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Price of Honour Muslim Women Lift The Veil of Silence on the Islamic World

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The timing of this re-issue of Jan Goodwin's seminal study of the lot of women under Islam could not be more timely. Just recently (02 March 2007) a Sunni fundamentalist group abducted 18 Iraqis in retaliation for the reported rape of a Sunni woman by Shi`a police. Nouri al-Maliki has "investigated" and has denied the allegations. He also has released a U.S. medical report supposedly concluding the assault never occurred. A nurse has testified to the contrary, however, stating that she had seen signs of an assualt upon examination of the alleged victim.
Jan Goodwin documents that the practice of raping women in police custody is hardly new. In fact, it is but one of the indignities suffered by women living in Middle Eastern societies, and it is more common than one might think.
To be clear, the problem does not appear to be Islam but rather the cultural and societal structures in the Middle East. Jan Goodwin clearly lays out the details, the result of multiple interviews in several countries. Her investigative journalism is invaluable in illuminating the plight of women in the region, a condition carefully and almost totally hidden from the rest of the world.
For all who care about what is going on in the Middle East, and for all who care about the lot of women in Middle Eastern Muslim societies, this book is a must read.

Jan Goodwin's seminal study of the lot of women under Islam could not be more timely. Just recently (02 March 2007) a Sunni fundamentalist group abducted 18 Iraqis in retaliation for the reported rape of a Sunni woman by Shi`a police. Nouri al-Maliki has "investigated" and has denied the allegations. He also has released a U.S. medical report supposedly concluding the assault never occurred. A nurse has testified to the contrary, however, stating that she had seen signs of an assualt upon examination of the alleged victim.
Jan Goodwin documents that the practice of raping women in police custody is hardly new. In fact, it is but one of the indignities suffered by women living in Middle Eastern societies, and it is more common than one might think.
To be clear, the problem does not appear to be Islam but rather the cultural and societal structures in the Middle East. Jan Goodwin clearly lays out the details, the result of multiple interviews in several countries. Her investigative journalism is invaluable in illuminating the plight of women in the region, a condition carefully and almost totally hidden from the rest of the world.
For all who care about what is going on in the Middle East, and for all who care about the lot of women in Middle Eastern Muslim societies, this book is a must read.

Having lived in the Middle East for over 20 years I was amazed at the author's accurate perception of the situation for women in this area. Not something that can be done without really understanding the people and culture. A great, intellectual, insighful read. Thank you Ms. Goodwin.

From back cover:
Surprised there is no editorial review on Amazon for this book, with Islam as in the news as it has been last 3 years in particular, and last decade before THAT milestone event, Everyone or a lot of people 'seeking to undertand' the religion/politic of the Islamic world and the dynamics and problems of the high-visability Islamic communities within the USA and Western Europe and places like Australia, I really am surprised arent more reviews, but here's the spiel on back-cover at least.
"" Muslim women, symbols of honour for their men, speak out in this timely and provocative book that takes us into the volatile heartland of Islam, the worlds fastest-growing religion. With a wide-range of telling, often horrific stories about the ways in which Muslim women are abused and oppressed by their menfolk, PRICE of HONOUR shows how restrictions on women act as a barometer for measuring both the growth of fundamentalism and the Muslim regimes' willingness to appease extremists. Informed, candid and honest, PRICE OF HONOUR is a controversial look inside Muslim society today, and a powerful wake-up call to the world. ""

I actually read this book before 9/11 and then re-read it after. It provides a perspective that no other medium has given because it details country by country the effects of Islamic life on women, some mainstream, some extreme but in all walks of life.

It should be a must read for all Americans so they can wake up to worlds outside of ours....in this case knowledge is not only power, it's required for living!! Thank you Jan Goodwin.