Modernizing Women: Gender and Social Change in the Middle East »

Including North Africa in her study, Moghadan (women's studies and sociology, Illinois State U.) looks at the impact of social change on women's legal status, their social positions, and constructions of gender from a sociological perspective. She insists that, contrary to many superficial accounts, women's lives are not solely determined by religion, but are also heavily impacted by economic development, the state, class location, patriarchy, and the world system. The bulk of the work looks at the Middle East and North Africa, but a couple of individual chapters are devoted to Afghanistan and Iran. This new edition has been updated to take into account events of the past 10 years. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Writing from a Marxist-feminist perspective, Moghadam (economics, United Nations U., Helsinki) argues that middle-class women are at the center of change in the Middle East. She examines economic development, women's employment, the family, Islamic movements, and other social processes in a number of countries, and provides detailed case studies of Afghanistan and Iran. Paper edition (354-5), $17.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)