Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Lila Abu-Lughod
Lila Abu-Lughod is discussing how the ideas of human rights and humanitarian efforts are in essence being forced on women of other cultures particularly those from Muslim countries. She is explaining how there is no real respect or understanding of differences among cultures and histories and that Muslim women are not realized as individual persons with different notions of freedom and justice.
Abu-Lughod is trying to understand why the US is focused so much on cultural and religious beliefs of certain cultures but particularly the religious and cultural beliefs of Afghan women and using the Burqa or veil as a symbol of oppression as well as a tool to justify military interventions by the US in certain regions of the world. She argues that the western views of human rights does not address the injustices faced by women in Muslim countries( education, poverty and health concerns) including the affects of war but instead are a site of cultural generalization where region, community membership and class are not taken into consideration. Wearing a veil, burqa or hijab signifies community membership modesty and respectability. She makes an interesting point regarding the Jewish community and how women wear wigs which is a part of their “religious belief and community standards of propriety require the covering of the hair” (Abu-Lughod, 2002, p. 785). The wearing of burqas also signifies the difference between the public and the private realm in Muslim countries. These distinctions are a part of their culture and are a mark of modesty. Overall I think the veils have more to do with identity and inclusion in one’s own community as opposed to oppression or lack of agency.
The call to saving others has very little to do with human rights or justice or safety for the women in Muslim countries it has more to do with the US and other powerful countries imposing its values, beliefs and morals on other nations. The western view of liberation does not necessarily align with the views of women in Muslim countries, “they may want different things than we would want for them” (Abu-Lughod, 2002, p. 787). Again the vocations of saving others implies that the “other” ,Muslim women, need to be rescued. But it is really the West trying to gain control of many Arab countries based on “oil interests, the arms industry, and the international drug trade” (Abu-Lughod, 2002, p. 789).
Muslim countries have long resisted attempts by the west to impose their ideas of how to live and dress starting with the 19th century Christian missionaries. The west wants to impose its way of life on these countries especially its religious beliefs. Culture is closely tied to religion in Muslim countries and they hold on to the practices and rituals that are a central part of their culture and way of life.
The use of negative associations between terrorists , the Taliban and the injustices women face in South Asia by the west work to divide nations and cultures by implying that Afghanistan is an uncivilized country and the women are “victims” of the Taliban. But at the same time the west omits its role in the injustices that impact the lives of women from Muslim countries.
Women in Muslim countries are not forced to wear veils or burqas they wear what is considered appropriate based on where in the region they live, their status (professional, poor or working class, marital status, etc) and to community standards.
References
Abu-Lughod, L. (2002, September). Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others. American Anthropologist, 104(3), 783-790.
