Routledge Handbook on Women in the Middle East

Book excerpt: "The Routledge Handbook of Women in the Middle East provides an overview of the key historical, social, economic, political, religious, and cultural issues which have shaped the conditions and status of women in the region. The book is divided into eleven thematic sections, providing a comprehensive guide to understanding the current and historical contexts of women in the Middle East, each giving ground-breaking insights into various aspects of women's movements: The importance of historical context including pre-Islamic through post-colonial histories, The importance of politics and the state in understanding women in the Middle East, Women's roles in political and social movements, The impacts of the formal and informal economies and education on women of the region, Women's spaces and the creation of publics and counter publics, The effects of war, displacement, and other forms of gendered violence, Women, family, and the state, Discourses and practices of religion, Women and Health, Practices Bodies and sexualities, Women and sites of cultural productions, A unique overview of cutting-edge research in the key arenas of pre-Islamic to post-colonial histories, this handbook will pivot the way future generations of scholars engage with and add to the vast repository of socio-political studies of the Middle East. It will thus be of interest to researchers in gender studies, women's studies, pre-Islamic and post-Colonial studies, feminist studies, and socio-political & socio-economic studies"--