Beyond Veiled Cliches: The Real Lives of Arab Women.

Sydney: Vintage / Penguin Random House, 2017. Paperback octavo, very good plus condition. 256 pp. The Australian journalist explores life from the perspective of Arab women, both in the West and the Arab world, interviewing more than 80 women. The popular belief that all Arab men are controlling does a complete disservice to women who have taken ownership of their lives and trajectories. She explores the similarities and differences experienced by Arab women (both Muslim and Christian) in both worlds in their daily lives - work, relationships, home and family life, friendships, the communities they live in, and more. As someone who has a foot in both the Western and Arabic worlds, and with cultural understanding to address important contemporary issues in both, Amal feels equipped to do this by comparing and connecting lives in both worlds. This book aims to normalise Arab women and their experiences, creating a more empathetic response to the perceived other.