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In the Land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor's Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Qanta A. Ahmed
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
I very much enjoyed learning about Muslim customs in Saudi Arabia. Set just before 9/11, a British Muslim female doctor that was educated in the US moves to Saudi Arabia to work in an ER hospital. Not only is it very rare for a woman to work in a predominantly male field, but it is also a totally different standard of Islam. Dr. Ahmed not only learns more about the faith that she loves but she learns about the prejudices and difficulties of the women in the land. It is a land of many controversies and contradictions. The reader has an introduction to the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and the restrictions put on women, both married and unmarried. I found the book fascinating.
sas_lk's review against another edition
1.0
Where do I even start? This biography perfectly shows exactly how the West destroys underdeveloped countries in Africa, Middle East, Asia, and South America.
I am seeing a lot of bad reviews because of the writing, and this proves to me how ignorant people are about how incredibly disrespectful and disgusting this book was.
The only message I get from this biography is: "I am a privileged woman from the West, therefore, I know everything better. And I pity these poor Saudi creatures for not having my same reality. And how can these people even live like this? I am so naive and ignorant of real world problems, and I don't understand why these political situations are so hard to change. And my Western values are the only right way to go, only we in the West know the right way of living.
And how DARE they insult America?? That is where my friends and family are! How dare they! How dare they say that America is destroying these countries!? Do they not know how much better our Western countries are? How much better we live?"
Well, Qanta Ahmed, guess what? The west is continuously destroying these underdeveloped countries under the guise of "we want to help and save the less fortunate". There were so many times in the book, where her colleagues tried to explain this to her, but she just KEPT imposing her culture and belief system on there, and completely disrespecting and shutting down her colleagues.
I am genuinely impressed at how patient her colleagues were with her, I would have sent her straight out onto the street and told her to leave my country.
She represents the complete ignorance of Western countries, and that is why I am giving this 1 star. I would've much rather read one of her Saudi colleagues' memoir. Nobody cares about a Western woman imposing her values and being incredibly ignorant and disrespectful.
Thank you for coming to my rant. I took this book personally because we have these Westerners come to my country all the time, thinking that their value systems are best. At the end of the day, they destroy everything we have built ourselves.
I am seeing a lot of bad reviews because of the writing, and this proves to me how ignorant people are about how incredibly disrespectful and disgusting this book was.
The only message I get from this biography is: "I am a privileged woman from the West, therefore, I know everything better. And I pity these poor Saudi creatures for not having my same reality. And how can these people even live like this? I am so naive and ignorant of real world problems, and I don't understand why these political situations are so hard to change. And my Western values are the only right way to go, only we in the West know the right way of living.
And how DARE they insult America?? That is where my friends and family are! How dare they! How dare they say that America is destroying these countries!? Do they not know how much better our Western countries are? How much better we live?"
Well, Qanta Ahmed, guess what? The west is continuously destroying these underdeveloped countries under the guise of "we want to help and save the less fortunate". There were so many times in the book, where her colleagues tried to explain this to her, but she just KEPT imposing her culture and belief system on there, and completely disrespecting and shutting down her colleagues.
I am genuinely impressed at how patient her colleagues were with her, I would have sent her straight out onto the street and told her to leave my country.
She represents the complete ignorance of Western countries, and that is why I am giving this 1 star. I would've much rather read one of her Saudi colleagues' memoir. Nobody cares about a Western woman imposing her values and being incredibly ignorant and disrespectful.
Thank you for coming to my rant. I took this book personally because we have these Westerners come to my country all the time, thinking that their value systems are best. At the end of the day, they destroy everything we have built ourselves.
liralen's review against another edition
2.0
I'm going through a books-about-doctors stage and, simultaneously, a books-about-other-cultures stage. Needless to say, this satisfied both of those requirements.
The book isn't written particularly well - the author's strengths clearly lie elsewhere. She does, however, do an admirable job of explaining the gulf between worlds and the struggle that she underwent to find her place in Saudi Arabia. I wouldn't mind seeing a fictionalised version of the same sort of experience, though perhaps written by somebody with more experience with a writer (or just a better editor).
The book isn't written particularly well - the author's strengths clearly lie elsewhere. She does, however, do an admirable job of explaining the gulf between worlds and the struggle that she underwent to find her place in Saudi Arabia. I wouldn't mind seeing a fictionalised version of the same sort of experience, though perhaps written by somebody with more experience with a writer (or just a better editor).
aliarra's review against another edition
2.0
This book was disappointing. It had a lot of potential with the stories that were told, but unfortunately the writing was poor. Everything was over-described and I found a lot of it contradictory. I chose this book with the hopes of learning something new about a place of which I know very little, but instead I feel more confused than when I started.
cascaderose's review against another edition
3.0
I was interested in learning more about Islam, but I began to just skim the author's very detailed descriptions.
twena2's review against another edition
3.0
I knew little about the extent of oppression women in the Middle East face everyday. This fascinating memoir of an American Muslim physician's 2 year stay in Saudi Arabia was an eye-opener. The book made me appreciate more, women's fundamental rights-- something we unfortunately take for granted. 2 starts for writing style, 4 stars for content = 3 stars.
maze_reads's review against another edition
1.0
An interesting premise told by the most unfortunate author. Ahmed is short-sided and judgmental, making next to no effort to understand the culture around her. In her two years in Saudi Arabia she doesn't learn any arabic outside of common religious phrases. She is downright cruel in her judgements of women who don't think exactly like she does, making me wonder if the story she told was warped by her inability to consider other points of view. Given the location of the book, this pervasive attitude of hers is ironic and extremely frustrating.
The last 15% of the book is the most interesting, in my opinion, but you really have to struggle to get that far. At the end of the day it was difficult to read about her supposedly having 'breakthroughs' or learning to 'be a better Muslim' only for these lessons to be immediately forgotten and for her to leave Saudi Arabia the exact same person she entered it.
The last 15% of the book is the most interesting, in my opinion, but you really have to struggle to get that far. At the end of the day it was difficult to read about her supposedly having 'breakthroughs' or learning to 'be a better Muslim' only for these lessons to be immediately forgotten and for her to leave Saudi Arabia the exact same person she entered it.
amynbell's review against another edition
5.0
You'd think that after working for 13 years in an intensive English program where 30% of the students are Saudi that I'd know more about Saudis than I do. The truth is that they're still mysteries to me in many ways. This book was quite an eye-opener for me because it set apart some of the concepts that are culturally Saudi versus being inherent to Islam. I've read other books such as [b:Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women|337615|Nine Parts of Desire The Hidden World of Islamic Women|Geraldine Brooks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255629969s/337615.jpg|3094971] which were written by non-Muslims who visited Saudi Arabia. However, the distinction this book has is that it was written by a Pakistani/British/American Muslim woman who went to Saudi Arabia to work in the medical profession. As such, I think it probably gives a much more fair analysis because she didn't go into Saudi Arabia as a gawker.
I think that many times non-Muslims tend to lump every Muslim from the Middle East into the same category and assume that every Muslim country is the same as Saudi Arabia. I have to admit that even having had Muslim students for so many years and even having traveled to a Muslim country, I've not made the distinctions I should have between them. There's a strong difference between what is dictated by law in some countries like Saudi Arabia and what is dictated by religion. When left up to choice rather than law, you'll find some Muslim women who dress fairly western, others who choose to cover all but their face, and still others who prefer covering all but their eyes.
Qanta, the author of this book, was invited inside of many Saudi homes during her stay in the Kingdom. She learned some very interesting things as she talked candidly with her hosts. One thing that was shocking to me was that, as late as 1978, Saudi women were not required to cover their heads in public. This requirement came about as a result of the alliance between the king and Wahabis in government. The Wahabis are an extremely conservative sect of Islam. It's members of this group that wanders around public places as religious police. My students tell me that they can demand to see your marriage license and throw you in jail if you're together with your spouse in public without it.
Qanta went into Saudi Arabia expecting to find more Muslim women, especially in the medical profession, who thought more like she did. And she did find women who wished for more freedoms outside of their homes and at least one woman in the medical field who had decided to stay single so that she could maintain her autonomy. However, she found great differences as well. She was surprised that a female surgeon would be willing to marry in order to be allowed by her father to study abroad. She also couldn't wrap her mind around why an intelligent woman would divorce her husband because he wanted a second wife yet dream about becoming someone else's second wife so she'd be mainly free with the sugar daddy benefits of marriage. Even when she thought she found a western-minded doctor to be the object of her affections, she discovered his truly Saudi roots when he insisted on driving her and colleagues over 100mph on the highway for fun.
One experience that I really enjoyed having through Qanta was her hajj to Mecca. I never realized what preparations go into the journey and that there are so many rituals to fulfill while there. It was interesting to see her extremely logical mind be softened by the spiritual experience that she had there.
In contrast, I was very shocked at the experience Qanta had a few days before the end of her work in Saudi Arabia on September 11, 2001. I really did not expect her intellectual colleagues, many who studied medicine abroad, to react as they did to the twin towers falling in New York City. Many clapped, laughed, and said the USA deserved what they got. One person even bought a cake to celebrate. Those who said that the USA deserved what they got said that it was because the US supports Israel and that they've not cared when other countries have been bombed by terrorists. This brought so many memories flooding back from some of our own Muslim students on that day and the FBI visits afterward.
I finished that chapter feeling very sick to my stomach. I can't imagine being in that type of threatening environment on that day as a single woman from New York City. Yet, Qanta returned later to Saudi Arabia and said that so many of the Saudis' opinions of the USA had changed since she was last there. More had studied abroad and they felt more connected to the world through the internet. She seemed to think that if the same event happened today that the reaction would be different. I hope so.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious about Saudi culture through the eyes of a western female Muslim. Her experience was probably more extreme living in the more conservative Riyadh than it might have been if she'd worked in a more liberal city like Jeddah. But I think that's one of the things that makes her story interesting.
I think that many times non-Muslims tend to lump every Muslim from the Middle East into the same category and assume that every Muslim country is the same as Saudi Arabia. I have to admit that even having had Muslim students for so many years and even having traveled to a Muslim country, I've not made the distinctions I should have between them. There's a strong difference between what is dictated by law in some countries like Saudi Arabia and what is dictated by religion. When left up to choice rather than law, you'll find some Muslim women who dress fairly western, others who choose to cover all but their face, and still others who prefer covering all but their eyes.
Qanta, the author of this book, was invited inside of many Saudi homes during her stay in the Kingdom. She learned some very interesting things as she talked candidly with her hosts. One thing that was shocking to me was that, as late as 1978, Saudi women were not required to cover their heads in public. This requirement came about as a result of the alliance between the king and Wahabis in government. The Wahabis are an extremely conservative sect of Islam. It's members of this group that wanders around public places as religious police. My students tell me that they can demand to see your marriage license and throw you in jail if you're together with your spouse in public without it.
Qanta went into Saudi Arabia expecting to find more Muslim women, especially in the medical profession, who thought more like she did. And she did find women who wished for more freedoms outside of their homes and at least one woman in the medical field who had decided to stay single so that she could maintain her autonomy. However, she found great differences as well. She was surprised that a female surgeon would be willing to marry in order to be allowed by her father to study abroad. She also couldn't wrap her mind around why an intelligent woman would divorce her husband because he wanted a second wife yet dream about becoming someone else's second wife so she'd be mainly free with the sugar daddy benefits of marriage. Even when she thought she found a western-minded doctor to be the object of her affections, she discovered his truly Saudi roots when he insisted on driving her and colleagues over 100mph on the highway for fun.
One experience that I really enjoyed having through Qanta was her hajj to Mecca. I never realized what preparations go into the journey and that there are so many rituals to fulfill while there. It was interesting to see her extremely logical mind be softened by the spiritual experience that she had there.
In contrast, I was very shocked at the experience Qanta had a few days before the end of her work in Saudi Arabia on September 11, 2001. I really did not expect her intellectual colleagues, many who studied medicine abroad, to react as they did to the twin towers falling in New York City. Many clapped, laughed, and said the USA deserved what they got. One person even bought a cake to celebrate. Those who said that the USA deserved what they got said that it was because the US supports Israel and that they've not cared when other countries have been bombed by terrorists. This brought so many memories flooding back from some of our own Muslim students on that day and the FBI visits afterward.
I finished that chapter feeling very sick to my stomach. I can't imagine being in that type of threatening environment on that day as a single woman from New York City. Yet, Qanta returned later to Saudi Arabia and said that so many of the Saudis' opinions of the USA had changed since she was last there. More had studied abroad and they felt more connected to the world through the internet. She seemed to think that if the same event happened today that the reaction would be different. I hope so.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone curious about Saudi culture through the eyes of a western female Muslim. Her experience was probably more extreme living in the more conservative Riyadh than it might have been if she'd worked in a more liberal city like Jeddah. But I think that's one of the things that makes her story interesting.
icallaci's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed with this book. Instead of helping me to understand Muslim culture, it talked about designer clothes, expensive cars, and social-climbing Arabs. Each chapter seemed to have very little to do with any other chapter (except for the run of Hajj chapters in the middle). The chapter on her Arab friends' reactions to 9/ll just made me sad and doubtful that our two cultures will ever understand each other.