‘—

Alfie Corteza Assignment #12

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #12

In “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving,” by Lila Abu-Lughod she explains the dilemmas that Islamic woman face in the eyes of Western countries. An example would be Western missionaries making attempts to rescue Muslim sisters, in the early 20th century by correcting their incorrect religion of being a Muslim to Christianity. As if they were in the wrong for practicing such religion that is different from their own, in the eyes of the West the missionaries had thought they were enhancing the lives of women and the society, but in truth, they were only creating problems. It is in a similar case with the Americans once the Taliban were removed from the region, they had expected that the freedom would cause the women to throw off their burqas and rejoice in the freedom that they had not felt before. However, it was revealed that they did not throw away their burqas but remained in use as it was used to maintain the image of respectability and modesty. Also, it was a way for the woman to roam around the city without a male companion because it covered them with separating and protecting them from unrelated men. Thus questioning whether or not if the Muslim woman does not need any rescuing of any kind. Besides, the fact that Westerners are “rescuing” these women in the Middle-East implies that they cannot take care of themselves and are inferior, while the West displays themselves as superior as they have the power to rescue them. Lughod questions the priorities of these non-profit and government initiatives as they focus on a small detail, for example, the liberation of the woman’s veil, instead of the importance of making the world itself a better place to live. Lughod mentions that the only reason why the United States and the West involve themselves is to benefit their military and economic goals.