Review (PDF)

Emirati Women: Generations Of Change

The discovery of oil in the late 1960s catapulted the people of Abu Dhabi out of the isolating poverty into which it had plunged in the 1930s and onto the global stage. Massive construction projects built the city and infrastructural developments altered the physical and cultural landscape; in a few breathtaking decades, the lives of Emiratis were transformed by new opportunities and a social welfare system that offered free education, medical treatment, generous pensions, subsidies to families, and government incentives offered to citizens to participate in all sectors of the economy. Oil wealth also brought new expectations and new life-styles that are often sophisticated and lavish yet just as often criticized for being conspicuous displays of unbridled consumerism. Emirati Women offers a rare view into the lives of Emirati women and how they perceive the changes that have made poverty a dim and almost forgotten memory. In Emirati Women, Bristol-Rhys weaves together eight years of conversations and interviews with three generations of women, her observations of Emirati society in Abu Dhabi, the unflattering stereotypes commonly heard in the extensive expatriate communities, and discussions with her Emirati university students on topics ranging from marriage, independence, freedom, and the future.

Hardcover: 208 pages

Publisher: Hurst & Co. (September 1, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1849040982

ISBN-13: 978-1849040983

Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #3,141,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #53 in Books > History > Middle East > United Arab Emirates #5512 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Middle Eastern #10724 in Books > History > World > Women in History

As its title suggests, this book explores the lives of women who are citizens of the United Arab Emirates. There is very little information on these women in English (or, I suspect, any other language, including Arabic), partly because UAE Nationals are vastly outnumbered in their own country by expatriates (who make up at least 85% of the country's resident population, according to most estimates), and partly because Emirati women are the segment of the population that is least accessible to foreign observers. As a result, while there has been an increasing number of books lately on the UAE and other Gulf states, few if any have had much to say about Emirati women based on personal access. Jane Bristol-Rhys is to be thanked, therefore, for showing the rest of us a bit of that world. This is not "peek behind the veil" exotica, however. The author is an anthropologist who has lived and worked in the UAE since 2001, and in the Middle East for over two decades. She is a serious scholar and long-time student of the Arab world. At the same time, she has been fortunate to forge close personal friendships with numerous Emirati women. As a result, she brings to her study both a scholar's eye and a confidante's sympathies and knowledge, and she manages to strike a nice balance between the two. The book is both serious and accessible--an enjoyable read that provides both first-hand accounts and scholarly detachment. The overarching theme that connects the various sections of the book is a familiar one: the tension between tradition and modernity. In the case of the UAE, this theme is given a particular edge by the rapidity with which this transition has taken place, and by the massive amount of wealth that has been created in the process, primarily because of oil.

Emirati Women: Generations of Change More Than a Labour of Love: Three Generations of Women's Work in the Home Teta, Mother, and Me: Three Generations of Arab Women From the Shahs to Los Angeles: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture Change Your Habits Change Your Life: Break Your Bad Habits, Break Your Addictions And Live A Better Life (Change Your Life, Stop Smoking, Stop Drinking, Stop Gambling, Stop Overeating) Reaching People under 30 while Keeping People over 60: Creating Community across Generations (TCP The Columbia Partnership Leadership Series) Bon Appetit, Y'all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking German Cooking: Five Generations of Family Recipes Cal 99 Pepsi Calendar: Through the Generations : 100th Anniversary Collector's Edition Kingdom Education God's Plan for Educating Future Generations What We Learned: Two Generations Reflect on Tsimshian Education and the Day Schools Family Wealth--Keeping It in the Family: How Family Members and Their Advisers Preserve Human, Intellectual, and Financial Assets for Generations State Terrorism and the Politics of Memory in Latin America: Transmissions Across The Generations of Post-Dictatorship Uruguay, 1984-2004 Trade & Generations (Nick Hern Books) Between Generations: Family Models, Myths, and Memories (Memory and Narrative) To Our Children's Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations Legacy of Prayer: A Spiritual Trust Fund for the Generations Women Helping Women: A Biblical Guide to Major Issues Women Face