Written by Kathryn F Arbuckle
A young woman is heading into the university she attends. She is wearing jeans and a t-shirt that displays, in bold letters, a word of profanity.
No, this is not a description of an American college student headed to school. The woman is a wearing a head scarf obscuring most of her face. This is a woman in theMiddle East.
Clea Bunch, professor ofMiddle Eastern studiesat the University of Arkansas in Little Rock , told the above story Tuesday at theRead Between the Lines: the Narrative of the Feminine Voiceevent.As she spoke, Bunch attempted to dispel the stereotypical view ofMiddle Eastern womenas silent, submissive and always hidden by veils.
“Americans tend to have a lot of misperceptions about women in the Middle East ,” Bunch said.
Contrary to the general public’s image of the Middle East, Bunch said that many countries there, includingLebanonandSyria, are very liberal with women. Unlike in Jordan, women there travel freely.Bunch even described Syria as “cosmopolitan.”
When discussing the ways that misconceptions about Islam can create misconceptions about Middle Eastern women, Bunch said that “some of the issueswomen in the Middle East faceare problems of culture and tradition rather than religion,” and thatthere are actually more movements in the Middle East to remove veils from women than to enforce them.
Despite this apparent open-mindedness, Bunch said that many women are still suppressed in the Middle East, and that America is much more open to the growingroles of women.
“In terms of rights,” Bunch said, “the Middle East is a few decades behind where we are.”
Bunch also said she felt it necessary to define the Middle East, saying that many people fail to realize what they mean when they use the term. She said most of us, when we think of the Middle East, might listPakistanand Afghanistan, but that they are really a part of Asia.
“The Middle Eastis a very diverse area,” Bunch said. “FromEgypttoIranis the core of the Middle East. Attitudes towards women vary greatly.”
The other members of the panel at the event were professorsJulie Harris,Stephanie EddlemanandDeveryle James, all of Harding. Besides the Middle East, topics of interest included women in literature, film and theMiddle Ages.
