Analysis Of Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

In her paper, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” prominent anthropologist Lina Abu – Lughod critiques the “women’s liberation” argument used to garter American support for the war in the Middle East. This paper is particularly interesting as it discusses the anthropologic implications of one of the events that shaped the 21st century, 9/11. To give context, In October 2001, following the Al-Queda attacks on the World Trade Center which killed 3000 men and women, (Intervention narrative, p.140) US President George W. Bush launched his so-called “War on Terror” and invaded Afghanistan, then occupied by the oppressive Taliban. Despite the invasion presumably being a response to the 9/11 attack, Abu-Lughod tells readers that if one looks farther

As explored in Chapter 2 of the course, a symbol is something that stand for something else (book, p.20). Each culture has symbols that hold heavy meanings for them and are an essential part of their learned ways.(book) An example of such symbols, which is mentioned repeatedly throughout Abu-Lughod’s article and is subject of heavy controversy is the Islamic practice of veiling ones body and face. For US citizens, veiling is a symbol of women’s oppression by the Taliban. Whereas on the contrary, for Islamic women veiling is a voluntary act symbolizing modesty, morality, and honor.(quote) There is a hypocrisy in the sense that US citizens advocate for Afghan women to have rights yet seem reluctant to accept that it is Afghan women’s will to veil themselves. This discussion brings us back to ethnocentrism, the belief that one’s culture is better than the others, because Americans assume that Afghan women need to dress themselves in a matter fitting of the West. In their minds, Western culture and clothing are what is right, and cannot accept the possibility that other women would want to dress differently. Yet, as Abu-Lughod perfectly lays it, people wear the appropriate form of dress for their social communities and are guided by socially shared standards, religious beliefs, and moral ideals. (Do Muslim Women Need Saving) The act of veiling is an essential part of Islamic religion, deeply rooted in its cultures. As anthropologists know, culture is adaptive (quote book, p.29) meaning it develops in response to the environment in which individuals live. To understand how the practice of veiling has emerged and evolved, it is essential to look at the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam that Muslims consider the direct word of God. (What is veiling p.22) In the Qur’an, it is explained that in the time of the prophet Mohammed, who through God’s words authored the Qur’an according to Islamic religion, it was