Women's voices across the world for justice.

• Author: Cin, Firdevs Melis
• Position: 'Islamophobia, Victimisation and the Veil,' 'Women and Civil Society in Turkey: Women's Movements in a Muslim Society' and 'The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights' - Book review

Islamophobia, Victimisation and the Veil

By Irene Zempi and Neil Chakraborti

Palgrave Piot, 2014, 118 pages, 45.00 [pounds sterling], ISBN 9781137356154

Women and Civil Society in Turkey: Women's Movements in a Muslim Society

By Omer Caha

Wey Court East: Ashgate Publishing, 2013, 222 pages, 65.00 [pounds sterling], ISBN 9781472410078

The Unfinished Revolution: Voices from the Global Fight for Women's Rights

By Minky Worden

New York: Seven Stories Press, 361 pages, $25.95, ISBN 9781609803872

The three books reviewed here focus on one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination: Gender Injustice. Everywhere in the world women tend to suffer from gender discrimination more than men, regardless of ethnicity, class, or religion (1) and gender disparities vary widely making women more vulnerable to poverty, abuse, or political marginalization. Compared to men, women and girls receive less education, remain underrepresented, face difficulties in accessing health and judicial services. Futher, they are exposed to all kinds of violence and unequal standings in society. This inequality makes gender justice a morally and politically urgent topic. Although the majority of countries in the world legally and rhetorically institutionalize and support women's rights, the political will to fight against gender inequality is usually absent. Thus, women become victims of discriminatory social and cultural norms as well as conservative mindsets, policies, laws and institutions (2).

The books in this article focus on the universal and local struggles for women's rights and outline the above mentioned inequalities around the world. They engage with women's is sues from different perspectives, such as the perspective of constitutional law, feminist campaigns and activism, or civil society initiatives. They tease out the importance of an on-going fight for women's rights to make a real change in the lives of women and girls and to create a more just society.

Islamophobia, Victimisation and the Veil by Irene Zempi and Neil Chakraborti is an academic book based on a research project conducted in the United Kingdom to explore the everyday discrimination, harassment, and assaults veiled women face due to Islamophobism. The book starts with the striking quotes of women regarding the everyday Islamophobism they are exposed to for wearing a veil and then it conceptualizes Islamophobia as a form of hate crime. The first chapter of the book displays the colonial perception of Islam and it critically engages with how the veil is depicted as the symbol of 'Muslim otherness' in western societies. The authors argue that it is orientalism and colonisation through economic and political hegemony that created a representational apparatus in which veiled women are characterized as docile and suppressed, regarded as a counter image of western women, and seen as victims of gender inequality. Especially after the 9/11 attacks, this colonial mode of representation gained a new dimension and the veil has become symbiotic with Islamist extremism. It is advanced as a symbol, which represents a threat to western societies with regard to gender equality, public safety, and national cohesion as well as impeding identification. After elaborating on the popular perception of the veil, which is based on discourses concerning gender oppression, terrorism and a supposed threat to western values, authors argue that Islamophobia is highly gendered because the veil makes the Muslim identity visible. This visibility coupled with the aforementioned stereotypes regarding Muslim women makes them more vulnerable to attacks in public than are Muslim men.

The study is based on a qualitative methodology and includes 60 individuals and focus group interviews carried out in the East Midlands, UK. In this sense, the results cannot be generalized but they can still offer an interesting insight on the condition of veiled Muslim women. The findings are grouped into two categories.

The first round of analysis focuses on the visible forms--such as verbal abuse, sexist remarks, physical abuse --and invisible forms--such as being overlooked or even ignored in cafes and restaurants or generally, in public life. This respresents the overall context of the Islamophobic victimisation of women. The second part focuses on the implications of these attacks and abuses on women, their families, and...