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Quote by Mona Eltahawy

“If a woman had a right to wear a miniskirt, surely I had the right to choose my headscarf. My choice was a sign of independence of mind. Surely, to choose to wear what I wanted was an assertion of my feminism. I was a feminist, wasn't I? But I was to learn that choosing to wear the hijab is much easier than choosing to take it off. And that lesson was an important reminder of how truly "free" choice is.”

Quote by Mona Eltahawy

Book:Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution
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Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution

This book delves into the complex web of cultural, religious, and societal factors that shape sexual norms in the Middle East. It argues for a sexual revolution as a means to promote individual rights and gender equality in the region. more

Author

Mona Eltahawy
Mona Eltahawy

Mona Eltahawy is an Egyptian-American journalist renowned for her coverage of women's rights in the Middle East. Born on August 1, 1967, she grew up in Egypt and Saudi Arabia before moving to the United States. Eltahawy's work spans a range of topics including gender, politics, and social justice, and her writing has appeared in international media outlets such as The New York Times and The Guardian. more

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“Nur Monster zwangen Mädchen und Frauen dazu, wie menschliche Kartoffelsäcke herumzulaufen, und machten damit Schlagzeigen. Und diese Arschlöcher hatten es geschafft, das gesellschaftliche Klima für alle zu bestimmen. Mittlerweile fragte mich niemand, warum ich Kopftuch trug. Die Leute bildeten sich ein, die Antwort zu kennen, obwohl die meisten komplett danebenlagen. Ich trug es nicht, weil ich eine Nonne sein wollte, sondern weil ich mich damit geborgen fühlte – weniger verwundbar. Für mich war es eine Art Rüstung. Ich trug das Kopftuch, weil ich es tragen wollte und ganz bestimmt nicht, um züchtig auszusehen, nur weil irgendwelche Idioten es nicht schafften, ihren Schwanz in der Hose zu behalten.”

InspirationalRacismHeadscarfKopftuchMuslima
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“It's a queer thing is a man's soul. It is the whole of him. Which means it is the unknown him, as well as the known. It seems to me just funny, professors and Benjamins fixing the functions of the soul. Why, the soul of man is a vast forest, and all Benjamin intended was a neat back garden. And we've all got to fit into his kitchen garden scheme of things. Hail Columbia ! The soul of man is a dark forest. The Hercynian Wood that scared the Romans so, and out of which came the white- skinned hordes of the next civilization. Who knows what will come out of the soul of man? The soul of man is a dark vast forest, with wild life in it. Think of Benjamin fencing it off! Oh, but Benjamin fenced a little tract that he called the soul of man, and proceeded to get it into cultivation. Providence, forsooth! And they think that bit of barbed wire is going to keep us in pound for ever? More fools they. ... Man is a moral animal. All right. I am a moral animal. And I'm going to remain such. I'm not going to be turned into a virtuous little automaton as Benjamin would have me. 'This is good, that is bad. Turn the little handle and let the good tap flow,' saith Benjamin, and all America with him. 'But first of all extirpate those savages who are always turning on the bad tap.' I am a moral animal. But I am not a moral machine. I don't work with a little set of handles or levers. The Temperance- silence-order- resolution-frugality-industry-sincerity - justice- moderation-cleanliness-tranquillity-chastity-humility keyboard is not going to get me going. I'm really not just an automatic piano with a moral Benjamin getting tunes out of me. Here's my creed, against Benjamin's. This is what I believe: 'That I am I.' ' That my soul is a dark forest.' 'That my known self will never be more than a little clearing in the forest.' 'Thatgods, strange gods, come forth f rom the forest into the clearing of my known self, and then go back.' ' That I must have the courage to let them come and go.' ' That I will never let mankind put anything over me, but that I will try always to recognize and submit to the gods in me and the gods in other men and women.' There is my creed. He who runs may read. He who prefers to crawl, or to go by gasoline, can call it rot.”

VirtuesThe SoulThe Unconscious
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“The unconscious always tries to produce an impossible situation in order to force the individual to bring out his very best. Otherwise one stops short of one's best, one is not complete, one does not realize oneself. What is needed is an impossible situation where one has to renounce one's own will and one's own wit and do nothing but wait and trust to the impersonal power of growth and development.”

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“A friend asked, "If increased awareness means less happiness, why bother?" No answer. Three or four nights later I had a dream. I was driving. To my right I saw baby cranes — blue-green, all legs, beak, and wings — standing in a field. They took off and crashed, took off and crashed. I stopped the car and got out. "That looks like it hurts. Why do you do it?" One of the cranes looked me square in the eye. "We may not fly very well yet, but at least we aren't walking." I awoke, happy. From that moment, there has been no turning back.”

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“The unconscious no sooner touches us than we are it―we become unconscious of ourselves. That is the age-old danger, instinctively known and feared by primitive man, who himself stands so very close to this pleroma. His consciousness is still uncertain, wobbling on its feet. It is still childish, having just emerged from the primal waters. A wave of the unconscious may easily roll over it, and then he forgets who he was and does things that are strange to him. Hence primitives are afraid of uncontrolled emotions, because consciousness breaks down under them and gives way to possession. All man's strivings have therefore been directed towards the consolidation of consciousness. This was the purpose of rite and dogma; they were dams and walls to keep back the dangers of the unconscious, the "perils of the soul." Primitive rites consist accordingly in the exorcising of spirits, the lifting of spells, the averting of the evil omen, propitiation, purification, and the production by sympathetic magic of helpful occurrences.”

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“Those who lack the ability to build relationships based on genuine human values and the strength of their own character often try to buy relationships by offering expensive gifts — even at the very beginning, when both people barely know each other. This is a clear red flag for a dignified girl or woman, prompting her to ask: Why is he giving such an expensive gift so early, before the relationship has even begun? Is he trying to buy my affection? or trying to impress by money. Why offer luxury before love, and expensive gifts before trust? Genuine relationships are built on values, respect, and character — not on material offerings. When someone gives an expensive gift too early, before there’s emotional depth or understanding, it often reflects not generosity, but insecurity or a subtle form of manipulation tactic.”

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