Culture and Women In “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, and “How to date a browngirl, blackgirl, whitegirl or halfie” by Junot Diaz, both authors elaborate on culture, and how it shapes the outlook on women. In Jamaica Kincaid's “Girl” a mother enforces her cultures strong beliefs on appropriate female behavior onto her daughter. To do so, she displays her parental authority with a series of short commands influenced by her culture. A sense of naivety can be seen in the young girl after questioning her mother's request. The culture associated with “Girl” has a definite attitude towards women, believing they should live a modest, conservative lifestyle.
Comparing my religion to a fairy-tale is like insulting my race or intelligence; I am obviously not going to take it very well. I found certain thing about his “documentary” offensive. First of all I do not dislike Bill Maher, so it is only fair that I could have an opinion about his movie. I enjoyed his documentary like movie in which he was set out to question people about their religion. That being said anyone who is religious would feel uncomfortable while watching “Religulous”.
Anonymous Mrs.Anonymous English 101 Essay #1 1 Oct. 2012 Vignette Essay As a young girl there are many assumptions and unanswered questions about growing up and what it means to be a woman. In “The House On Mango Street”, the author Sandra Cisneros teaches many lessons throughout her novel including one in particular. In her vignette “Hips”, Esperanza, Nenny, Rachel, and Lucy explain to each other what it means to have hips. In “Hips”, Cisneros shows the innocence of young girls and establishes the relationship between Esperanza and Nenny which demonstrates her view of where a woman’s place is in society. The setting of this vignette describes Esperanza, Nenny, Rachel, and Lucy playing double-dutch together.
““To me the chador had come to mean a kind of bondage, as religion had. It felt ridiculous to wear it in this American college. “Maybe I can think of something else to wear,” I mumbled.”No, no, the idea of the chador is excellent” (Page 144). Rchlin introduces us to the irony of her new reality and makes us observe and
Sadie Rockefeller K. Shipp English 11 AP/GT May 18, 2011 The Secret Life of Bees: Research Paper Rough Draft In her 2002 novel, The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd, an eloquently compelling feminist, elucidates her opinion on the importance of community, and how it affects the necessary elements of development in a young girl’s life. Whether referring to the importance of motherhood, the struggles of adolescence, or just the benefits of being in a supportive community, Kidd shines a light on the crucial aspects involved in shaping the character and personalities of young women. The Secret Life of Bees is a moving novel about a young girl, Lily Owens, who flees from her abusive father in search of answers pertaining to her deceased mother’s existence. During these troubled times, she finds comfort in a tight-knit community of African American women, who appreciate her and support her through her confusing teenage years. Lily attaches herself to this community, especially a motherly African American woman named August, because they represent her last resort to discover information about her mother.
Ma Mishi was raised by an Arab woman. In the reading it says that Arab girls were less mannered so they were brought to the ‘makungwi’ dances to learn some manners. Freeborn Swahili people took their girls to a “somo” so that they can be taught about menstruation and sexuality. To Ma Mishi rituals represented a source of pride and the instilling of proper values. The “makungwi’ group followed two important life cycle rituals; they included puberty rituals and wedding dances.
In a sequence of pictures focused on the role of women in her native Iran and Women of Allah, Shirin Neshat combines the words and images in astonishing ways (Sayre, 2010). In the photograph Rebellious Silence, Neshat depicts herself as a Muslim woman. She is dressed in traditional black covering that extends from head to toe, showing only hands and face. This is called a chador. An article of clothing, called a rife, separates her face.
Abou El Fadl is particularly critical of Wahhabism, a puritanical revision of Islam propagated by the Saudi monarchy. While Wahhabism claims to be the "straight path" of Islam, it is, according to Abou El Fadl, an “false” form of Islam, forged in the 18th-century slaughter of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. To call it "fundamentalist," he asserts, is misleading, since it defys fundamental Islamic truths and distorts Islam by rejecting any attempt to interpret the divine law historically or contextually (11-12). Fadl utilizes Quranic passages as a way to support claims of the danger behind interpreting scriptural passages that were recorded in another period in history without assessing the historical context and background. Fadl further illuminates the dangers of such misunderstanding and an absence of historical understanding and context in which a passage is written through the examination of the passage “fight those among the People of the Book who do not believe in God or the Hereafter, who do not forbid what God and His Prophet have forbidden, and who do not acknowledge the religion of truth- fight them until they pay the poll tax with willing submission and feel themselves subdued” (13).
It just advices women to use the hijab as an act of obedience to God. Secondly, women wearing hijabs become a very visible sign of Islam. While Muslim men can blend easily into any society, Muslim women are often put on the line and forced to defend not only their decision or not to cover their bodies but also their religion. Thirdly, women who use the hijab lose their identity as women because they cannot dress appropriately according to their gender. It is not certain that the hijab frees women from being seen as sexual objects of desire or from being valued for their looks or body shape.
Answers to section A. 1. Summary of “The many faces behind the veil” - an article written by Arifa Akbar and Jerome Taylor The article states different reasons for muslim women to wear hijab – religion, spirituality or even political views. Whereas detractors see this piece of clothing as a form of opression and asks :”why any woman would hide their face in public ?” Rahmanara Chowdhury ,a 29 year old student outreach worker with 7 sisters chose 9 years ago to wear the niqab – an Arabic garment that covers the whole face except the eyes. For her it was a very spiritual thing choosing the niqab, and she was also the first in her family.