Hi, I am a graduate study at Tulane University in New Orleans, and I am working on an article on Middle Eastern feminism. Do you know of any good sources, speeches, etc? I would love to receive some info that will help me determine why Western feminism is inapplicable to the Middle Eastern women due to the differences in social and economic structure of the two regions. Thank you, Mariam

Actually, I think that western feminism is more similar to Middle Eastern feminism than anyone would lead us to believe. Whether in the Middle East or in the western world, women are fighting barriers placed on them by a partiarchal society - whether it is the church, the state or the family. Similarly there are many outspoken middle eastern feminists. Unfortunately, when they become "too vocal" they are kicked out or ostracized from their homeland. One the most outspoken feminists from the Middle East is Nawall El Sadawi. She has written several books on this topic and currently teaches at Duke University. Two books have also come out in the last two years - I can't remember the titles, but any good size book store should have them. I believe that the word 'veil' is in one of the titles.

Also, if you have access to Nexus or back issues of the New York Times, just last week there was an article on this very topic.

—Amy