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Arab Women Novelists
October 29, 2002
The Arab Woman: Who Is She Really?
The Arab woman, is there really a clear cut, precisely defined profile of what characterizes a woman of Arabia? Barren sand dunes, nomadic tribes of cloaked men, wearing turbans, mounted on camels, wielding swords, and their weak woman folk to whom they dictate. This is a classic Hollywood image of the Arab’s of the Middle East. The helpless female who is subjected to the will of her militant husband or aggressive father is nothing new to the average person of the present time, where being dutiful and being tyrannized can easily have the same definition in Hollywood and American media. However inaccurate this may be for the entire of the Arab world, it is the societal norm to classify woman as the victim of their male macho society. On the contrary, there is no ‘one size fits all’ description for women coming from the many countries that make up the diverse region of the Middle East. In each country, in each region, in every city, town or village, each woman has her own story, personality, heart and mind; quite opposite from what American media would have one believe. In such as the women of the novels, A Balcony Over Fakihani, Pillars of Salt, and A Woman of Five Seasons, their roles as women, wives, mothers, and daughters portray something other than the Hollywood’s forever destined victim of the males figures in their lives.
The classic portrayal of the Arab woman more times than not is her servitude to an overbearing husband who beats her, having to remain in the home, never be educated and whose soul function is to serve as the maid and or child bearer. The character Umm Saad in Fadia Faqir’s Pillars of Salt is the standard for this perception. Umm Saad after one year of schooling in Trans Jordan is denied the right to continue her education by her father. He reason to her is "You are growing up" (Pillars, 39) and so "…my father ordered me to stay home with my mother"(Pillars, 39).
Umm Saad becomes interested in a man, Muhammad who works at a store in her neighborhood. They talk together and he falls in love with Umm Saad. When her father discovers she has been speaking with another man her questions her about who this person Muhammad is. He then goes on to beat her; the beating is so long and forceful Umm Saad falls unconscious. Muhammad come to the father of Umm Saad to ask for her hand in marriage but is refused and told Umm Saad has been promised to her cousin. From upstairs Umm Saad feels heart broken and helpless knowing that what her father says is not true.
Other concepts such as arranged marriages are a thought to be common practice where a young girl is forced to marry a man far older than she is. Arranged marriages are never seen as a positive custom due to that there is never a positive example. Again the example of Umm Saad who is married in this fashion is told to get dressed up and is allowed to put on make up. Her mother informs her of the family’s invitation to a wedding and she is allowed out of the house. Her mother, unsympathetic to her daughters explains, Umm Saad is only allowed out because Umm Saad’s father, "...with his big heart, has forgiven you"(Pillars, 102). She is not told this day was her wedding day until they arrived to sign the paper. On her wedding night, she raped by her husband who she does not even know at the time. It is not to say that these sort of circumstance do not happen in reality, but Umm Saad’s character cannot represent an entire gender from every Arab country. Her unfortunate situation, being the most exploited of the scenarios lived by some Arab women does not make it the absolute or the majority of cases.
The fundamental opposite of how Um Saad is treated is that of the life of Maha. Her charter also in Fadia Faqir’s Pillars of Salt lives in the rural area of Trans Jordan the daughter of a framer. As Maha grows up, she is not the second choice of her father despite having an elder brother. She in fact is the favorite of the two children. Her father teaches her to farm and to shoot; not something taught to a female whose assumed role is in the home. "Sheikh Nimer, my father- Allah protect his right arm- taught me how to shoot years ago. We used to go hunting together, while Dafash (her brother) stayed home, either pretending to be asleep or hiding behind my mother" (11). In fact, Maha does have a balance of domestic skills to even the scale. Throughout the novel, she returns to weave a rug that he mother had left unfinished and she is the one to serve the guests refreshments. On average the women of the family are seen but not heard in the Hollywood stereotype, yet, Maha gives advice to her father, yet another piece of evidence refuting the predominant idea of the oppressed Arab woman.
A large percentage of the Middle East population is Muslim, which requires compliance to certain practices. Hijab for instance, the covering of the body mainly for women, as to protect their dignity and shield them from the attention and gazing of men who are not of relation to them. The perception of the religious practice is that it is backward and that it prevents a woman from attaining her liberation. When Maha’s city loving brother brings two European women to the home Maha is greatly offended by their appearance.
They were women and I was a woman too, but they were so different. One was wearing a tight dress with a wide, shamefully short skirt. Pulling my dress to the front, I lowered my eyes. Every part of the woman’s body was revealed by the light material…I didn’t know why they had their plaits cut off…Crimson lips, fair hair, thread-thin eyebrows. I felt like heating some water and washing the colors off their faces…The shame of it! These women are not shy of showing their bodies to the gazing men (Pillars, 33)
She is not envious of the European woman’s dress as she considers it not to be liberation but shameless nudity. She, even as a woman feels the need to lower gaze in front of the two women. Their faces are so unnatural, covered in "colors" as Maha describes their make up. To be covered in the presence of men is ideal for her and the other women of the village because of their religious belief and they know the benefits of their action are far better. Her brother, Dafash is the embodiment of the Hollywood Arab male: the womanizer, money hungry, abusive man. We find early on the novel that he has raped Nasra, the good friend of Maha.
‘Don’t touch me.’ Nasra howled like a wounded she-wolf and wrenched away her body. She shook and swayed as if pain were ripping her stomach. ‘What’s the matter?’ Her body was shaking, tears were running down her face, her dress was ripped open as far as her navel. My hands started trembling when I realized it was too late. It was too late. All I could do was clench my fists and punch the air (10)
Nasra revealed to Maha that it had been Dafash and Maha’s reply was " Dafash, son of Maliha, I will drink your blood"(11). Maha immediately leaves set on murdering her brother, who she find conveniently fast asleep in her fathers home. "I dug the barrel between his ribs and shouted ‘Wake up, you dog, and see with your own eyes how I am going to kill you’ "(12). Yet Hollywood would have one believe that a meager and broken woman upon discovering her brother has raped her closet confidant, taking "…her virginity, her honor, her life"(11) would sit helplessly, being unable to do or say anything to protest such an evil and vile act of dehumanization. The prefixed role set by the Hollywood moviemakers is now switched in this instance. When Daffash realizes that she is about to kill him, he pleads, "Don’t shoot. I am your brother, the son of your mother and father"(12). A man, pleading with a younger woman for his life is in complete error of the Hollywood stereotype and is surely a scene that would be left on the cutting room floor. When Maha demands to know what had happened, his response is simply, "She asked for it. Whenever she set her greedy eyes on me…she tempted me"(12) plays back to it being the fault and blame put on the woman. "She was always playing tunes on her pipe. It called me to touch her"(12) is his excuse to Maha who is still aimed to kill.
In the society in which Maha lives the male macho attitude does exist as it does in most any country in the world. To protect herself from this she follows the dress code prescribed for her. She does not feel oppressed by shielding herself in modesty and safeguarding her chastity. She does not submit to the commands of Dafash or to Harb ( her future husband) . When Harb asks her to meet him during the night the thought torments her as to whether she should go. To possible dishonor her family and never be able to be with Harb again are the risks she weighs in her mind. She blames it all on her mother whose advice to her was "not to give in to men. Men, she said, believe that women are angels who descend from the seventh sky" (13). This excellent instance of a woman’s strength shows undoubtedly that the Arab woman of Hollywood and Maha cannot be paralleled in character.
An exceptional example to the drastic differences between the Maha and Um Saad is in marriage. Harb, the man who Maha cares for is not like the typical Hollywood Arab man. The two genuinely have feelings for one another and he is respectful of her modesty when she refuses to meet him at night away from her home. Harb is repeatedly referred to by Maha as "…the twin of my soul"(Pillars, 9) and Maha by Harb as "…my beautiful [Arabian] mare"(Pillars, 9). The issue of marriage in Maha’s case is the opposite of the prevalent ideas set forth my American media. Sheikh Nimer calls Maha to him, asking her to sit. " ’Harb was here.’ Hot blood rushed to my face… ‘He asked for your hand. Tonight Sheikh Talib and the dignitaries of the tribe will come to propose’" (16). Not only does Maha’s father sit down with Maha to tell her that some one has asked for her hand, but he also asks Maha if she will accept him. Filmmakers on the contrary would have her abruptly taken from her numerous chores, turned over to a strange Neanderthal type of man, who would then drag her way.
Maha’s wedding night was truly an out of the ordinary experience. When Harb was inside his family’s home with Maha to prove to the rest of the village that he had married a virgin, his mother twice interrupted the couple in her impatience. Harb, who was exceedingly nervous, could not go through with it under the pressure and his mother’s repeated banging at the door. Maha, understanding the importance of upholding the honor of her family says, " We can fool them… Prick my finger with the end of your dagger…It is my blood they are after" (45). This incident gives Maha's character a quality of cunning and intelligence not common to the Hollywood Arab woman. She devises this plan to fool the people waiting to see the blood stained sheet and succeeds. She had previously even tried to encourage Harb to make love to her so that he could appease his mother. Typically, the woman is cast as a sexual object that is forced to be intimately involved but as seen here is quite the opposite.
Maha, after the death of her husband at the hands of the English army, is invited to cook at the home of one the city friends of Dafash. Graciously she accepts, only to discover that the people she will be preparing the food for are commanding officers of the English army. Maha boldly goes up to the General, rips off one of his badges and begins stomping on it screaming that he had killed her husband.
Hakim told Nasra that the English had killed Harb. He never lied. I could not bury all the dead horsemen, so I just sprinkled sand over their gaping corpses to protect them from birds of prey…Feeding people who chewed on my husband’s flesh. Shame on you Maha. Curse Dafash and his shameful deeds (162)
Maha’s depth of character and strength appears greatly here. She has an extraordinarily passionate spirit and depth that resonates her fearlessness, independence, and pride in being a woman.
Quite different from the character of Maha, is Nadia al-Faqih in A Woman of Five Seasons (Atrash) from Kuwait. She is a city dweller married to a promising businessman. Living a lavish lifestyle provided everything on a silver platter by her husband does not seem to please her. Her story, while it is not in so many words the same as the Hollywood portrayal of an Arab woman, is still of a relationship dictated by her husband, Ihsan ibn Natour. Nadia does not marry out of love but out of curiosity and for the simple fact that Ihsan asks her. She does however have feelings for his brother Jalal but does not want to wait for fear of her feelings not being reciprocated. One does not get the idea that Nadia’s character has much profundity at the start of the novel. She is used by her husband as a business tool, so that he can further himself.
Ihsan’s objectifying and belittling of women is quite apparent throughout the book. Dressing her in the most expensive clothes, best perfumes and covered in mounds of jewels, he expects her to attend numerous functions held by the wives of his business associates. Her husband does not see her as anything other than a woman. Nadia’s husband tells her she is to attend another social event that night but Nadia does not want to go, to which Ihsan’s reply is "Nobody is making you give a speech, Nadia. The point is to let them see you, make you them notice you" (Five Seasons, 12). Her husband does not give priority to her feelings over his business dealings. She is not the traditional house wife or being shackled and held in a position of servitude, but is given all the material things in life she could ask for, yet her husband still puts her at a level that of something that is below him.
What goes on in that mind of his? She thought. Can’t he see he’s tiring me out, thrusting me toward a great open sea? All these gatherings and parties. Women, and more women, and still more women, weighing one another up and with smiles, and all the time, behind it, longing to spring and pounce on their prey. They flaunt their soft silks and their perfumes from Paris, but it can’t hide the ugliness of those tongues, tearing into guests who’ve just left or the people who haven’t come (12),
These are her thoughts as her husband rambles on speaking about going to London and how happy she should be because he bought a dress from Harrods; "It cost the earth, from a top designer. You should have seen the sales girls’ eyes as they wrapped it up! Lucky wife, they were thinking…" (12). It is not her objective in life to be the most envied among the social elite. Nadia is not abused physically as in the American media stereotype but intellectually Ihsan puts her down. She feels that she is the inferior of their relationship and wants to express her longing for more freedom to choose and refuse. Nadia describes another person inside of her, "…sexless, a person who feels and thinks and suffers and makes me suffer. A person that doesn’t know the meaning between male and female, who rises above everything Ihsan ever thinks about…But it’s suffering too, weak and suppressed, powerless to rise to resistance and refusal…" (34-5). Nadia’s inner feelings however conflict for the reason that she wants to be loyal to her husband and become a compassionate and suitable mother, but with Ihsan it seems impossible to be more than just that. In her confusion se thinks, " I spring, don’t I, from that Bedouin woman long ago, whose advice to her daughters has been passed down through the generations of women? ‘Do whatever he tells you. Keep all his secret. Let him only find the purest fragrance in you.’ I wanted to be that skillful woman who wraps her husband around with love and tenderness" (33).
She does not react to him in the same way as the media stereotyped Arab woman would despite Ihsan's treatment. She describes having this person inside her trying to break free and stand up against Ihsan to tell him what she wants, thinks, and feels does matter and should have priority of his work. While her courage is not yet the same as the character of Maha, it is still ever present. Her courage grows during the novel, giving her more daring and self-assurance to challenge what her husband thinks of her. Nadia says, "I hate to be what I’m not…"(36) when she attempts many times to refuse Ihsan but she always give in to his manipulation.
The Hollywood concept of the woman having the soul purpose of bearing an heir occurs in Nadia’s story. This is Ihsan’s scheming way of controlling Nadia so that she stays in the home instead of attending college. She feels that she will not be fulfilling her duty to her Ihsan and a child if she chooses to go to further her education rather than staying home and trying to conceive instead. The Hollywood image depicts that there can be no benefit for a woman to remain loyal to her role as a mother to protect and tend to her family. Fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of wife, mother and career woman is never considered yet while in scripts casting a non-Arab woman character could entail her pursuing such a lifestyle. Nadia’s existence here is entirely dependent on Ihsan; with out him she is considered nothing.
Slowly Nadia gains a stronger sense of self-purpose and grows more demanding, all the while Ihsan is increasing his demands on her. When he makes a large business deal he opens a Swiss account containing two hundred thousand dollars worth of gold in spite of that Nadia says she would rather have land. Ihsan promises to sell the gold and buy her the land she would enjoy except Nadia now informs him that she will keep the gold and he will buy her land separately. There is a distinct change in Nadia’s demeanor when she tells him, "No, buy me that [the land] from the next deal, I’ll keep the gold" (79). Ihsan does not succeed in coercing her this time because of her newfound assertiveness.
In a Western film one does not see the Arab woman asking even a favor of her husband, and yet here Nadia gives an order to Ihsan to buy her land, leaving him astounded and speechless at what he sees as her disobedience. Nadia later tells Ihsan she wants him to set up a real estate business for her and a friend who has experience in the field. She presses him to do so until he appeases her wishes. Once again, a complete diversion from the Hollywood view of Arab women is displayed through Nadia's character. Ihsan's strategy to control his wife is hindered to the point that his authority over Nadia is being quickly dissolved.
By the closing of the novel, Nadia has gained full control over the relationship by gradually weakening Ihsan’s ego and taking charge of her own affairs. No longer the submissive wife, giving into Ihsan’s every whim and want, she feels empowered to fulfill the yearning of that person inside of her. No longer needing Ihsan, Nadia knows what capabilities she possesses and makes it evident to her husband through such demands as her own company that she is free from him. She is free from his mind games and prepared to succeed in a balanced lifestyle not dictated by him. Extinguishing the power that Ihsan has over her is contradictory to all the standards set by Hollywood.
The life of Yusra, in A Balcony Over the Fakihani (Badr), contains many parallels to the life of Maha. Before marriage, the two characters were acquainted with the men they are to wed. Both of their husband’s are freedom fighters who are tragically killed by their enemy. After the death of their spouses, Yusra and Maha discover they are carrying the children of their departed husbands. Yusra’s same vigor for life and constant battle for survival removes her from the category as the Hollywood Arab woman.
From childhood being on alert at all times, for fear that there may be an air strike, is the life of Yusra, a young Palestinian refugee. The character of the young woman differs a great deal from the Hollywood rendition of an Arab woman in most aspects of her life. She is living in the Tal al-Zaatar refugee camp with her family during the start of the civil war in Lebanon. The vitality and endurance of a young woman growing up under cruel and unmerciful conditions is remarkable. At a young age, the character of Yusra has defied the Hollywood stereotype of Arab women with her intelligence and self-image combined with her bravery, which surpasses the all that the stereotype embodies. Yusra expresses the hardships of her childhood when she says, "Everyone expected death; no one in Tal al-Zaatar thought to live out their natural life" (Fakihani, 11). Domestic hardships and grievances were far less traumatic than the incidents Yusra had to encounter. Her eleven-year-old brother being struck in the abdomen with shrapnel leaving him with no chance of survival and her friend Nada, a volunteer nurse, killed by a sniper, leaves one wondering how her spirit badly battered but not broken is able to endure many pains far greater than any physical pain.
While the Hollywood version of an Arab woman’s marriage would entail her daily suffering and longing to be liberated from her tyrannical husband, Yusra’s relationship with Ahmed is exceptionally supportive, open and warm. After the massacre that claims the life of Ahmed, Yusra is distraught and the memories of their time together floods back. She closes one chapter with "All I remember apart from that [his photography] is his smile" (29) She must now raise her child alone in a war torn country, a refugee from a home she has never seen.
Su’ad, a second character in A Balcony Over the Fakihani, also lives in Lebanon at the time of the civil war. She recalls how she met her husband Umar, one of the men involved in the Resistance. Young men involved in fighting for the cause came to her family’s home to eat or sleep. Umar when washing his face, he unexpectedly turns to Su’ad and asks her to marry him. In Su’ad case, her parents were not involved largely in choosing or accepting a husband for her. " When I plucked up enough courage to tell them [her parents], my mother gave her consent, but my father was more reluctant. He spoke of the difficult conditions of the country following the events of September1" (38)
After she came with Umar she also is involved with the Resistance. Su’ad was pregnant at the time and consequently did not do as much training as the other women during that summer. She says "But I wasn’t very good t target practice…I couldn’t focus my eyes as I took aim. How can you keep one eye open and the other one closed I either had to keep them both open or both closed’ (70). There are no depictions of the Arab woman as a military rebel, practicing target shooting and preparing to support the Resistance. Yet, American media fails to recognize that this even happens or could be a possibility.
Su’ad's life in Beirut with Umar is nothing short of a trial. The small accommodations and lack of money do not cause Yusra to complain however. It is not that she felt she could not but she thought, "but I felt no reason to complain; everything was fine as long as we were together…Here he was with me, we were together, sharing the responsibilities for the children…"(48). Her love for her husband was mutual and she was not discontent at having to deal with the inconveniences that were far smaller than having to live without her husband.
Yusra went on to find a job and balanced her roles as a wife and mother. Again, this representation is not the norm seen by any of the American media. She cannot be independent or modern in the terms set by Hollywood. When she looses her husband to the war she becomes just as self-reliant and Maha and Yusra. This however it is not a quality incorporated in the American media thus supporting the stereotype.
What has happened to the weak subservient woman the American media has constructed into a symbol of what the Arab woman is? Have the belly dancers and harem girls all disappeared? The image of the ignorant and suffering woman cast down by her husband suddenly is not the only representation of an Arab woman. She speaks out, she goes to school, debates, works and is an equal in the marriage to her husband. The Hollywood and American media ‘cookie cutter’ description woman of Arabia is not the standard now. She cannot be categorized in one specific group, character or role. The criterion epitomized by the media to the people is being refuted by these readings. It can now be said when it comes to the topic Arab woman, that you cannot believe everything you see on TV.
End Notes
1 Events of September or referring to Black September
Works Cited
Atrash, Layla. Woman of Five Seasons. New York: Interlink Publishing, 2002
Badr, Liyana. A Balcony over the Fakihani. New York: Interlink Books, 1993.
Faqir, Fadia. Pillars of Salt. New York: Interlink Books, 1997