Interviews with Muslim Women of Pakistan [Paperback]

Chiara Angela Kovarik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Interviews with Muslim Women of Pakistan contains fascinating portraits of of women living in a fast-changing world post 9/11. These women candidly reveal their lives and their dreams, where the pressures of traditional Islamic society confront the intrusion of modern Western culture. With clear insight and a straightforward approach, Chiara Kovarik uncovers an intimate world revealed through the voices of many different women. Includes map, glossary, and photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. "It is clearly stated in the Koran that Muslims should respect other religions." In 10 lively interviews, American teenager Kovarik, 17, talks to Pakistani Muslim women, some she met while visiting their country in 2001, some who are now living in the U.S and Canada. She asks them about their spiritual beliefs, about American misconceptions of Muslim women, how things have changed over time, how they view Western religion and culture, how 9/11 affected them, and more. At the center is her talk with her friend from Lahore, Pakistan, now a software developer in St. Paul, who is devout and educated, vehement that she can follow Allah and keep up with worldly knowledge and technology. It would have been nice to have some specific biographical information about Kovarik, but she includes lots of personal commentary in the interviews as well as captioned photos of her family's trip. Prefaced with introductory material on Islam, Pakistan, and the role of women, this combination of religion, contemporary voices, and a message of tolerance is sure to engage teens. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

"It is clearly stated in the Koran that Muslims should respect other religions.Ó In 10 lively interviews, American teenager Kovarik, 17, talks to Pakistani Muslim women, some she met while visiting their country in 2001, some who are now living in the U.S. and Canada. She asks them about their spiritual beliefs, about American misconceptions of Muslim women, how things have changed over time, how they view Western religion and culture, how 9/11 affected them, and more. At the center is her talk with her friend from Lahore, Pakistan, now a software developer in St. Paul, who is devout and educated, vehement that she can follow Allah and keep up with worldly knowledge and technologyÉ[Kovarik] includes lots of personal commentary in the interviews as well as captioned photos of her familyÕs trip. Prefaced with introductory material on Islam, Pakistan, and the role of women, this combination of religion, contemporary voices, and a message of tolerance is sure to engage teens. ---Booklist

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: Syren Book Company (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 092963649X
• ISBN-13: 978-0929636498
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,669,743 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good intimate view of voices of Muslim women, September 7, 2005

By 

Maria Teresa Olivari "A Person who Traveled t... (Milan, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Interviews with Muslim Women of Pakistan (Paperback)

This books gives an insightful, intimate view of how Muslim women view America and the Western world after the events of September 11. The book is well written and the reader feels he or she has traveled with the young author and journeyed to Pakistan. I felt like I was in the sitting rooms in the private homes of these Pakistani Muslim women, listening to them tell of their lives and of their aspirations. How different their world is from ours, and yet one perceives similarities between these women and American women! Well written, adventurous, a book to enjoy and to learn from! The book includes chapters on Islam, Poverty in Pakistan, Womens' Space in Pakistan, Female and Maternal Health Care in Pakistan, and other educational and informative chapters. All in all, this book is highly informative and fascinating reading. My favorite chapter was the photograph gallery, which made me feel I was indeed an armchair traveler to Pakistan. Well done!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Insipid, May 8, 2011

By 

too many lawyers - See all my reviews

This review is from: Interviews with Muslim Women of Pakistan (Paperback)

I picked up this book hoping to find some revealing clues about Pakistani women. Not in this book. According to most of the women interviewed, to be a Muslim is wonderful. Women are revered, up on a pedestal. One woman even claimed that "Islam is the only religion that gives women the right to divorce". No mention is given about anything remotely criticizing the religion of Islam. I found some of the author's questions to be rather shallow, such as, "Is your life as a Muslim woman any different from that of your mother's or grandmother's?" (as if time has not changed anything). On the whole, I found her book to be rather silly and patronizing. A much more interesting book on the lives of Muslim women can be found elsewhere. Don't waste your money.