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Rum’s fictional-yet very real and plausible-novel shines a much-needed light on the lingering effects of generational trauma, as well as Palestinian women’s continued struggles to escape the misogynistic chains that have held them back and kept them silent for so many years.Īt Women for Women International, our vision is to create a world in which all women determine the course of their lives and reach their full potential. But it takes incredible courage and sacrifices to make those changes. As younger generations of women begin to realize their self-worth and the potential for more fulfilling lives beyond the confines of their homes, they are beginning to pave the way for a better future. Throughout A Woman Is No Man, we see the suffering each of the women experiences as they give in to or fight against the pressures to maintain their expected role within the family. There, Fareeda enforces the values and beliefs she was raised with upon her daughter and daughters-in-law: that there’s no reason for a woman to read, be educated, or hold a job … that physical and verbal abuse a wife endures at the hands of her husband is to be quietly tolerated … that women shouldn’t be in public without a male family member … that marriage, at a very young age, will be arranged between families … and that women should repeatedly bear children until they produce a son-because daughters hold no value. and raise their family in a neighborhood in Brooklyn where other Palestinian immigrants also live. Eventually, she and her husband make it to the U.S. Displaced during a time when women, many already stifled and abused by the men in their families, became further oppressed due to the ongoing conflict-she struggled in refugee camps for many years. In A Woman Is No Man, Palestinian-American author Etaf Rum draws the reader in as she deftly explores a range of weighty topics-including the immigration experience, misogyny, oppression, domestic abuse, and cultural expectations and taboos-through the eyes of three generations of Arab women.įareeda, the novel’s overbearing matriarch, grew up in Palestine. We’ve launched a space for passionate readers like you to dive deeper and connect with each other while exploring women’s power. We hope you’ll join the discussion online! Don’t forget to join the #WFWIBookClub Facebook Group… The largely biographical and ultimately tragic tale takes readers from 1990s Palestine to a Brooklyn neighborhood of Palestinian immigrants in 2008-where an honorable reputation is everything … disgraceful secrets are kept in the dark … and equal rights and gender equality are something women are still fighting for.
This captivating debut novel and New York Times bestseller tells the story of three generations of Arab women and their respective struggles under crushing patriarchal oppression.
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