Describe Alifa Rifaat’s Distant View of A Minaret.

Write a critical analysis of some aspect of Alifa Rifaat’s Distant View of A Minaret. This collection of short stories is a very important window into the world of women in Islamic societies. When first published under a pseudonym in 1983, some reviewers ridiculed the work as blasphemous. Other reviewers angrily dismissed the stories as inconsistent with Islamic practice and teachings. However, this non-college educated, little -travelled and only Arabic reading woman has written a treatise which delves into the heart of gender relations in Islam. From isolation and loneliness to frustrated sexuality and infidelity, Rifaat writes clearly and succinctly about the internal dimensions of the existence of women in traditional Muslim nations. Translated from Egyptian Arabic, Rifaat’s literary voice is universal in its message and compelling in its simplicity. These skillfully crafted narratives allow a wider Western audience a glimpse into an Arab world simultaneously different and familiar. Moreover, in revealing the fissures in her society, Alifa Rifaat’s affective reflections are oddly affirming and deeply haunting. Your task is to write a five to seven page paper assessing some aspect of this remarkable book. A few potential paper topic sentence ideas are listed below: Alifa Rifaat’s “social location” gives her …Men and women live parallel, though different, lives because they …The avenues and strategies women use to achieve ….Employed to live out their lives in silence, the women in these stories ….In these stories, men are portrayed as ….A mother’s attempt to save her daughter’s honor reveals that …. is more important than ….Disturbing, haunting and strange, the actions in these stories are ….Religion’s place in these women’s lives isSexuality is a surprising them in these short stories becauseWomen’s songs and stories represent…Rifaat’s book reveals clashes between tradition and modernity in….As a metaphor, the minaret symbolizes ….