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Assignment 12

In her piece, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others”, Lila Abu-Lughod talks about how the West viewed the people of Islamic, specifically women. She argues how Westerns used the concept that the women there need saving or are enslaved in attempts to changed their ways. Western media has made it seem as if the people there understand what freedom is and needs to spread it to other cultures. She goes on to saying how the U.S. was trying to find a reason to to enter the country and after the attack on September 11th, 2001, the United States went in on the terms that it was a war against terrorism. In her argument, she points out how the troops (U.S.) didn’t really understand the culture of the area. First lady at the time, Laura Bush made the point of how the women there were being oppressed by the Taliban because they were enforcing the women to wear the veil. It was all for the wrong reasons, there were numerous other issues women there faced yet they decided to address the issue of clothing. She also directs how the people of the U.S. were also oppressed not being able to dress the way they want without being looked down upon by the community. If a girl in the U.S. were to wear revealing clothing at night she be immediately deemed as a slut or whore, she isn’t able to dress the way she pleases without a guy catcalling her. She kind of wants to point out that the U.S. shouldn’t be meddling into other people’s problems when they can’t even take car of their own. Overall I feel like people should be able to do what they want so long it doesn’t not impact others negatively; people shouldn’t be oppressed.