Writing the Feminine: Women in Arab Sources (Islamic Mediterranean)

This book questions the conventional wisdom of the Mediterranean Muslim woman as a passive victim of the tyranny of religion, society, and male relatives. These original essays build on a range of experiences from varied regions and periods--from medieval love poetry to popular literary sources and fatwas and legal analyses--bear witness to the fact that individual women of all social classes play pivotal roles in both the private and public realms of Arab society.