Book Review: Nine Parts of Desire

Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An interesting and fair-handed account of the ways that Islam oppresses women. What makes this book different from others like it is that the author attempts to show where Islam has been distorted in order to perpetuate these wrongs against Muslim women. She writes that if Islam could be separated from the prejudice and social baggage of its various cultures, it would be much easier to appreciate its strengths as a religion. As someone who has written about the Middle East for over 20 years, Brooks is an ideal guide through the maze of modern-day Islam, especially in its dealings with women.

View all my reviews >>

Related posts:

1. Islam and Gender Roles When I told my sister-in-law that I had converted to Islam, she wondered how I was going to reconcile my feminist principles with my...
2. Feminist Media: Feminist Review One of my favorite sites and resources is Feminist Review. In the last three and a half years it has published nearly 3,500 reviews...
3. Women’s Rights: The Headscarf (Hijab) There are many people out there who will think I’m crazy for saying that the wearing of a headscarf (or hijab) is a woman’s...
4. A New Journey I’ve meant to write about Christian Feminism, or Christianity and Feminism, but never got around to it. Now I find that I have a...
5. The Femagination Book Store If you’re looking for books specifically by and for women, look no further! I’m in the process of building a Femagination Book Store. Topics...