THE HIDDEN FACE: A SEARCH OF WOMANHOOD IN ARABIAN SOCIETY

This paper aims to clarify the definition and the role of the Arabian woman who is straddling the two conflicting forces of tradition and modernity. In addition, we shall also look at how these two lingering tensions are causing disorientation and continual crisis in the Arabian women’s process of striving for identity. The purpose of this search is not just to understand the Arabian woman. It is also an investigation into the overall essence of womanhood. We know for a fact that a woman in general has some unique qualities which men do not possess, and vice versa. As Nietzsche would say, "Man has not understood women, and woman has not understood anything: for woman, to understand – is to be pardoned." There is, in every woman, an idealistic and romantic ennui longing to be fulfilled for her generation that ticks away like little boxes of hidden switches. In the old Arabian Society, women were valued and respected as important members in the family. Many rights were given to them. Little discords came from their early marriages, their isolation from their male kinfolk, their life circumstances which denied them human dignity and rights or legal status. At that time this beautiful law was given to the Arabian woman from the Koran: "Men have the degree above Women." In summary, in the old Arabian society, we can say that the women were well respected and totally secure. These women indulged in the pleasure of their femininity without the fear of their exploited weakness, subservience or ignorance.