Summary Of Excellent Daughters By Katherine Zoepf
Katherine Zoepf’s nonfiction work “Excellent Daughters: The Secret Lives of Young Women Who Are Transforming the Arab World” published by Penguin Books tells different stories of women throughout the Arab world. Zoepf takes readers on a journey beginning in Syria and ending in Egypt. Zoepf compares and contrasts the cultures, challenges and changes in women’s lives across five Arab countries. Zoepf’s interest in the Arab world began soon after the terror attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001. At the time, she was working as a research assistant at The New York Times. Three years later, Zoepf left the Times to study Arabic at the London School of Economics until she was encouraged by a former Times colleague to fly to Damascus to freelance
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The women interviewed were from Riyadh, the capital city. Zoepf begins this section will an explanation of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to drive. They must wear black abayas and head coverings at all times. They are not allowed to travel out of the country without a male guardian signature. Etc. The divide between men and women in Saudi Arabia is very real and very clear. To westerners, this lack of inequality is absurd. Some westerners believe Saudi women are “brainwashed” or “voiceless victims”. However, Zoepf uncovers that the majority of Saudi women do not disapprove or dislike their roles and privileges. They don’t see it as an issue; they see it as their culture. In another section about Saudi Arabia, Zoepf reveals the trend of women’s movements in the country. They began in 1990 when a group of women performed a driving protest. In the epilogue of the book, Zoepf discusses how Saudi women are now permitted to ride bicycles and to serve in the Shoura Council. The most recent movement Zoepf brings up is the idea of women being able to buy lingerie from other Saudi women. In 2011, Zoepf states, King Abdullah banned men from working in lingerie shops and ordered those jobs to be given to Saudi women. This caused a lot of unrest between conservatives and liberals in Saudi
The women interviewed were from Riyadh, the capital city. Zoepf begins this section will an explanation of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia. They are not allowed to drive. They must wear black abayas and head coverings at all times. They are not allowed to travel out of the country without a male guardian signature. Etc. The divide between men and women in Saudi Arabia is very real and very clear. To westerners, this lack of inequality is absurd. Some westerners believe Saudi women are “brainwashed” or “voiceless victims”. However, Zoepf uncovers that the majority of Saudi women do not disapprove or dislike their roles and privileges. They don’t see it as an issue; they see it as their culture. In another section about Saudi Arabia, Zoepf reveals the trend of women’s movements in the country. They began in 1990 when a group of women performed a driving protest. In the epilogue of the book, Zoepf discusses how Saudi women are now permitted to ride bicycles and to serve in the Shoura Council. The most recent movement Zoepf brings up is the idea of women being able to buy lingerie from other Saudi women. In 2011, Zoepf states, King Abdullah banned men from working in lingerie shops and ordered those jobs to be given to Saudi women. This caused a lot of unrest between conservatives and liberals in Saudi