Broken Bangles

by Hanifa Deen

Hanifa Deen travelled through Bangladesh and Pakistan to discover the many faces of Muslim women today, meeting and talking to mavericks, feminists and starry-eyed foreign wives; actresses and socialites; urban professionals and rural women who had never left their village. With humour, compassion and insight, Deen relates stories of their fight against oppression, of the friendship of women, of the joys and frustrations of the extended family, of the unwritten laws that govern women's lives and the violence that can threaten them.

Genres: Travel, Pakistan, Nonfiction

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanifa Deen is an Australian of Bangladeshi descent went to Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1995 with the idea of writing a book about women’s lives. (she describes herself as a 'Muslim maverick.'- Tongue firmly planted in cheek, I imagine!) Her plan was explore beyond the usual accounts of women in Islamic societies, reasoning that most people’s perceptions of the Muslim woman were “centered on the Middle East, yet there are more Muslims in South Asia and Southeast Asia than anywhere else in the world.” The end result is interesting, thought provoking, enlightening, and disturbing. We read of banned feminist Selina Hossain, of Yasmeen, a young girl brutally killed, and others. The first half of the book focused on Bangladesh, the second on Pakistan, but each are equally interesting. I don't think this book is widely available in the US, and was very glad for the chance to read it.

Book Description
Hanifa Deen travelled through Bangladesh and Pakistan to discover the many faces of Muslim women today, meeting and talking to mavericks, feminists and starry-eyed foreign wives; actresses and socialites; urban professionals and rural women who had never left their village. With humour, compassion and insight, Deen relates stories of their fight against opression, of the friendship of women, of the joys and frustrations of the extended family, of the unwritten laws that govern women's lives and the violence that can threaten them.