I'm reading Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi. I read Princess several years ago and loved seeing the world through the eyes of the Saudi author. This book has the same effect. Fatima is telling the story of growing up in a harem. It's not the debauchery one might envision; no lounging goddesses everywhere waiting for their lover to return so they can meet his needs. Rather, it's just one big family. The women rotate on who cooks what meals and cleans on what days. The women tell stories and dance. The men hang out together listening to the radio and talking politics. I mean, it sounds just like our families just multiplied in number!
Mernissi is actually an Islamic feminist, the Islamic feminist of her generation. Did you know there were feminists in Islam? There are increasingly more and more and with the information super-highway (i.e. the internet) more women are linking up to think and dialogue about the role of women in Islam. It's pretty interesting to watch as an outsider. It's like a revolution is going on within this huge bloc of people and most people not in that bloc don't know it! Keep your ears open folks, it could get interesting!
Oh, and did I mention I'm reading this book on a Kindle? Oops, I'm sorry. It's just this little handheld machine and it's awesome!! It just makes being a traveler and a bookaholic much more manageable.
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