Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression [Illustrated] 1591027160, 9781591027164

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MUSLIM WOMEN REFORMERS INSPIRING VOICES AGAINST OPPRESSION

INSPIRING VOICES AGAINST OPPRESSIG

"We are dealing with an influential funda mentalist international that has a clear strat egy. In order to secure women's rights, we need a democratic international of women— otherwise we have absolutely no chance of conquering this beast." —Algerian feminist Khalida Messaoudi

This stirring compilation of Muslim women's stories from around the world focuses on the voices of reformers who battle fiercely against such barbarisms as stonings, acid attacks, gang rapes, and "honor killings" that go largely unpunished due to discriminatory religious laws and an entrenched patriarchal culture. Each chapter provides an in-depth and up-to-date look at the status of women in Muslim countries, and in compact and often poignant biographies, reformers speak out with passion, humanity, and sometimes hu¬ mor to expose to the whole world the harsh realities many women experience on a daily basis in many parts of the globe. While demanding the human, political, and social rights that vast numbers of women lack in many Muslim countries, these heroic women expose political Islam, characterized by a malevolent intent toward progressive Muslim states and the West that manifests itself in violence, misogyny, and theocratic ambition. Many who have fled oppressive societies in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan alert the West to the gathering dangers of this ideology, yet their stories still offer hope and guidance for a better future so long as the struggle for equality persists. This wide-ranging survey of Muslim women reformers not only concentrates; on the Middle East but also on Europe and .

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MUSLIM WOMEN REFORMERS

Published 2009 by Prometheus Books Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices against Oppression. Copyright © 2009 by Ida Lichter. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photo¬ copying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a Web site without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in crit¬ ical articles and reviews. Inquiries should be addressed to Prometheus Books 59 John Glenn Drive Amherst, New York 14228—2119 VOICE: 716-691-0133, ext. 210 FAX:716-691-0137 W WW. PROMETHEUSBOOKS .COM 13 12 11 10 09

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lichter, Ida, 1947—. Muslim women reformers : inspiring voices against oppression / by Ida Lichter. p.

cm.

Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978—1—59102—716-4(alk. pbk.) 1. Women human rights workers—Middle East—Biography. 2. Women human rights workers—Islamic countries—Biography. 3. Women human rights workers— Biography. 4. Muslim women—Biography. HQ1726.5 .L54 2009 323.092/2—