Jewels of Allah: The Untold Story of Women in Iran
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- USD 5.99
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- USD 5.99
Descripción editorial
Winner of International Book Awards Winner in Women’s Issues
Eric Hoffer Award - Winner of Da Vinci Eye for Best Book Cover Design, Horizon Award for Best Debut Author & Culture Book
Indie Book Awards - Finalist in Historical Nonfiction and Women’s Issue
Silver in ForeWord’s INDIEFAB Awards for Women's Studies
The popular narrative about women's lives in Iran over the last forty years goes something like this:
"During the Pahlavi Monarchy, women were on an upward trajectory. In a nation on the cusp of modernity, women actively participated. They were given the right to vote and free to be in public without veils. They wore miniskirts on university campuses. Then came the Islamic Revolution in 1979, with Ayatollah Khomeini at the helm. The burgeoning freedoms for women were extinguished. The veil was required and institutions were segregated by gender. The Islamic Republic had thus achieved its goal of resurrecting the image of the traditional Muslim woman."
The problem with popular narratives is that, despite their convenient half-truths, the real story is more complicated, unexpected, and less tidy.
Inspired by author Nina Ansary's scholarly journey, Jewels of Allah is a provocative roller coaster ride that shatters the stereotypical assumptions and the often misunderstood story of women in Iran today. Highlighting many courageous female leaders and advocates throughout Iran's history, the book illuminates the unanticipated consequences of the Islamic Revolution and the unexpected twists and turns leading to a full-blown feminist movement within a post-revolutionary patriarchal society.
Jewels of Allah is dedicated to every individual oppressed by discriminatory ideology. 100% of all proceeds from the sale of the book will go to charitable organizations and institutions, with the primary recipient being the OMID Foundation, a 501(c)(3) registered organization that has been empowering disadvantaged young women for over 10 years. For more information on the OMID Foundation, please visit omidfoundation.com.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ansary, an Iranian-born philanthropist who now lives in Los Angeles, takes an incisive, intellectually robust look at the feminist movement in Iran. She presents six common misconceptions about Iranian women and then debunks each one with straightforward analysis and scholarly precision. Over the course of the book, Ansary intertwines accounts of female Persian trailblazers activists, intellectuals, poets, and suffrage martyrs with the intricate history of the women's movement in Iran, which, according to the author, goes back to ancient times. Mostly Ansary addresses present-day culture and the misguided notion that modern Iran lacks a vigorous women's movement, pointing readers to progressive grassroots efforts, a feminist magazine, and numerous accomplished, professional women advocating for women's rights. This is a riveting portrait of the Iranian woman: her strength, resilience, suffering and hope. (BookLife)