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Rating: 
Summary: Don't let the other reviews turn you off ---
Review: A superb book, describing the authors travels to several Middle Eastern countries emphasizing the role of women in each country. In her discussions with local women, she explores the various images of women, in those countries and in the West, and looks for how feminist ideas interact with Islamic cultures. I lead tour groups to the Middle East, and one of the most common questions I hear from prospective travelers is the perception that women in all Islamic countries are oppressed and undervalued. Fernea and her associates dispell this idea, and show the wide range of responses and possibilities. As in the West, many people have a reluctance to even use the word 'feminism', when in fact there is substantial agreement on the actual ideals of equality and other principles that transcend other cultural or religious artifacts and obstacles. On our trips, we don't often have the chance to get as involved in discussions as Fernea, with her years of experience and contacts does, but, in what I have experienced (in Morocco, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan and Turkey), her discussions here ring true. Along with Dalrymple's From the Holy Mountain, these are 2 of my highest recommended books as glimpses of modern culture in the Middle East. It was particularly interesting to read some of the negative reviews on Amazon -- I find it hard to believe those people were reading the same book I was!
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, but problematic
Review: This is without a doubt the most informative book I've ever read. The lessons learned are innumerable, invaluable, and unforgettable. Fernea however, is irrepressibly annoying. Not only does she seem unbelievably ignorant about the cultures she studies, especially for such an accredited "expert", but she clings firmly to her own misconceptions and stereotypes, regardless of what her interviewees may say. I give her credit though, for being so honest. In that position, I might have tried to make it sound like I knew what I was talking about.
Rating: 
Summary: a personal account
Review: Very interesting personal account of a Western woman's experiences in the Middle-East, giving a voice to those who really have no voice: the women. No, this isn't scholarly and her lack of ability to speak Arabic certainly handicaps her, but still this is valuable. Those who complain about the emphasis on clothing are either apologists or fail to understand the meaning of such required restrictive dress to Western women: it means a lack of ability to move about freely (because of voluminous fabric or the heat of wearing such occulsive clothes) as well as, more seriously, the idea that women are objects to be kept secluded because they belong to a man. It means that women are responsible for men's morality and must pay for men's inability to exhibit self-control. I don't think Fernea did a good job of explaining her own view of such subjects.
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