Week 13

In the article, “Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out?”, Paul Amar looks at how practices of securitization and police force shift to reinforce themselves, even in the midst of visible gender role reversals. Representations of Egyptian protestors used to be hypermasculine and violent, which Amar calls the baltagi-effect. This was how state terror was justified to the international system. When women began to appear on the frontlines, this masculine portrayal of “terrorists” ceased to work, so the security state then moved to more sexualized aggressions. Women, who were once seen as pious and culturally moral, were rebranded as prostitutes and publicly sexually assaulted.

The different reactions by organizations on what was happening are very indicative of how understanding intersections of gender, class, etc. is crucial. When thinking about international relations, the security state may not always ensure that women are safe and secure, as clearly shown. If we don’t criticize these larger structures, we may not get to the larger root of the problem: “a series of civil society and governmental campaigns erupted that hypervisibilized and intensified the classphobic moralization of the issue, focusing on the restoration of respectability and piety” (Amar 314). Organizations like Al Nadeem are deemed too radical because they question the practices of the security state, which threatens hegemonic narratives that it works hard to cultivate.   

Saba Mahmood: Agency, Gender and Embodiment

In Saba Mahmoods' article she is informing us that Agency, Gender and Embodiment is very important to understand when it comes to Mosque participants. In the beginning of her article, she gives us three questions she wants us to keep in mind while reading her piece. In order to understand the Orthodox Islamic traditions, we have to really keep in mind agency, gender and embodiment. I think it is very important to have a strong ethical background because then it is easier for someone to understand certain ideas and rules in society. She states that Muslim women carry a burden of judgement because of all the assumptions that the Western imagination creates. One interesting thing I found in this article was when Saba Mahmood spoke about veiling. She said that women would get the wrath of Allah if they did not wear their Burkas and she also said that fathers would call their daughters whores if they didn't abide by the veiling rules. Women in Islamic cultures are being stripped of their agency, gender and embodiment from the men in their lives and their own government. I think Saba Mahmood is teaching us to try and understand someones culture and religion before putting forth judgement. I think it is important too look at these issues from an outsiders perspective and incorporate learning about agency, gender and embodiment.

Posting this on behalf of Stacie who is having a hard time with the blog page

Decolonizing Culture

    In the article "Decolonizing Culture - Beyond Orientalist and Anti Orientalist Feminism's" by Nadine Naber she examined the stereotypes of what Arab women thought of American women. Nadine gave insight on her way of growing up in america within Muslim culture. She explained that although she lived in a small community of consisting of Muslims and Christians the feelings there were mutual. She wrote: "We seemed to share a tacit knowledge that al Amerikca was the trash culture, degenerate, morally bankrupt, and sexually depraved. In contrast, all Arab (Arabs) were morally respectable - we valued marriage, family, and close relationships."

    Also in contrast of the reading "Reflections of a Genderqueer Palestinian American Lesbian Mother", Huda Jadallah touched upon life in a Muslim community as a lesbian mother with two young boys. In the first reading Nadine described in great detail about being raised with these specific morals whereas Huda described raising two young boys of her own in a American society. It was rather interesting that both readings also reflected the lives of LGBTQ people and what their lively hoods were looked at especially with kids. It's good to have to different view points of something. 

Week 13

The article "Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out?" by Paul Amar analyzes sexual Egypt Egypt politics in the global south as a crucial harassment for testing and reformulating the mix of emancipatory and repressive governance practices that constitute contemporary gender-sensitive ‘human security’ regimes. In Egypt, between 2003 and 2010, internationalist feminist campaigns advocated anti-harassment projects that demonized working-class youth masculinities as well as ‘disreputable’ public femininities in an attempt to intensify the policing of the city and discipline public sociability.  He explained that women activist were subjected to violence due to their demands of protecting human rights. A reason why women wanted protection was due to cultural effects impacted the Egyptian Egyptian Egyptian. Amar talks about protests that were going on in Egyptian Because of the uprising of many protests and movements during this time the security state decided to intervene by sending out their own men “to attempt to delegitimize, intimidate and blur both the image and message of these movements by infiltration and surrounding them with plain-clothes thugs, deputized by police and paramilitary security forces” (Amar 308). 

Paul introduces three significant innovations: 1. he upsets the assumption that forms of gender politics always flow from the international to the local (or from the North to the South); 2; he offers a “socio-historical contextualization of the women’s movement in Egypt” that does not reduce it to a distinction between a public men’s realm and a private women’s domain; 3; he refuses to dump women’s (and men’s) efforts to transform gender politics in Egypt into either a liberal, progressive box or an illiberal, backward box. It is also shown that the media tries to cover up what is actually going on. And they did not expect women to even involve themselves in these protests. Growing up as a muslim women its really hard because there is so much expectations you must have and follow. You must be pious and if you are not the men in the society will put you down. And that is something that is not fair to women and is really sad.

Week 13 Securitization

In Paul Amar's reading, he discussed during his career as a journalist, sexual harassment imposed on women activists and violence against women. He explained that women activist were subjected to violence due to their demands of protecting human rights. One reason women wanted protection was due how cultural effects impacted Egyptian society. because of Egypt's beliefs and ways of life, such as genocide, honor crimes, etc. and how they been repeated with each generation, the West viewed human rights as " divorced from global struggles for economic and social rights, and unconscious of the racial, colonial, religious and cultural prejudices embedded within the Western legalities and identities". That means that human rights is seen as a separate sphere which is unable to modernize.

 He also mentioned how the securitization is used to dehumanize Egyptian citizens. Foe example, the media view women as objects of sex relating to prostitution and the police view abusive men as inhuman as hyper visible beings who are invisible in others eyes. Women were viewed not as complex or legitimate subjects; based on his article, working class women were seen as third world (ignorant, uneducated, etc.). The media even covers up what was really going on and rewrite protesters as the terrorists using a tactic called the baltagi-effect. An example was the 2006 protests. Amar mentioned that the practice was used to " terrorize the protesters, but also generated new images for domestic and international media and criminological narratives for international security agencies and local law enforcement".     

Week 13: Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out?

         Paul Amar in his piece Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out scrutinizes the sexual harassment happened in Egypt protests from 2003 until the recent 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Originally the harassments are victimized working-class and impious women (often prostitutes) and demonized working-class young male while in fact there were a role of the authority (police) in assuring security state. As an effort to create change to the situation, a women movement called El Nadeem performed intervention by putting middle-class honorable women which has been hypervisiblized as pious and respectable to the street and do protests.   

    Focusing on the concepts of parahuman subject, hypervisibility and politics of respectability, Amar threaded out how El Nadeem successfully shifted the “campaigns against torture in custody and sexual harassment in the street into a political movement against the repressive policing practices of the security state” (Amar, 313), by turning the gendered politics of the security inside out, and gained their victory through the case of Nuha Rushdi.

          This piece fascinated me in a way of the horrifying threats women has endured in the activism space such as protesting in the street. In another way, I am also amazed by the fact that women movements such as El Nadeem can be so persistent in critiquing the practice of security state instead of focusing on other agendas like other women organizations which may have been influenced by the UN doctrines. It makes me think about how many NGOs which are focused on women and gender issues can really be free and true to their own mission instead of ending up serving interests of bigger parties? How pure is the motives of the NGOs we have now in the society for the purpose of social justice and gender equality?

Week 13 - Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out?

             In Paul Amar’s reading, “Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out?” Amar talks about the protests in Egypt during the 1990’s to the 2000’s. Because of the uprising of many protests and movements during this time the security state decided to intervene by sending out their own men “to attempt to delegitimize, intimidate and blur both the image and message of these movements by infiltration and surrounding them with plain-clothes thugs, deputized by police and paramilitary security forces” (p.308, Amar). These men would mix in with the protesters and disrupt their protesting by shouting extremist slogans, damaging properties and harassing other protestors in order to look like ‘terrorists’. This tactic was used to create scenes to terrorize the media in order to sway viewers from participating in these events and also to portray Middle Eastern countries as ‘terrorizing’ in an international level. Because of this many negative stereotyping surrounded Middle Eastern countries.

            What they did not expect was for women to involve themselves in these protests. The image of women protesting on T.V. changes the message it’s portraying because these women were suppose to be pious meaning they should be reserved in situations like these. But now what does it mean to see “reserved” women protesting on T.V.? It sends out a message that women too are also believe in fighting for what’s right and encourages other people to join instead of deeming them as ‘terrorists’. However the women who protest were sexually harassed and arrested by the same men who where undercover. It was women who suffered more with the consequences because they were able to represent so much more than men during protests, they represented the image of change.

            

Week 13

In the reading “Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside out” by Paul Amar we are introduced to the gendered sexual harassment regimes in Egypt and the complacency of some Egyptian officers. He discusses the mass protest that occurred January 25- February 11 as well to highlight the work and commitment women activist have in battling against sexual assault. Amar starts the article by giving us an example on how western media pins these sexual harassment problems within the “culture” and not the institution. A woman reporter from the U.S who was a victim of sexual harassment was saved by young Egyptian political activist, yet Fox news in particular left this important point out. Instead, they focused on emphasizing Egypt was not yet ready for modernity or a real democracy. This western viewed rhetoric is continuous. Another important issue is hypersensibility. Amar explains hypersensibility with women and how that is dangerous for their safety, “ Paradoxically, when subjects are hypervisibilized, they remain invisible as social beings: they are not recognizable as complex, legitimate, participatory subjects or citizens” (305).  This means that women compared to the institutional system are seen as objects therefore there safety isn’t a priority. Women started unifying and expressing their demands for safety and to expose the corrupt system. The security state responded by trying to dismantle the work of these women by portraying these women were terrorist. They had people dress in plain colored clothing and yell and act extremely against these women in order to blur and take the attention off of the seriousness of the protest. This was another example of the gendered politics controlled not by a culture but by the institution of the security state. Overall this article introduced the problematic way women were hypersexualized and targeted.  If a woman protested she would immediately be sexualized and juridically be categorized as a prostitute, meaning the system was trying to prevent these women from organizing and having their voices heard.

Week 13

In our reading, "Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out" by Paul Amar he talks about women who have been sexually assaulted by the police and how that it is something that they should not even take anymore. Women are standing up trying to start anti-harassment projects, by they have taken legal gender doctrines and have used them to start campaigns that fight for equality for all. 

These women are taught to stand up to their attackers and take them to court if possible, like Nuha Rushdi who was the first women to get a sexual assault case in court. She and her lawyers got the Sheriff who pulled her over, three years in prison, as well as a fine. This is a large step forward for the movement as laws are still attempted to be more strict. There are new framing being pushed by Rushdi and El-Nadeem Center that critiques "masculinist prerogative" and promotes anti-harassment. 

For this change to happen more attention needs to be drawn to it. At the end of the article the UN suggest a march on Women's Day and I think that would help draw international attention and bring more support and attention from all over the world especially here in the United States. The more attention drawn, I think we will then see more progress towards equality. 

Week 13: Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out

In the article Turning the Gendered Politics of the Security State Inside Out, Paul Amar shines light on the efforts by women subjected to assault by police officers to sue and protest against them for sexual harassment.  Throughout his piece he takes a gentle approach to investigate the complications of feminist activities in Egypt as well as their complex interlocking with many diverse Egyptian social institutions. There is a common framework that women are trying to seize their human rights against the “illiberal” Middle-Eastern state (and man) and Amar makes sure not to feed into such a foundation.

One quote in the opening of Amar’s article is said by Asmaa Mahfouz, who is a young woman leader who leads a protest in Tahrir Square. She steers away from the “woman-victim” role to decry human rights and plead police protection. Instead she describes herself as an “Egyptian on fire” who has a burning rage for a revolution to bring peace among woman. Asmaa Mahfouz and many other Egyptian individuals are tired of being harassed (especially sexually) by those in higher state positions, and they are fed up with their revolutionary passion being labeled as hysterical and crazy. The baltagi-effect was prevalent during many of the protests, and it is characterized by “plain-clothed thugs” and deputized police flooding the area of protests and wreaking havoc to create inner conflict within the protest. Not only did this terrorize protestors, but it also generated new negative images for domestic and international media. This fed into the already common belief that protestors were “crazed mobs of brutal men, vaguely ‘Islamist’ and fiercely irrational” (Amar 308).

Amar’s article attempts to undermine the classic framework by which Western scholars have viewed gender in the Middle East, similar to Abu-Lughod and Saba Mahmood’s articles. I think if the West is so committed to helping those in Muslim countries then we first need to take a deeper look into what real problems are taking place within the Muslim community instead making assumptions of the problems based on what we hear/see in media.

Week 11 Honor Killings and Udating Empires

Dicle Kogacioglu talked about honor killings in Turkish society. Honor killings are crimes in which women are murdered by male family members in order to prevent shame or dishonor from coming into their families. Women were murdered for reasons such refusal of a arranged marriages and ethnic switching. In Dicle's case, women were murdered because of their sexual behavior. Dicle disapproves the fact that honor killings are viewed as a "tradition culture" and due to the tradition effect, which is the repeating of honor killings preformed by other families, women were losing their rights. Dicle also disapproves how law institutions reduces sentences for murders compared to regular sentences. It also depends on the crime. For example, Article 51 can reduce prison sentences by two-thirds if the murderer was suffering grief during the crime. Article 462 reduces prison sentences to eight years instead of twenty-four. That means the suspect can leave prison early and kill another woman if she did an "dishonorable" crime.

In Cynthia Enloe's reading, she talked about military abuse and the fact that women were not seen in politics. Women were mostly seen in places such as brothels and factories and  are seen as third world women. It was interesting to know that women wanted their own constitution in order to gain women rights. The first was education; the second was freedom of speech; third was the right to vote; fourth was equal representation; fifth was equal judgements; sixth was equal pay rates; seventh was property rights; eighth was, relating back to Dicle's reading, rights of criminal charges against men for abuse; ninth was selling women; tenth was marriageable age change; eleventh was the right to divorce; and twelfth was the right to remarry.

My questions is relating to the seventh proposal of the constitution, why the law prevents women ownership of land and what kind of effect did they think it would have in institutions eyes? Does law institutions have their own supreme court? 

Week 11: Enloe and Kogacioglu

“The Tradition Effect: Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey” looks at the ways in which institutions such as as Turkish laws, international media and the EU perpetuate the continuing of honor crimes. Kogacioglu challenges the notion that traditions are solely a cultural phenomenon and separate from these institutions. When it comes to Turkey’s admission into the EU, for example, policies about men and women are subject to “gender mainstreaming,” and honor crimes subsequently fall from the forefront of attention, showing how the EU’s complacency in weak policies uphold honor crimes. International media, as well, creates the dichotomies of the Middle East in opposition to Europe, medieval in opposition to modern, the West in opposition to the non-West, etc. By calling honor crimes a tradition and framing them as something susceptible to spreading, the media puts Turkey into the uncivilized category of countries.

“Updating the Gendered Empire: Where Are the Women in Occupied Afghanistan and Iraq?” discusses how the military is another institution that has harmful effects on women. Masculinity is pertinent to nation-building, so we get very masculine notions of what danger and security are. The military is an institution that upholds these gendered notions of the nation but doesn’t make women safe. The U.S., in trying to build an empire, also plays a role in upholding the patriarchal aspects of the military.

My question for this week is: would it be effective to simply inject more women into these institutions so that they have a voice? What exactly should be done to try to undo what these institutions are doing?

Enloe & Kogacioglu readings

In Cynthia Enloe’s piece “Updating Gendered Empire” she discusses the dynamics of an empire and how it is strongly influenced by gender which favors men. She explains the  history of the Iraq invasion in order to put her main points into play. In 2003 the Bush administration invaded Iraq and had a very strong presence. Enloe focuses on subjects like security, danger and combat and invites us to think who gets to define these terms and well as how is masculinity affecting these terms. Throughout the reading it’s made clear that women’s best interest and rights weren’t on the agenda. Although, it’s made to seem the military was there for the freedom of women this dynamic was only to deepen the military regimes sense of masculine control. Enloe explains, “When U.S policy-makers in Washington selected Ismail Khan and his fellow Northern Alliance anti-modernist regional commanders as their most promising allies, they did not employ “the empowerment of Afghan women” a their chief criterion”(282). In the reading women’s lack of liberation was evident as well as the need for male leaders to control every aspects of women’s life in order to feel like they’re sustaining power.

In Dicle Kogacioglu essay “The Tradition Effect: Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey” she discusses how the women are viewed in society, the pressure of honor for these women and how certain institutions view these honor crimes as well as how they handle them. An honor crime is the murder of a woman because she has brought shame onto her family because of sexual actions. Third world feminist believe the main issue is being ignored and instead people are connecting these killings to tradition. These feminist believe power structures and gender inequality are to blame. Another critical aspect is the family rubric and its great importance in Turkey which highlighted throughout the reading. In Kogacioglu’s piece she discusses the way women’s individuality is connected to the family. Reason is the woman is seen as the educator for the family, therefore is the mobilizer for a greater society. This means women lack individuality and instead are connected to the family, their worth is family worth. She also discusses Turkey in regards to to the E.U and how honor crimes are seen. Honor crimes are in the category of mid-range issues. The reading addresses the numerous amounts of committees that work for women’s right in particular honor crimes, but emphasizes the lack of urgent care as explained, “ Yet, to this day, the Parliamentary Commission has not prepared a report or a resolution on honor crimes. Without such a resolution, the issue gets less attention in the European Commission”(135). This shows the awareness of the parliament but also highlights the lack of importance given to these honor crimes and instead pinning this social issue as a Turkish political issue.

Overall, in both readings the writer’s explained the masculine agenda as well as how its practiced and it’s effects in society particularly with women. Enloe gives us a look into the politics of the Bush administration and its lack of effort to empower women because of its masculine military regime. She  also, gave us an example of a beauty salon being a place of political forum for these women. The symbolism of the salon is important  because it’s a place where these women can communicate and spread knowledge for empowerment. Kogacioglu piece focuses on Turkey and its honor crimes particularly on the lack of government support on women’s issue. Both readings highlight the lack of importance for women in order to mobilize a power structure of military regime.

Week 11

Dicle Kogacioglu talks about honor crimes and their role in Turkish society. This is when family members of a women kill her because they do not approve of her sexual actions. This is considered to be a "tradition" in turkish culture. Kogacioglu does not agree with this idea, saying that if men were put in the same position then it would not be be justified. The Turkish government should not allow this "tradition" because it is wrong and not a humane or justifiable "tradition". She talks about how mens right take first priority over women, and the government is an abuse of power by letting these killings continue.

Our next reading by Cynthia Enloe talks about how Iraq and Afghanistan the government and how the military abuses its power, she wants to bring our attention to this serious matter. She talks about how women in the United States, are not usually actively seen and are not included in the policies that are carried out. Women are not seen in the US military when dealing with other forces, and that message is put out that they have no interest in giving women and more power.

Both of these articles discuss the unfair treatment of women in their societies and show where they deserve to have equal treatment. Both readings justify this unfair treatment and women deserve and should be able to have a fair say and treatment by their government. My question is, Where can people start in these societies, and have an actual impact so that women can have equal rights?

Week 11 Readings: Kogacioglu & Enloe

Dicle Kogacioglu's piece is about honor crimes and their framing within Turkish society. An honor crime is when a women's family murders her because they do not approve of her sexual behavior. These kinds of crimes have been framed by Western society as a traditional cultural norm but third world feminists point out the disregard of power structures and inequality plagued by this stance (119). There is a value placed on family honor at the expense of the woman by the legal system. "Legally when an adult murders a woman, the penalty is increased if the victim is a minor and a family member. Yet, while these articles and others point to alternative ways that existing laws could be applied, criminal judges and prosecutors almost never take up these alternatives" (123). When interviewing civil court judges, they sympathized with their colleagues in the criminal court as taking an appropriate understanding of social norms into consideration when sentencing, ultimately lowering the punishment of the perpetrators committing honor crimes. Honor crimes are different depending on different institutions and governments. To me, this tradition is egregious, I mean how can people be slaughtered by their own family because of their personal choices? Thinking this, I have to remember that people hold different things as important and in different societies, different things are held to the highest measure, but it's still hard for me to wrap my brain around this.

The second piece by Cynthia Enloe is about the power of the Iraq and Afghanistan military and how that power is held over women creating a power dynamic between men and women in these countries. The military is an institution with immense power and because women are not actively seen by the United States, Enloe says that this causes them to be forgotten in policies that are enacted by foreign agencies. She invites us to examine the notion of women's status within society being directly affected by the military and invites us to examine why women who do participate in the government sector are seen as not important and unpolitical.

Both of these readings invite us to examine the multiple ways that perpetuate women's oppression in that are both sanctioned by institutions. Just like every group of people, women's rights are directly affected by institutions around the world, all human rights are. What is it going to take for these institutions to change the way they view their people? How much can foreign entities intervene when we can't claim oppression because it is subjective? What can be done within these countries and by external agencies to ensure the path to equality is being taken?

Week 11

In Dicle Kogacioglu's "The Tradition Effect - Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey"  she describes honor crimes and how the perceptions of honor killings are primarily based on tradition or culture and are referred to as “ codes of honor.Honor crimes stand at the intersection of multiple political and social dynamics. She argues against this way of thinking and states that once tradition is blamed people feel there is no necessity to inquire into the ways the institution can be implicated in the making of honor killings. She critiques the differences in law for honor killings where women are victim to that of blood feud in which men are victims. Honor crimes are defined as the murder of a woman by members of her family who do not approve of her sexual behavior. Sentences for honor killings could be reduced if the person was feeling “ uncontrollable grief”, if he was provoked, a younger man and for several other reasons all supported  by law. In contrast in blood feuds which occurred between two families and each family kills a male member of the rival family the law increases penalties and deems them as unacceptable behavior. 

In Cynthia Enloe's "Updating the Gendered Empire" she too discusses the effects that military institutions have on Iraq and Afghanistan women. She argues that we need to become curious about the U.S imperial empire, to make sense of and become curious about marriage of factory women, gender dynamics in families, sexual policies the U.S military forces in Afghanistan. Womens roles in an empire are crucial yet over looked as where they are naturally meant to be. Enloe discusses the importance of women’s roles yet men trying to rank and manipulate the varieties of femininity. As seen when the government choses its allies which will more than likely privilege masculinity. 

Both of the articles talk about the power of institutions in the control of women and women’s rights. As well as show the clear separation of women and males rights. For sentences to be  reduced from a 24 to 30 year to only 4 to 8 i think is crazy. Yet when a man is murdered the law increases the penalties in hopes that it will be less likely to occur. 

WEEK 11: "Upholding The Gender Empire" and "The Tradition Effect"

"The Tradition Effect" by Dicle Kogacioglu talks about how honor crime which means the murder of a woman by family members who do not approve of her sexual behavior is considered a "tradition" in Turkey. From 1994-1996, 53 women were victims of honor crime. This type of violence against women is justified by "tradition", in which the author does not agree with. Kogacioglu critiques how men have the protection from the law and if men are victims they are prioritized. As for women, they do not have the same nor are protected like men are. Honor crimes and the traditions they show are different, depending on the political struggles and different institutions; for example the Turkish government. There is a clear differentiation between how men and women and treated. This honor crime should not be allowed, the murder of a women should never be justified as tradition. It is unfair, unhumane and unacceptable it is not a traditional act nor should be tied with tradition.

Cynthia Enloe's article "Upholding the Gender Empire" elaborates on the problems the military has on women in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military as an institution has control, the dominant masculinity takes over and has control over women. Women are affected in the military more than we know, Enloe wants to shine a light on this topic so more people are aware of what goes on in that institution. Women do not have the same rights as men and the issue concerning women get swept under the rug.

Both these readings had interesting views on how institutions treat women, although I personally thought "The Tradition Effect" was a better read. My question would be, when will these institutions treat women equally and protect them as much as they protect men? These institutions try to justify everything they do and never change. It is very disturbing that "honor crime" is allowed and that the government does not do anything to defend women from this horrific act.

Week 11: Cynthia Enloe and Dicle Kogacioglu

Both authors for this week, Cynthia Enloe and Dicle Kogacioglu, discuss the role of institutions in perpetuating gender disparity and oppression in the Middle East- Enloe looks specifically at Afghanistan and Iraq, while Kogacioglu looks at Turkey.

Enloe's article "Upholding the Gender Empire" looks at the harmful effects military institutions have on women in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the United States's mission to develop into an empire, they must develop relationships with local military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq- relationships, Enloe argues, that turn a blind eye to the patriarchal ideologies and abuses the local forces implement, and instead are forged on a connection between men for their participation in the masculinity of combat. This blind eye occurs because for the US, women are not actively seen and therefore are not considered in the policies or actions of allied military forces. Enloe argues that to the contrary, all women are consistently affected and influenced by the actions of military forces- not just women involved in government, but women who participate in domains seen as unpolitical (such as beauty parlors). Enloe discusses how crucial it is to consider as well as question the position of women in a society affected by military. The US fails to do this when it forms alliances with local forces that do not exhibit an interest in empowering women; consequentially, women's rights are not considered pressing issues, and toxic masculinity will only be perpetuated.

Kogacioglu writes "Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey" on the practice of honor killings in Turkey (defined as "the murder of a woman by members of her family who do not approve of her sexual behavior" (Kogacioglu 118)), and the dangerous effects of attributing this practice solely to tradition. While dominant understandings of honor killings are quick to blame them on the prevalence of tradition, Kogacioglu recognizes that honor killings are conducted from a number of factors, particularly, Turkish government institutions that portray themselves as modern and Westernized. Like Enloe, Kogacioglu critiques institutions that allow for a perpetuation of patriarchal power; in this case, institutions like the law allow for loopholes around punishment of honor killings (where victims are women) but crack down on another "tradition-based" crime, blood feuds (where victims are men). Such a double standard on these crimes, which have both been perpetuated through history, demonstrates a prioritization of men's rights above women's rights and a clear instance of patriarchal abuse of power. Honor killings are also de-prioritized when it comes to Turkey's admittance to the EU- an institute which, Kogacioglu argues, is primarily concerned with the economic benefits of admitting a nation and secondarily with the human rights violation of honor killings. The EU is thus another institution that does not demonstrate active concern for women's rights and as a result, is complicit in the perpetuation of honor crimes.

Institutions play a crucial role in the treatment of women in societies all over the world, even when they are passive about women's rights. So when institutions like the military or the law place women's rights underneath other issues (such as regime control or the market), they become complicit in violations of those rights. Based on these readings, it is crucial to ask- what does it take for institutions to shift their focus onto women, and how can this be accomplished in areas where patriarchal interpretations of Islam dominate?

Week 10: Motherhood, Marriage and Divorce in Islam

In the first chapter of Kecia Ali’s book Sexual Ethics and Islam, “Marriage, Money, and Sex”, she discusses how Muslim men and women engage in these topics, and “the gap between expressed doctrine and practice” in the US specifically. She goes into detail on the development of the dower and how it was not an Islam innovation, but an adoption from 17th century Arabic practices. Then, the dower was paid to the wife as a guarantee that her offspring would belong to the husband’s tribe rather than the relatives of the woman. Because of this perception of the dower as economic security for the wife, this notion has been used as “proof of Islam’s liberatory stance towards women.” The dower being looked at in this way, as the husband paying for his control over the relationship, leads to the explanation for divorce laws. The husband has more say over divorcing his wife than vice versa due to the power role given to the male. In the jurists logic, because of the monetary compensation supposedly given to the wife upon divorce, the power to choose divorce lies in the hands of the husband. This is due to the wife’s potential ability to allow the marriage to be consummated and then divorce solely for financial reasons. “Any attempt to modify the rules surrounding divorce but not these governing dower, as some advocates for women’s rights have proposed, would alter the marital dynamic significantly.” She also discusses sex and the lack of taboo it holds in the religion. She compares it to the contrasting approach in Christianity on sex and the way in which the religion highlights purity, versus the acknowledgement of sex as “a natural and desirable part of life” in Islam. She talks about the husband’s duty to fulfill his wife’s sexual desires but also acknowledges by quoting Al-Ghazali that this is moreso a matter of being the husband’s duty rather than the wife’s right, because the right of sex belongs to the man not the women. Although he may be responsible for her pleasure, the decisions surrounding sex are decided by the husband. She ends on a positive note that although there are challenges that arise with applying Islam to more contemporary views, there has been many

In the chapter “Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran” of Remaking Women by Afsaneh Najmabadi, she talks about the shift of the viewpoint of women from “house” to “manager of the house.” Whereas traditionally women did not have much to do in terms of educating or the caretaking of their children, and the men were the educators, there was a shift onto women playing important educational roles. Tusi wrote in the 13th century that he “considered his ideal reader to be not a Muslim man in search of this-worldly and other-worldly perfection, but an Iranian man concerned with the fate of Iran. The perfect man had changed from a Muslim believer to an Iranian citizen.” In this approach, the woman became a necessary piece in the progress of Iran. Women’s need to become more educated developed as a response to realization of the role women played in children’s life. It was realized that the education of children would benefit the nation as a whole, and therefore the mothers would need to start this chain of events. She talks about one of the first writings that spread awareness of women’s education, a piece entitled the “Liberation of Women”, that was translated into Persian by Yusuf Ashtianti. He published the piece under a different name “Education of Women”, and changed a paragraph regarding the veil, but even with the changes, this was the first time full attention had been placed on the necessity of women’s education. This notion that the “progress of the nation was dependent on the education of women” changed the way in which mother’s and women’s roles were depicted in society.

In reading these chapters, it stood out to me that although the western perspective of some Muslim practices is negative, in what ways do our practices run parallel? In terms of money, sex, divorce, and women’s education, we may not agree with the way the matters are conducted, but what western version of the same thing are we condoning? In some of these topics, is one really any better than the other? Or are they undoubtedly accepted because they are rooted in our historical and political association?

Week 10

In Afsaneh Najbadi "Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran", she discusses the Persian books of ethics. In the book, it says what roles a Muslim man and woman should have. A man was in charge of the household and took care of the financial needs of the house. A woman was to take care of the house and that the only purpose is to property and to have kids. It was believed that the women could teach her kids while in the womb, but the need for educated women grew. The role of a Muslim changed from a housewife to manager of the household. She could teach her children growing up that would guarantee the prosper of the country.

In "Marriage, Money, and Sex" and "Lesser Evils: Divorce in Islamic Ethics", Kecia Ali discusses the position of women regarding the subject of marriage, money, and sex. A marriage obligates the man to pay a dowry to the brides family in exchange for considering her future children as a part of the family. Because of the dowry, it is believed that the man has the power over the woman and her reproductive ability. It is also said that Muslim women has their own sexual rights which are overpowered by the need to keep their husbands pleased.

Both readings had interesting views of a woman's role in societies. I found the concept of dowry interesting because it is a lot different that the Indian perception of dowry. The man would pay the brides family in order for her cute offspring to be a part of the family. Whereas in Indian culture, dowry is give to the mans family to marry a woman and take her off her families hands.

Remaking Women & Sexual Ethics and Islam

In the text Remaking Women, Afsaneh Najmabadi touches base on the notion that newly veiled women of the Middle East are equal products of the modernity as upper and middle class women who unveiled themselves in the turn of the 20^th century. Specifically, in the chapter “Crafting an Educated Housewife in Iran” Najmabadi focuses on shifts of the meaning of “mother” and “wife” for women as well as the roles men were supposed to play in marriage. A postmodern normative concept was that “the father, not his wife, was the manager of the household and in charge of the discipline and education of the children…”(92). The women were not expected, sometimes not even wanted, to be the caretaker or educator of the child. Women were seen most useful for the ability to carry a child in their womb. Often times that alone was their only job, as it was believed the child would gain its ethics and character traits from the mother while in her womb. In the first years of the 21^st century, Iranian reformers began to argue that “reform regarding women’s status was women’s education” (101). A new way of thinking began to arise and it was believed that women’s education needed to improve for the sake of a prosperous civilization. Mother’s eventually gained more respect and they began to take charge of girls’ education by encouraging and creating the means to organize fund-raising events and prove free schooling in their homes for those who could not afford to receive an education.

In the chapters “Marriage, Money, and Sex” and “Lesser Evils”, Kecia Ali starts by discussing the sexual subordination required by Muslim women in both Muslim cultures and Islamic belief. She argues against several Muslim authors, one being Abdul Doe, with his conception that men always willingly fulfill their expected duties as a Muslim man. Ali argues that Islam is “men’s Islam” because the interpretation and regulation is done by men and male scholars. Ultimately, she pushes for advocacy to reconsider dower, spousal support, and intermarriage to form a new structure of egalitarian marriage. The concept of a dower in marriage is most problematic. The common idea of including a dower in marriage is to ensure the husbands words to provide for his wife and family and create an economic safety net. Jurist’s, however, shine light on it to be a form of control and dominance for the husbands to have over their wives and children. Ali brings up sexuality as another problematic marriage topic. “Significant texts in the Qur’an and hadith allude to the importance of female gratification and satisfaction in the sexual act” (7). In marriage, women have sexual rights and Ali highlights the dissociation of sex from reproduction. However, even though it categorized as a woman’s “right” to such pleasure, the concept of women being obligated to keep their husbands sexual pleased often overrides that right.

Though Muslim women have made great efforts in gaining some respect and rights, there is still a lot of equality to fight for. In terms of marriage, what should/should not be expected of both the husband and wife to create a more egalitarian relationship?