Women in Exile (Feminist Issues : Practice, Politics, Theory) [Hardcover]

Mahnaz Afkhami (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994 | Series: Feminist Issues : Practice, Politics, Theory

Attempting to come to terms with her own life in exile, Afkhami, who was forced out of Iran because of her work for women's rights, sought out and talked with 12 other women from all parts of the globe. Their stories offer a rare and special opportunity to witness the harrowing experience of flight and dislocation and to marvel at the resilience of the human spirit.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 12 women Afkhami interviewed for this intimate portrait of lives in political exile have settled in the U.S., many becoming American citizens. A few, like Fatima Ahmet Ibrahim, a feminist who called for women's rights within the bounds of traditional Islamic culture in her native Sudan, long to return home. "Like a plant pulled from its soil, its roots withering in the cold air," Ibrahim laments, "I am out of my element in the West." Others do not feel at home in their country of origin nor their adopted land. "Being in exile is being outside, at the edge," says Marjorie Agosin, a Chilean human-rights activist who teaches at Wellesley. Afkhami, who left Iran in 1978 when her feminist views became unpopular shortly before the revolution there, begins this remarkable collection with an account of her own exile. The stories resonate with the reader long after the pages are closed. Afkhami exhibits considerable skill in the essence of these women's journeys. Richly detailed, the stories seem cinematic in their narrative, so much so that one forgets this isn't a screen treatment but the oral history of 13 women's flight from political oppression. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The women in this book are typical of waves of women refugees crossing borders every day, seeking to fulfill their lives in ways denied them at home. Though it is frightening to be without a home or the comfort of family, difficulty breeds strength, and struggling to hold onto the past in an unfamiliar milieu paradoxically expands horizons. Some may remain foreigners living abroad; but some, like these women, no longer the victims of patriarchal domination, build bridges to the next generation. The feminist infrastructure they have built cannot be destroyed. Their biggest problem is teaching men how to cope with the change in their women. Some, like Maria Teresa Tula (Hear My Testimony, LJ 5/1/94) and Alicia Partney (The Little School, Cleis Pr., 1991) have told their stories before, but this book offers an overall picture. A good buy for womens' studies collections.
Louise Leonard, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Virginia Pr (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813915422
• ISBN-13: 978-0813915425
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,546,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at women and culture, July 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Women in Exile (Feminist Issues : Practice, Politics, Theory) (Hardcover)

There isn't a contributor to this anthology who didn't show me a life different from my own, from the Chinese woman who didn't want tiny feet, so she unbound her feet at night, to the Persian woman who escaped from Iran with her two children by night with a smuggler who sounded as scary as the people she was fleeing (who killed her husband). What a shame that this book is out of print, and I hope some smart publisher corrects that soon. Gripping stories that make you think, make you want to help change the world, and make you swear to stop complaining about trivial problems.