Transformations: The Changes Muslim Women Experience when they are Strong, Smart and Brave :: Arab Muslim Women Essays

Transformations The Changes Muslim Women familiarity when they ar Strong, Smart and Brave Works Cited MissingMany stereotypes play in modern day society portray Arab women, or more than precisely, Muslim women, as having little to no independence or power. These stereotypes stray that Muslim women atomic number 18 oppressed both physic ally and psychologically, and that as a result of such outr termous treatment these women atomic number 18 psychologically weak. As with all stereotypes, this is a misconception. Blanket statements announcing one group of people as exhibiting the same characteristics are patently incorrect. The stereotype that Muslim women are all psychologically dependent can never be judged true, because there are always, always, exceptions to such statements. Thanks to the literary talents of three Muslim women authors who demonstrate they are the exception to such a rule, the lives of three powerful and mentally long Muslim women are described in detail and reveal how conceptive Muslim women, or any char for that matter can unfeignedly be. In Fadia Faqirs Pillars of Salt the main character experiences a transformation from a dutiful daughter to a strong, liberated woman after the death of her husband. During Leila Al-Atrashs A Woman of Five Seasons some other female protagonist experiences mental rebellion as she copes with conflicting emotions nearly the man she loves and the man she is supposed to love. Last, in Liyana Badrs novella A Land of Rock and Thyme. The woman in this story displays tremendous valour and courage when faced with unfathomable tragedies that change her liveness forever. The common correlation throughout these novels is the amazing strength, intellect, and courage each character displays and how each woman grows stronger as a result of the tragic events that alter their lives.Fadia Faqirs Pillars of Salt follows Maha and the events in her life that gradually convince her society that she is insane. In t ruth Maha matures through these events and as an unfortunate result her independence, strength and emotions are translated by society as signs of mental instability. Ironically, Maha is perhaps most mentally stable at the close of the story while institutionalized. Throughout her life Maha demonstrated growing strength in many ways. From an early age she was the sole caretaker of her fathers farm. She would sew and cook and tend the garden and do all of the chores that were meant to be done by her brother, Daffash. Her tenacious pick to make her father happy and to let him live a lovable life was frequently thwarted by Daffashs wayward excursions into the city.