The condition of women represents one of the most debated aspects of Islam in the West. How can democracy be possible in the Arab-Muslim world if half of the population—the female half—remains marginalized and oppressed? Thus, women who fight for their rights are the essential ferment, the true engine of change in the Muslim world. Their revolution is tenacious and silent, in a complex, mysterious, and fascinating universe. Still too little known to us Westerners.
Lilli Gruber, who has explored this controversial reality in her book Le figlie dell’Islam (The Daughters of Islam), chose to tell the stories of ordinary women, whose names are destined to remain unknown and whose daily struggles will remain in the shadows. But also of their famous "sisters," known for their activities and humanitarian work, such as Salma Yacoob, one of the thirty most influential women in the United Kingdom, Egyptian intellectual Nawal El Sadaawi, or Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Completing a journey from the Arabian Peninsula, through Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco, to the European cities where Muslim women experience the clash of civilizations firsthand. Perhaps addressing the destinies of women in the Muslim world can also help us reflect on those of women in Western society.
