In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom
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- ISBN13: 9781402210877
- Condition: USED – VERY GOOD
- Notes:
Product Description
“In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I’ve rarely veteran so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti-Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life-changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith.” – Gail Sheehy
The decisions that change your life are regularly the most offhand ones.
Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong.
What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom is a world apart, a land of unparralled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and like.
And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. A place where she discovers what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. (20080801)
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When Qanta A. Ahmed, MD. was a small girl, her and her family tree stirred to England. Her family tree is Muslim. While growing up Qanta was free to live and dress how she wanted, although her mother did wear the traditional abbayah. Qanta attended the University of Nottingham Medical School where she earned her medical degree. To Qanta’s surprise the government will not extend Qanta’s visa to stay any longer. So she heads back to her homeland, where she experiences a culture shock.
First there are the women covered from head to toe, women should not go anywhere alone as this is just asking for distress, and the men are in charge of everything. For Qanta she was not used to this, so everything was a new experience for her, even though she was Muslim. Qanta kind of expected that when she returned to her homeland that she would be accepted straight away and that was not the case.
Qanta shares her journey as well as the lessons she learned in her memoir titled In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom. I establish this in depth look into a country I knew small about to be intriguing. I got to read how the people there lived and how it was if you were a woman. Qanta is very courageous for standing up for what she believed in, as it was not an simple task. Qanta establish herself in a country she herself has barley known. As far as life tale go In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom is a very excellent one.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
This is a fascinating book. I couldn’t place it down. It comprises 450 pages of unremitting subjugation and humiliation of Moslem women by their male Moslem masters. The obliteration of unattached, attractive women from the daily social scene is utter and perfect leaving nothing to compete with the homosexual desires of Saudi men for each additional. It is not hard to know why Tommy Lawrence loved Arabia so much. He could dress up in a long white ‘nightie’ just like the additional men knowing that his unnatural desires would be fully satisfied. The leader describes the universal dread of the Mutawaeen sex police who terrify even men holding vital positions. She describes a dinner agreed by the chairman of her hospital department for his staff, some of whom were unmarried professional, highly qualified, women. The sound of a raid by the Mutawaeen was heard. The chairman, in a panic, ran to call an influential member of the Saudi royal family tree for help. Just in time, the Mutawaeen received word to ‘back off’ saving the entire dinner party from arrest and interrogation and possibly a beating.
She describes well the experience of driving in Saudi. She says that the sight of a twelve year ancient driving an SUV was everyday. The use of seat belts and car seats to protect their children was way beyond the comprehension of these wealthy camel jockeys. The leader mentions an expatriate joke: “What do you call a Saudi airbag?”. Answer: “A five-year ancient”.
One would reflect, having witnessed this cruel treatment of women by Moslem extremists, that the leader would reject her Moslem faith. On the contrary, she goes to Mecca for a Hajj and her faith is renewed and strengthened. It would seem that the Moslem religion, once bought, is impossible to shed. In many ways, Islam is more like a mental illness than a religion.
When the leader lands in New York upon leaving Saudi for excellent, she is so glad to have escaped the suffocating atmosphere of that terrible place that she stuffs the abbayah in the aircraft overhead luggage space, glad to be rid of it. She happily ignores the loudspeaker announcing that the person in seat 32A has forgotten her abbayah and would she please pick it up.
Dr Ahmed is a skillful writer. Every page comes alive. While her choice of adjectives is sometimes extreme my only criticism of the book is her constant reference to the brand, manufacturer and sometimes the fee of items she mentions. No one drives a car – they drive a Benz. To check the time, she didn’t just look at the clock – she looked at the Raymond Weil clock. Describing the father of a child uncomplaining she says “traces of $185 Creed wafted from his Dunhill thobe”. This constant advertisement-style branding degrades the book.
For anyone considering long-suffering a highly-paid job in Saudi, I suggest they read this book before boarding the aircraft.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5
See how man uses religion to continue his power over women & also men.
Riyadh is more extreme than most but George Bush & the religious right?
The book is an emotional journey but from a woman’s perspective & the “Hajj” is a fantastic way to perpetuate the Muslim religion.
Long winded book? Perhaps.
Neil C
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
The leader’s writing is sometimes a bit much – her descriptions of people and their clothing overblown, BUT, having said this, her tale is fascinating and perceptive. The reader will come away with a much better thought of Islam as the Quran and Muhammad meant it. You will learn so much about the complexities of Saudi Arabian people’s lives and the differences in the practice of Islam. I recommend it very highly and thank Dr. Ahmed for sharing her personal experiences with Islam with the reader.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
I read this book with fantastic interest, and have recommended it to pretty much anyone who will listen. Dr. Ahmed starts the book with an honest account of the innocence and ignorance that led her to judge that as a Muslim woman she knew what to expect when she accepted her job offer from a Saudi hospital. The book leads us through the various stages of her education – about Saudi society, about relationships between men and women, about the fascinating mix of mysogeny and liberalism that coexist at even the most elite echelons of Saudi society, and about the difference between the right scenery of Islam and how it is interpreted by persons who hold power in Saudi Arabia.
The personal fundamentals in the book, which include plain descriptions of private moments (weddings, cherished invitations to colleagues homes, a crush on a colleague), make the account that much more authentic and readable.
If I had to sum up the main message of the book in a few words, I’d say it is “Dig Deeper”. This book illuminates some of the deep seated hatred of the West shared by many Saudis, pushes the reader to acknowledge his/her own prejudices about the Muslim world, and confirms some of our suspicions that bottom it all we are motivated by the same fears and desires.
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5