women as they speak for themselves. Rather than solely observing behaviors and trends among the featured population, I chose to interview Arab women in depth to more faithfully capture their voices.
This research brings to light the diversity among Arab women’s lived experiences as they navigate womanhood both in the Middle East and in the Western world. Specifically, I explore the range of experiences around Arab women’s religious and female identity through their experiences as youth and as adults. Their distinct experiences demonstrate the diversity of the Arab world: if the variance in opinions and attitudes among the small sample of women I interviewed is any indication, then we can presume that the variance among their respective societies must be much greater. Rather than make sweeping claims of generalization about women’s life in the Middle East, the research explores the diversity that exists in Arab women’s ideas, attitudes, and opinions about religious and female identify, in the hope of deconstructing a common one-dimensional narrative that exists about Arab women in Western consciousness and rendering it more complex.
Table of Contents
Introduction 8
Chapter One: Situating and Framing 9
Defining the Middle East and Arab World
Defining the Western World 11
Western Perceptions of Arab Women 12
Chapter Two: Methodology 23
Research Purposes and Questions
Sampling and Participants 25
Chapter Three: Themes in Literature and Reality 27
Islam: Dominating Media Coverage on MENA or Muslim Women? 29
Education’s Significant Role in Arab Women’s Lives 43
Belonging in Family and Nation 50
Womanhood as Part of Identity for Arab Women 55
Chapter Four: Conclusions 67
Limitations and Reflections on Positionality 70
Appendix 73
Interview Guide
References 76
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