bold, often startling challenges to Islamictaboos on female sexuality and the role of women have shaken this country like acyclone blowing in from the Bay of Benegal.29The battle for status will be won depending on whether or not the government is able tocensor enough of the information that is becoming available. As long as women do notknow what they are missing out on, they have no motive to fight for their humanity. The paltry economic value of a Muslim women is by far the most important aspectthat is limiting Muslim women's equivocal participation in Islamic society. The majority ofwomen in Islamic countries are kept illiterate and uneducated which prevents them fromever stepping into the work force. In Turkey, which is considered a liberal andprogressive country in terms of women's rights and opportunities, 30% of the women arestill illiterate, 45% are not enrolled in schools, and women make up less than a third of thework force.30 The figures for other Islamic countries are comparatively smaller. JenniferMorris says that in Bangladesh:A woman's productive value in society is equated primarily with the dowry she willbring to her husband's family. Men are responsible for earning the wages, which havebecome crucial for a family's survival as more and more families become landless. Evenfor those families with land, subsistence on small and often unproductive plots is nearlyimpossible, thereby diminishing a woman's status as agricultural laborer and thusincome provider, and undermining her role in society even further.31Education is the key ingredient in promoting a women's economic value and theirsocietal awareness. Since the 1960's Muslim women have been breaking into theuniversity scene. Although education for women has been revolutionized in somecountries, it is still the 1960's hope of equality for most of the Islamic domain as FatimaMernissi describes it:To understand the intensity of today's violent feelings against ...
