Kristof arasimpantheon on a 20082009 survey of egyptian youth that asked about the social acceptability of wife beating. The result is sex and the citadel, an informative, insightful and engaging account of a highly sensitive and still largely secret aspect of arab society. But was the book random house decided not to publish worth all the fuss. He reckons the best way to get that message across is to use the enormously popular medium of music videos. Sex and the citadel peeks inside private lives in the arab. The author has placed her observations and data in a very readerfriendly format. She contrasts the avidly sensual egypt of past centuries with the arab worlds view of a prim and. This is the thesis on which the book sex and the citadel is based, a book about as the title has it intimate life in a changing arab world. Every chapter starts with a pithy statement by her egyptian grandmother. Shortlisted for the guardian first book award and longlisted for the orwell prize important, brave and necessary naomi wolf. Intimacy and the middle east the times they will be a. She works out of cairo and london, and sex and the citadel is her first book.
The beautiful, complex symbolism behind the image suits shereen elfekis book. The words are all longforgotten arabic terms for sex. Shereen started her career in medical science, with a phd in immunology from trinity college, cambridge, before. This showed up in my facebook memories so i cant recall. Intimate life in a changing arab world, any suspicion that her book is dry and academic evaporates. She is an expert on the intersection of political and intimate rights in the arab, and wider islamic, world. She is former vicechair of the uns global commission on hiv and the law, as well as a ted global fellow. This survey of sexual habits across the arab world is as seriousminded as it is entertaining. Sex and the citadel is a piercing view, probably unique in the english language, into the private lives of arab couples.
The book blends interviews, statistics, opinion polls. As we watch the unfolding of the arab spring she takes us into the heart of some of the toughest debates confronting people across the arab world, in particular how to reconcile religious teachings with personal emotions and relationships. If you really want to know a people, start by looking inside their bedrooms. Arabic script twines in and out, forming the shape of a female torso. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Aug 18, 20 the cover of the canadian edition of shereen elfekis sex and the citadel is a stunning piece by iraqi calligrapher wissam shawkat. Its creator, who is an egyptian tv producer called ahmed abu haiba, wants young people to be inspired by islam to lead better lives.
Former vicechair of the uns global commission on hiv and the law, she is also an awardwinning journalist and a ted global fellow. Spending five years quizzing arabs about the intimate details of their sex lives is no easy task. She is the former vicechair of the uns global commission on hiv and the law, as well as a ted global fellow. Kirkus best books of the year 20 if you really want to know a people, start by looking inside their bedrooms. The area is shrouded in mystery and secrecy and is inevitably a sensitive area to probe into. Sex and the citadel peeks inside private lives in the.
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