Book Review: A Woman is no Man by Etaf Rum

Way to make life harder for us

A book after every anti-Arab’s own heart

If you think that this book will tell the story of an Arab-American; how their life started and the mountains they had to climb to start over in a very foreign place you are horribly mistaken.

It is supposed to focus on the gender gap in the Arab American community, but the messages the the author communicates are both wrong and dangerous. She blames everything on the culture. I can hardly believe it:

It is common, normal and expected of all Arab males to beat or murder their wives/sisters. WRONG!

domestic violence exists in all cultures. Being a horrible person is not connected to a certain culture! men don’t beat their wives because their culture makes it ok. Men who use physical violence do it because they themselves are rotten creatures. Arab or not.

So thank you, miss, for giving every non-Arab another reason to fear us! Bravo. As if life wasn’t hard enough.

The norm for an Arab female is to stay at home, serve males and depend on them entirely for everything. Again, WRONG!

when was the last time you even met an Arab female? Because that? it was before the prophet, honey.

Arab women, muslim women (who you have been unfair to the most) have tremendous power. More than half university students are females. We hold important positions in governments and have power over the decision making process all over the world. Educate yourself before publishing this kind of material to people who still believe in the oppressed-arab-female crap.

Knowing a couple of Arab dish names and throwing the Arabic word for “slut” in every couple of paragraphs does not make you Arab. What, did you expect a round of applause for knowing them?

so thank you! Now when a muslim girl studying abroad walks down the street wearing her hijab, people will gawk at her with pity and maybe fear..all that violence must do something to her mentally, no?

(shock! our parents let us ride the plane and live alone!!!!) bet you didn’t know that, did you? what kind of Arabs do you know?!

You are on your own. Religion is a last resort for the desperate. Oh, how wrong…

Religion is not a lie. God created you and is always there. Just because we do not understand how fate works, that prayers are not always answered when and in the way you liked does not mean that you get to show it in such an ugly way; that Isra suffered and prayed and prayed and God was silent.

What’s more: the things you show as normal behavior are prohibited by Islam:

• Sweetheart, in our culture male babies are favored by some. That is true. But any child is a gift in our religion, not a “balwa”. How do you explain men crying buckets when their daughters get married? huh? they’re not happy tears let me tell you.
• No beating women. No drinking and No forced marriage. Education is highly encouraged. Definitely no murder. Women can work; the prophet’s own wife was a merchant!
• And for God’s sake, no one buries baby girls anymore. What millennium are you from?!
• Oh and “heaven is beneath a mother’s feet” is not a verse. Please do your research.

So thank you again! For feeding the stereotype. We Arabs really need more hate, especially since so many psychos doing acts of violence around the world magically become Arabs or muslims.

Upset and terribly offended, I officially end this rant/review. I want my money back.