Essay on 'Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving': RELIGION 4, University

This essay provides a review and summary of Lila Abu-Lughod's article, 'Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving,' published in 2002. The essay examines the author's discussion of the societal treatment of Muslim women, including religious descriptions and the denial of economic opportunities. It explores the concept of monolithic Islam and the application of feminist views, highlighting the author's research on the conditions of Muslim women in the Middle East. The essay addresses issues such as moral crusades, the stereotyping of Muslim women, and the arrogance of Western countries. It also discusses the author's use of global scope and ethnographic projects, referencing the Bedouin communities in Egypt. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of liberationist narratives, cultural relativism, and the fight against terrorism, advocating for the freedom and rights of Muslim women. It highlights the challenges of violence and oppression against women in the modern world and the need for a society where Muslim women can achieve their dreams and financial independence. The author identifies the importance of liberationist narratives that might work for the deconstruction of the entire system for the Muslim women in the Western regions.

Running head: RELIGION
Religion
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1RELIGION
The aim of the following paper is to make the review and summary of the article named
“Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving” by Lila Abu-Lughod. This article had been published
in the year 2002 (Abu‐Lughod 2002). Various dispositions regarding the Muslim women in the
society are addressed in this article by the author. They have given several religious descriptions
of the matter and asked the Muslim women to stay away from jobs or provisions of earning
money since it was only the jobs for the men of those regions. Various concepts of the
monolithic Islam have been discussed in this article.
The feminist views have been implied in this article by the author as she has tried to point
out several factors that are quite evident in the Muslim societies. The author of the article is
anthropologist who has made several research works and revealed the pitiful conditions of the
Muslim women in the Middle East countries. It has been found through her research work that
most people in those regions are very much obsessed over the conditions of the Muslim women
in those regions and questioned about the need for them to get employed somewhere and earn
money (Abu‐Lughod 2002).
This practice of oppressing the Muslim women in the society has been termed as the
moral crusade for the people. This is the reason the situation has become quite demeaning for the
common Muslim women over there. The differences between the feminists and sexists are no
more there for the obvious reasons that these people are completely downtrodden and ripped of
their rights by all means (Abu‐Lughod 2002). Through the different experiences, the author has
found out the fact that the Muslim women in the society have been stereotyped completely and
their singular identity has been focused in this scenario.

2RELIGION
However, the distressful condition of the Muslim women in the Western countries has
also been discussed in this article by the author. The arrogance of the western countries has been
taken down rationally in the various Western countries. The contexts that the author has spoken
of in this section are regarding the individual autonomy of the regions and the providing human
rights in the universal manner in these regions.
It has been acclaimed in this article by the author that she has used the global scope so
she could maintain her ethnographic project properly. Through her writings, she has portrayed
the condition of the Bedouin communities in the countries like Egypt. It must be kept under
consideration that the overall oppression on the Muslim women in different communities has
only subdued their experiences in the modern society. The ethical perspectives have also been
discussed in the project through this issue and she has termed the ideal land for the Muslim
women are ‘IslamLand’ where they could experience all the benefits and live in a world without
any violence or oppression (Abu‐Lughod 2002). They long for a region where they could be
financially independent and achieve their dreams properly.
In the concluding section of the discussion, it can be said that this article has provided
several descriptions through which the modern challenges of violence and oppression against the
women can be stopped and they can experience the perfect they have always longed for. This
issue is one of the most crucial factors for the Muslim women to be set free and permitted to live
their lives properly. The situations of the world regarding the Muslim women have been very
problematic and it has been a huge concern for their society in various countries. The author has
presented several ideas through which she has provided some simplistic ideas regarding the
freedom of the women of the Muslim communities. The author Abu-Lughod has identified the
importance of the liberationist narratives that might work for the deconstruction of the entire

3RELIGION
system for the Muslim women in the Western regions. The treatment of the women in those
regions is done through the humor, logic and sympathetic approach. However, this article has
also demonstrated its views on the cultural relativism and the various aspects of the war on
terrorism. Here she has revealed several customs where Muslim women are completely deprived
and segregated from the society.

4RELIGION
References
Abu‐Lughod, L., 2002. Do Muslim women really need saving? Anthropological reflections on
cultural relativism and its others. American anthropologist, 104(3), pp.783-790.