Reviews
The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World by Nawal El Saadawi, Sherif Hetata, نوال السعداوي
tiahey's review against another edition
4.0
I first read this book when I was a teenager and I remember it having a big impact on me, being young and at the start of my (ongoing) feminist education. After many years and a Master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies, it was a different experience, obviously, and I think I was able to read it more critically. The book is in many ways a product of its time, and yet timeless. It works well for someone who doesn't yet know much about Islam or Arab countries, but also for those with more background information. El-Saadawi is also a feminist legend and passionate enough about social justice to land her in prison in 1981.
darencaughron's review against another edition
3.0
“Capitalist circles today are facing a dilemma. They are in need of Islam and utilize it as a buttress against progressive and socialist movements. But at the same time, they realize that Islam has been an important force for people’s liberation at various stages of its history, including contemporary Arab societies, and that once again it can play an important role in the struggle against exploitation and oppression.” (XXVII-XXVIII)
It's important for people like me to check my privilege when thinking about Islam – a fundamentally liberating force in the world. It has unfortunately been perverted and warped by (1) Western powers seeking to extract influence by exploiting cultural and religious disagreements that they fundamentally do not understand, and (2) local despots who rely on Islam as a tool to solidify their authoritarian grip on their citizens.
A fantastic read. Though, I do believe that Saadawi is a bit too long-winded in this book.
It's important for people like me to check my privilege when thinking about Islam – a fundamentally liberating force in the world. It has unfortunately been perverted and warped by (1) Western powers seeking to extract influence by exploiting cultural and religious disagreements that they fundamentally do not understand, and (2) local despots who rely on Islam as a tool to solidify their authoritarian grip on their citizens.
A fantastic read. Though, I do believe that Saadawi is a bit too long-winded in this book.
paulap's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
This book, despite being written in the 70s , feels very current on the position of women in Egypt and the perception of the western world on the topic.
lucyreading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is a fantastic book about patriarchy and its origins, written by a Muslim, Arab woman. Anyone interested in the liberation of women should give it a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Incest, Pedophilia, and Child abuse
fyoosha's review against another edition
3.0
Nawal El Saadawi is a controversial Egyptian feminist who, according to my family, is best known for her opposition to the veil, her willingness to talk openly of sex and women's sexual pleasure, and her insistence on treating Islam - and all religions - objectively. I picked this book up mainly because I was curious to see just what it was about Nawal El Saadawi that prompted my relatively liberal Egyptian family members to call her crazy. As it turns out, nothing at all; my family is just pretty conservative by American standards.
Perspective is such an interesting thing. I've been immersing myself in hardcore feminist and socialist literature for years now, and so this book, to me, felt very rudimentary. It very much has the hallmarks of classic second-wave feminism in that it's very melodramatic (I lost count of how many times El Saadawi referred to women as slaves) and relies heavily on a gender binary. That said, when I remember that this book was originally published in Egypt in 1977, I can imagine what an absolute shock it must have been to the general population; the ideas presented here must have seemed so radical as to be absolutely insane.
As it is, I didn't really learn anything from here that I didn't already know, except for the solidification of some Marxist-Feminist theories I'd only brushed over in college, such as El Saadawi's assertion that patriarchy is inexplicably linked to economics, lineages, and inheritance laws, and that women's liberation can only come with true socialism and the abolition of class. I was actually kind of surprised to see El Saadawi's heavy criticism of capitalist structures, since that's never really something I'd ever heard associated with her, but it figures that her detractors wouldn't talk about that.
My only other criticism of the book is that it's rather repetitious; El Saadawi returns to the same ideas over and over again, to the point where I think the content of this book might have just as easily been summarized in one long, cohesive essay.
Perspective is such an interesting thing. I've been immersing myself in hardcore feminist and socialist literature for years now, and so this book, to me, felt very rudimentary. It very much has the hallmarks of classic second-wave feminism in that it's very melodramatic (I lost count of how many times El Saadawi referred to women as slaves) and relies heavily on a gender binary. That said, when I remember that this book was originally published in Egypt in 1977, I can imagine what an absolute shock it must have been to the general population; the ideas presented here must have seemed so radical as to be absolutely insane.
As it is, I didn't really learn anything from here that I didn't already know, except for the solidification of some Marxist-Feminist theories I'd only brushed over in college, such as El Saadawi's assertion that patriarchy is inexplicably linked to economics, lineages, and inheritance laws, and that women's liberation can only come with true socialism and the abolition of class. I was actually kind of surprised to see El Saadawi's heavy criticism of capitalist structures, since that's never really something I'd ever heard associated with her, but it figures that her detractors wouldn't talk about that.
My only other criticism of the book is that it's rather repetitious; El Saadawi returns to the same ideas over and over again, to the point where I think the content of this book might have just as easily been summarized in one long, cohesive essay.
heteroglossia's review against another edition
4.0
Despite the orientalist book cover of a veiled woman and the fact that the original title was “The naked face of the Arab woman” and not the submissive “hidden face of eve” I would still recommend this dense and intense read. As a doctor and psychiatrist, Nawal el-saadawi has seen and heard many women pass through her clinic doors for issues related to gendered violence. Whether it’s circumcisions and general mutilations gone wrong, or bleeding out and infected from the cultural practice of a woman puncturing through the hymen with a finger to draw blood, or men coming over to demand to know whether their new wives were really virgins, or witnessing the psychological trauma they went through -- she was in direct contact with the culture and women she’s writing about. A generational epidemic where girls are sexually assaulted by older male relatives, girls who are killed for the sake of honour even if they are innocent, women who resort to dangerous home abortions so they can continue working at their exploitative jobs where they are paid less than men for more hours.She also makes the huge but important effort to point out the structural factors, fearlessly implicating religious culture and tradition as well, that continues to be used to justify horrific, systematic abuse against women. If you want to know of a struggle beyond what we usually hear about, I highly recommend this read. Nawal el-saadawi holds no punches.
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