Grounds for Debate: Afghan Women’s bodies as a site of contestation after September 11, 2001 Public

Abstract

 

Despite the immense consideration given to 9/11 in American public life, the “story” of 9/11 has remained incomplete in popular media and state-based sources. Afghan women’s bodies, and by extension, their stories and life experiences, were selectively cultivated and shared to serve distinct political interests after September 11, 2001. The Bush Administration quickly latched onto Afghan women as a site of possible “liberation.” American feminists portrayed Afghan women in a manner that denied their agency by focusing on “religious oppression”, such as the role of the hijab and women’s equality within Islam broadly. Amidst this frenzy of attention paid towards Afghan women as an idea, and as a site for contestation, Afghan women’s writing and efforts were rarely shared. By using interviews recorded as part of the Columbia University Oral History Archive, this thesis questions why certain narratives have not been as extensively shares and uses these perspectives to enhance an understanding of 9/11.

 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction ... 1

Chapter I. President Bush, the First Lady, and their “Voices of Hope” ... 9

Chapter II: American Feminists & 9/11 ...22

Chapter III: Revisiting Afghan Women’s Stories through the Columbia Archive... 46

Conclusion...67

Bibliography...73

 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	South Asian Studies Gender Studies History, General
Mot-clé	feminism 9/11 afghan women women's oral history oral history gender and 9/11 9/11 laura bush women's 9/11 feminist historiography september 11 bush administration
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Lal, Ruby, Emory University
Committee Members	Lee, Edward, Emory University Cherribi, Sam, Emory University Gagliardi, Susan, Emory University

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