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Behind The Veil In Arabia: Women In Oman

Through photographs and detailed case histories, Unni Wikan explores the strict segregation of women, the wearing of the burqa mask, the elaborate nuptial rituals, and the graceful quality of Oman's social relations."Wikan does provide insights into the real position of these secluded and segregated women. . . . All this is interesting and valuable."—Ahdaf Soueif, Times Literary Supplement"The book is detailed, insightful, and . . . engrossing. Anyone interested in the day-to-day triumphs and sorrows of women who live 'behind the veil' will want to read this account."—Arab Book World"Wikan, a fine ethnographer, has an eye for everything that is distinctive about the culture and . . . builds up a wholly convincing picture. Above all, there is a sustained attempt to penetrate the inner lives of these strangely serene people."—Frank H. Stewart, Wilson Quarterly"This book will certainly be of interest to all scholars concerned with sexual identity in the Islamic world."—Henry Munson, American Anthropologist

Paperback: 328 pages

Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 1, 1991)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0226896838

ISBN-13: 978-0226896830

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,246,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > History > Middle East > Oman #1153 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Middle East #2327 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women's Studies > Feminist Theory

It's not as if there are so many anthropology books written about the women of Arabia and their lives. No, I haven't found a great number. I bought this one some years ago and just got around to reading it. The Arabic-speaking Norwegian author, wife of renowned anthropologist Fredrik Barth, lived in Oman for six months back in the 1970s, not long after the country opened up to the world. It was an excellent chance to study a culture not yet much affected by "globalization" (though many men had worked abroad in the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, India or Zanzibar). I liked her introduction for readers, and all her descriptions of interactions between women, between husband and wife, and between women and their families. I liked the fact that she did not swallow the common Western preconceptions about Muslim or Arab women, but dealt with everything as she saw it, with fresh eyes, as it were. I appreciated her efforts to analyze what she saw and come to some broader statements about the lives, roles, and overall position of women in Omani society (or at least that of Sohar, on the Batinah coast). She realized that many Omani women were not the oppressed creatures often depicted in Western press and literature and she described how they relished their roles, felt comfortable, and proud. So far, so good. Very good even.But as I read through this study, many questions kept coming up in my mind. First of all, how accurate could this study be if the author only stayed six months in the town of Sohar, split into two occasions ? The topic she'd chosen demanded a longer period of research, though not all anthropology does require it. Secondly, I noted that most of her friends and informants were young girls, between 13 and 19 years old.

Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman Arabia Felix: An Exploration of the Archaeological History of Yemen (Origins of Arabia) The Food of Oman: Recipes and Stories from the Gateway to Arabia Pre-Islamic Archaeology of Kuwait, Northeastern Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman: a Bibliography. First Supplement (1985-1995). Pre-Islamic Archaeology of Kuwait, Northeastern Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman: A bibliography: Second Supplement (1996-2006) Folktales from the Arabian Peninsula: Tales of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (World Folklore) DIVINE TRUTHS REVEALED: A Glimpse Behind the Veil of the Material World Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil The Veil And The Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation Of Women's Rights In Islam Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives Book 4) At the Drop of a Veil: Marianne Alireza Lifting the Veil: The True Faces of Muhammad and Islam When Night Her Purple Veil (Faber Edition) VEIL Through the Door (The Thin Veil Book 1) (DARK EROTICA) Veil Of Pleasure: (Taboo Erotica) (DARK EROTICA SERIES) George Eliot Six Pack - Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, Silas Marner, The Lifted Veil, The Mill on the Floss and Adam Bede (Illustrated with links to free ... all six books) (Six Pack Classics Book 8) Beyond the Veil, Revised Edition: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society Lifting the Veil: A Witches' Guide to Trance-Prophesy, Drawing Down the Moon, and Ecstatic Ritual The Halloween Oracle: Lifting the Veil between the Worlds Every Night