A Woman is No Man is June's @femi.books book club read. It's about three generations of women. The mother-in-law Fareeda who escaped the refugee camps in Palestine with her husband and sons and came to America for a better life; the young woman Isra who at 17 journeys from her home of Palestine to America to marry Adam; and finally Isra's daughter Deya, who is born and raised in America but is haunted by her parents' death and the lack of choice in her future as her grandmother Fareeda is forcing her to choose a suitor to marry. The narrative jumps between the three women and crosses time across the 1990s from the perspective of Isra and Fareeda and to 2008 from Deya and Fareeda's perspectives.
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I had very mixed feelings about this book as it focuses heavily on the oppression of women in the Arab Muslim community and focused heavily on violence against women. The characterisation of men in this novel was the most problematic as the men were aloof and violent and lacked any redeeming qualities. The book also felt incredibly repetitive as it continually focused on women having no choice and it being incredibly shameful to have a baby girl.
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I know Etaf Rum has spoken out about how her story wanted to focus on how each generation of women was trying to provide a better future for the ones following them, and whilst the end did offer hope and begin to show that. I felt that throughout the novel the focus was on the violence perpetrated against women and the shackles that culture and religion forced upon these women. She also spoke about how she wants to encourage women in violent relationships to have the confidence to leave them, which is incredibly important.
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However, I felt that Etaf Rum did not explore enough that the teachings of Islam do not support the treatment of the women witnessed in this book. There was one scene where Deya is in college and they talk about how the Qur'an teaches that heaven lies underneath the feet of women and that women need to be respected.

This small reference didn't feel nearly enough of a consideration of how religion and community can be a positive part of Muslim women's lives. I think the book is especially problematic if this was the first book a non-Muslim person was to read about the Muslim/Arab community as it only perpetuated the stereotypes people have been told by the media etc.
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This is not to say that I feel like this book should not have been written or that we should remain silent on the subject. However, I think aspects of the book could have been more nuanced and considered.

Reading Women Challenge 13: By an Arab Woman