Women in the Middle East and North Africa

by Nashat, Guity; Tucker, Judith E.

• ISBN13: 9780253334787
• ISBN10: 0253334780
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-07-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Tracing the evolution of the role of women from ancient Middle Eastern societies through the 17th century, Guity Nashat employs a rational-choice theoretical framework, examining the interplay between local practices and early Islamic beliefs and institutions. As Islam expanded throughout the area, the foundations of Islamic law and practice with regard to women underwent significant development. Judith Tucker surveys women's gender issues in the 19th- and 20th-century Middle East, with a particular focus on economic activity, access to political power, and contributions to cultural life. Her essay also addresses the role that Islam and indigenous custom are thought to play in shaping women's lives.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface	ix
Authors' Preface	xiii
Glossary	xv
Maps	xvii
Chronology	xxiii
Series Editors' Introduction
Conceptualizing the History of Women in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa	xxvii
Cheryl Johnson-Odim
Margaret Strobel
Introduction	1	(4)
Guity Nashat
Judith E. Tucker
PART I WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: 8000 B. C. E.---C. E. 1800	5	(68)
Guity Nashat
PART II WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES	73	(60)
Judith E. Tucker
Sources: 8000 B. C. E.---C. E. 1800	133	(10)
Sources: Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries	143	(10)
Notes On Contributors	153	(2)
Index	155