Headscarves and Hymens

Headscarves and Hymens Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution

Paperback (03 Mar 2016)

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Publisher's Synopsis

'Shocking, heartfelt and well-researched' New Statesman

'A ground-shaping book that defines the edge of so many vital contemporary debates. Hers is a voice simultaneously behind and beyond the veil' Colum McCann


'A fascinating, can't-look-away, whistle-stop tour of the Middle East' Daily Telegraph

'Brave and impassioned . . . A shocking book, and one that will make anyone who has seen veiling as a cultural issue think very hard about what is really going on' Mail on Sunday

Headscarves and Hymens
explodes the myth that we should stand back and watch while women are disempowered and abused in the name of religion.

In this laceratingly honest account, Eltahawy takes aim both at attitudes in the Middle East and at the western liberals who mistake misogyny for cultural difference. Her argument is clear: unless political revolution in the Arab world is accompanied by social and sexual revolution, no progress will be made.

Headscarves and Hymens is the book the world has been crying out for: a powerful, fearless account of what it really means to be a woman in the Muslim world.

'A fascinating, can't-look-away, whistle-stop tour of the Middle East' Daily Telegraph

'Brave and impassioned . . . A shocking book, and one that will make anyone who has seen veiling as a cultural issue think very hard about what is really going on' Mail on Sunday

Book information

ISBN: 9781780228877
Publisher: Orion
Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Pub date:
DEWEY: 305.4209174927
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 224g
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Spine width: 19mm