Best Books on Women

If you're a reader, you already know how whole books on women are to human existence. We know you like curling up with the good self help books for women and a mug of tea under a cosy blanket, and we do too! A book's ability to transport us to another world and make us feel like we know the characters through and out is one of its greatest pleasures. To that end, let's discuss literature today.

The Marriage Clock

The parents of Leila abid, who are traditional Indians, think there would be no problem for her to find a partner in their South Asian Muslim American society. However, Leila's idealized view of a fairytale romance from the movies makes her uncomfortable with the idea of an arranged marriage. Leila's life plan has always included meeting and marrying the ideal man, so she's understandably anxious that she hasn't done so in the last 26 years.

Now her worried parents and gossiping neighbours have her questioning whether her high hopes were misplaced. Leila concludes that she must abandon her daydreams and enter the dating world. For their 30th wedding anniversary, her parents agree to allow her three months to find a spouse on her terms, and she takes them up on the offer. But they'll step in and set up the wedding if she can't make it work.

Leila gives in to the pressure of trying to live up to her parent's expectations of her while simultaneously achieving her own more Westernized standards of romantic love. Despite several attempts at romance (including speed dating, blind dates, internet dating, and even ambush dating), nothing has worked out. Leila has three months to locate "the one," and with that time limit rapidly approaching, she must confront the potential outcomes of her search.

Our Bodies, Their Battlefield

This is the first significant narrative to confront the scope of rape and sexual assault in contemporary battles. It comes from an award-winning war correspondent and the co-author of I Am Malala.

For nearly 30 years, Christina Lamb has served in hotspots of conflict. She offers women a platform to speak out in Our Bodies, Their Battlefield, revealing how rape is utilized as a weapon of shame, oppression, and ethnic cleansing in modern warfare by governments, terrorist groups, and militias.

By interviewing war veterans, Lamb hears firsthand accounts of the hardships and heroics of female service members and the women who fought for justice during the conflict. From WWII-era Southeast Asia, where 'comfort women were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese, to the Rwandan genocide, where an estimated a quarter of a million women were raped, to modern-day Yazidi women and children who witnessed the execution of their loved ones before being enslaved by ISIS. On his journey, Lamb learns of incredible acts of bravery and resistance, such as the Bosnian women who have tracked down over a hundred war criminals, the beekeeper in Aleppo who has rescued Yazidis, and the Congolese doctor who has risked his life to treat more rape victims than anyone else in the world.

While rape has been around as long as warfare, it is still entirely avoidable. Though testifying to an event's existence won't prevent it from happening again, it may eliminate the justification that no one knew about it.

Conclusion

A very compelling case has been made for the true nature of feminism. For generations, women have fought for equal treatment with men in all spheres of society. It's already difficult enough for today's woman to break through the glass ceiling and live life on her terms without having to contend with the added pressure of social taboos and discriminatory conventions that threaten to send her over the edge.

Report this Page