Finding your voice in the face of systemic oppression
A heartbreaking story about women born without a voice
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum is the story of three generations of Palestinian women living in Brooklyn, New York. It talks about their struggles with trying to adjust to life in America while maintaining their culture. It talks about the oppression, voicelessness and abuse some Palestinian women are subject to. They women are expected to get married young, stay home cooking and cleaning and have children, specifically sons.
It is a raw, honest and heartbreaking account of the horrors women experience in such a patriarchal culture, where women are treated as disposable:
“A daughter was only a temporary guest, quietly awaiting another man to scoop her away, along with her financial burden.”
A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
The book was difficult and frustrating to read, mostly due to its subject matter, but how Rum represented the strength and resilience of women made it worth continuing.
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the writing style; the characters felt distant. It seemed as though they were used mainly as tools for the social commentary Rum sought to make. I found the plot and dialogue repetitive; the themes and message of the book were very much in your face.
With that being said, I admire Etaf Rum for telling this story even though she risked perpetuating the western narrative that Arab culture is backwards and oppressive. She makes it clear that the story is not intended to represent all Palestinian women.
There is a lot of pressure on authors of colour to act as a representative for an entire race or ethnic group, which is an impossible task. She told a painful story that needed to be told. She gave a voice to a group of people that are underrepresented in literature. And I hope it goes without saying that this is not the experience of all Arab/ Palestinian women.
Although the book focuses on the experiences and oppression of women in Arab culture, this oppression is present in all cultures because of patriarchy. Historically, wherever there are men, there is an abuse of power that hinder women, but culture can evolve. People are the ones that uphold tradition, so let’s keep the beautiful parts of our cultures and change the oppressive parts.
