Excellent Daughters summary

How important is marriage to you? Many individuals in the Western world today choose not to marry their partners, have multiple partners or are simply happy to stay single. But for young Muslims, marriage is seen as the beginning of a new, better life.

Many young Arab women wait anxiously for the day their father brings home a suitor, and anticipate their marriage day as the most important day of their lives.

Can you imagine having no friends of the opposite sex? For many of us, that’s simply unimaginable. Yet it’s the reality in Saudi Arabia, where men and women are rarely allowed to see each other, let alone talk to each other.

Even if they meet by accident, they’ll do all they can to keep a respectful distance. If a man approaches an elevator already occupied by a woman, for example, the woman will turn her face while the man immediately retreats to wait for the next elevator. Men will also typically leave their seat if a woman sits down next to them on the train, to spare them the shame of sitting next to a man they don’t know.

In the Western world, religiosity has been on the decline for centuries. But in Arab countries, it’s on the rise, as is fundamentalism. For a time, it seemed that Arab women had a chance at a freer life with opportunities, with their husband’s blessing, to study and have a career.

But with increasing instability in countries like Syria, many countries have turned back toward a fundamentalist approach to religion.

Arab women have traditionally grown up in the knowledge that it was their fate to bear children, care selflessly for their family and live a life of extreme modesty. But younger generations are now growing up with new and conflicting information. Thanks to foreign television and the internet, young Arab women know there’s another life out there for them beyond their country’s borders.

Today, increasing numbers of Arab women are breaking the status quo to seek financial and professional independence. Many move to countries like Lebanon, where women in the workforce are more accepted and receive support.

Consider this for a moment: A young woman is raped by a friend of her father's. Her brother then murders her brutally and her entire family celebrates her death.

Unimaginable?

Life as an Arab woman is an unbelievable struggle. But, little by little, change is becoming more likely. Growing numbers of Arab women remain unmarried in order to dedicate themselves to influential careers as lawyers or university professors.

In fact, many young women today now reject marriage, seeing their unmarried life as a better option. They fight to have a proper education, earn their own income and ensure their daughters grow up in safety, with the respect of their male counterparts.