The Arab Woman: Portrayals in Literature &

Culture

Antoinette LopezArab

Literature

Arab Women in History

Anatolian Tablets- 2nd Millennium B.C.

•Oldest form of women portrayals in Turkish history.•Ancient tablets found bear such inscriptions which inform us on women’s social and marital status, daily lives and legal rights. •Tablets indicated the women of those times enjoyed an exalted social position. •They did not hide behind veils, nor kept themselves away from certain tasks done by men. •They were in constant company of their husbands or relatives at homes, tends, wagons or horseback. •Rights and responsibilities were shared and women represented together with men, the tribal integrity and authority of the state.

Arab Women in History

Women of Ephesus Ephesus proudly houses one of the seven ancient wonders

of the world; the Temple of Artemis (Greek Goddess of young women and Hunting) The city is dedicated to her.

The precise date of the city's foundation is not known but legend says that the Ephesus was founded by Women Warriors of the Amazon in the 14th century BC.

After 133 BC it became a Roman province and one can find there a small house built for the Virgin Mary when St. John brought her to Ephesus after Christ's death. She spent her last days in that house. Today it is a place of Pilgrimage for Christians and also visited by Muslims, and is officially sanctioned by the Vatican.

Arab Women in History

7th Century A.D. Women were still equal with men. Mohammed, the prophet had his wife Hatice ride with him

through the battle fields. She was a faithful and wise consultant to the prophet.

Fatima, the daughter of the prophet, enjoyed the same equality with her husband Ali, one of the disciples of the prophet.

During the Seljuk Empire women had equal rights and rank to men. Many took on the roles of Warriors.

A number of Seljuk monuments still existing in Anatolia bear the names of Seljuk women. Those monuments were erected by those women themselves or by the Seljuk community in their memory.

Famous Arab Women in History

Cleopatra: Last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, wife of Mark Antony

Hatice (Khadija Al-Kubra): Wife of Prophet Muhammad, famous as the 1st Muslim after converting to Islam when Muhammad had his first revelation from Angel Gabriel

Fatimah: Daughter of Hatice and Muhammad the prophet. Known as the “Leader of al women in this world and paradise.” Her “moral purity” gave her a role similar to Christianity’s Mary.

Sabiha Gökçen: First Woman Combat Pilot in the world, and Turkey’s first Aviatrix

The Amazons: A nation of women warriors who fought in major battles and founded major cities like Ephesus.

The Amazon Warriors

Polygamy With Islam’s adoption of Polygamy, the

woman’s status changed. Religion laws gave way to opportunists

to degrade the common women of Islam.

Concealing clothing arises. (Niqab: full face veil)

Husband gains full right and power of wife and family, and over all, man controls society.

Change (in Turkey)

1839: Istanbul, a movement for girl’s schools to be opened. (fully accepted by 1869)

1870: the first Teacher's Training College for Women was established.

1915: The University of Istanbul admits women. WWI 1914-1918: Women replace soldiered men in

the labor market. 1922: The Ottoman downfall fuels women’s

emancipation movements.

Modern Change (in Turkey)

1934: Women are given right to vote and be eligible for election.

1985: Turkey signs UN Convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women."There is a straighter and more secure path for us to follow than the one we have been. This is to have Turkish women as partners in everything, to share our lives with them, and to value them as friends, helpers and colleagues in our scientific, spiritual, social and economic life.”- Mustafa Ataturk, Democratic Revolutionist and 1st President of Turkey

Woman Roles in our Literature

The Arabian Nights: 9th century

The Time and The Place- Naguib Mahfouz: 1960’s-1980’s

Aisha- Ahdaf Soueif: 1983

Arabian Nights The initial role of the women embodies a inferior

state. Being overly portrayed as a temporary character in

every setting, with the King’s constant threats of murdering them, the woman is always close to extermination.

This alone leaves the woman dependant on the man, with his power holding her life in its hands, she must entertain him to survive.

Until tables turn when the woman gains control over the King and his dominant desires. Purposely, she lures him in with more entertainment.

Arabian Nights Once Storytelling begins the women roles change,

vary, and contrast greatly. The scale of women characters is said to be a

technique used by Shahrazad, to give the king a larger prospective of women. Replacing his initial mind set that all women are definite and embody the personality of his former “evil” wives.

Once the King is presented with the large pool of women and their roles, maybe he can accept a possibility of goodness in them, sparing their lives.

This is done through Shahrazad’s morally rich tales.

The Time and The Place

In the introduction of the book, written by the translator- Mahfouz is said to be “outspokenly feminist, for a man of his generation,” in reference to his story “The Answer is No.”

Mahfouz gives women the roles of: Money controllers, wealthy caretakers, beautiful yet dangerous home wreckers, confident decision makers, valuable loving wives.

His women characters all portray a certain strength, and at times, when infected by man, her strength can weaken. But it is this same strength, that he portrays, that can relieve man and comfort him, in which overall actually grants her the most power. 

The Time and The Place

Mahfouz emphasizes a respectful role to women, giving the man the main role in negative characters.

Women seem to always to have a relieving affect on the men portrayed, embodying a peaceful, supportive style throughout the stories.

His receipt of a Noble Peace Prize for Literature is at no surprise, with his non-discriminatory way of writing, giving every demographic a respectful way of identifying with his characters.

Aisha Aisha embodies the Arab woman as a whole, portraying

both modern and traditional views through young and old characters.

Giving women an extreme awareness and wit, Soueif’s Aisha can give anyone unfamiliar with the Arab woman a good idea of culture.

Soueif challenges modern minded characters with ancient traditional situations, usually causing conflict.

With every traditional challenge, Soueif gives a good background of reasoning for the challenge. (ex: proper courtship)

Aisha Soueif’s bold confrontation with the strong sexuality of

a woman brings an abstract tone to her stories, giving them a novelty/rarity appeal to the readers.

Balance and perfection are portrayed by the contrast of characters in each story, bouncing ideas and opinions off of each other, until the conflict is resolved or ends.

Her stories themselves contrast as well, with a battle between modern and traditional culture.

Ex: “Her Man” vs. “The Nativity,” in which the daring, bold woman comes up on top in “Her Man,” but suffers the consequence of such risk in “The Nativity.” This can symbolize the good and bad in change.

Plans for Turkey Note common trends, behaviors, and

experiences of women I encounter in Turkey, and find similarities in the portrayals shown in the Literature we’ve read.

Compare my expectations of Arab Women’s culture to the reality I experience.

How the Literature we’ve read could have influenced my expectations.

Photos! Document the culture and sites we see.