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- Title
ARAB WOMEN'S ROLE IN THE TALES OF ARABIAN NIGHTS.
- Authors
Ali AL-Hemyari, Hasna'a Saeed; Pawar, Sadashiv
- Abstract
The present research is a modest attempt to discuss the role of women in the Arab-Islamic societieswith special reference to the tales of Arabian Nights. Arab tales depict Arab Muslim women as rebellious against mail dominated society. They denied to play roles of beautiful mistress, slaves and enthralled to men, and as detained prisoners secluded from the outside world.Shahrazad, as a woman, determines to help the other women get rid of the bondage of their abusive husbands. In "Merchant Trader and Wife" and "The Porter and the Three Sisters", the women are brutally beaten and exploited. In "Three Apple Stories", they are beaten and even killed. For the modern reader, it may seem that women have no rights in these stories. Women are housed in the harem and the husband can divorce or take another wife at any time. The following pages is an attempt to show the reality of Arab women's role and examine how the women are represented in the Arabian Nights in a wrong and despicable way, compared to their role in other societies. Although Arab women play various roles in social life, these tales despise their contributions by portraying them as backward. The paper argues that Arab women have authority and power within their families. They supervise domestic affairs in the household. They also enjoy many rights and power. Mother could help to choose husbands or wives for their children, some of whom take over the financial affairs for family businesses. Wealthy women have reached the highest levels, participating in politics and having the leading roles in cultural business. The woman is not just a housewife, but a teacher, a doctor, a politician, an engineer, etc. Arab women enjoy many rights. The Quran helped to support the status of women in Arab societies. Arab women could legally inherit property. They have the right to divorce their husbands if they wish, and they can start businesses. In the past, Arab women were given more authority and power than women in Ancient China and Roman times. In addition, Queen Balqees ruled Yemen after her father's death, the King of Sheba, and followed the Kings of 'Humier'. Her armies defeated and invaded Babylon, Persia and Iraq, and they assigned rulers in these regions. She went back to Yemen to declare it as the 'Kingdom of Sheba. In short Muslim women played very important roles in past and continue to enjoy the high position in society. The present paper attempts to study the status of Arabian women in Arabian Nights.
- Subjects
YEMEN (Republic); ARAB women; RELIGIOUS societies; MUSLIM women; SOCIAL status
- Publication
Literary Endeavour, 2018, Vol 9, Issue 4, p187
- ISSN
0976-299X
- Publication type
Article