Book Summary
Oriana Fallaci, the renowned Italian writer and journalist, has compiled the results of her research and studies on the conditions and situations of women in various societies in her book "The Useless Sex". She examines the places and times where women experience life differently than men due to their gender. Fallaci's travels to countries such as India, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, and Singapore provided her with the opportunity to document a variety of field observations and share them with the public.
The clothing that women wear in different parts of the world, their marriages, the abilities they can demonstrate, and most importantly, their roles in society and family are topics that the author analyzes in detail with examples, highlighting the discrimination they face compared to men. She also critiques these individuals, urging them to reconsider their paths and ask themselves what exactly their understanding of independence and freedom in life is. With her keen perspective, the author criticizes not only governments but also the people, holding both accountable for reforming the processes that would allow for their rightful presence in various fields.
While the author's narrative style is documentary-like, her commanding expression and the smooth translations available in Iran provide a delightful reading experience. A crucial point emphasized in the book is the avoidance of the rhetoric found in feminist statements; instead, it focuses on discussing misconceptions, faded traditions, and the status of women in certain parts of the world.
About the Author
Oriana Fallaci was an Italian writer, journalist, and political interviewer born on June 29, 1929, in Florence. She was active as an anti-fascist partisan during World War II and conducted revealing and extensive interviews with several world leaders, which contributed to her fame. Although Fallaci had university studies in chemistry, medicine, and later literature, she did not complete them and instead pursued journalism from a young age, starting to write books in 1958. This prominent Italian figure, who had experiences of being shot and tortured and came close to death, ultimately passed away on September 15, 2006, from lung cancer after years of activity and receiving various awards such as the Campiello Prize and Berlusconi Prize. Some of her works include: "The Rage and the Pride," "A man," "Inshallah, and "Interview with history."
Who Should Read the Book?
Fans of sociology books, particularly those interested in works focused on women's studies, are among the primary audience for "The Useless Sex."
Book Quotes
Pakistan - this piece of the Earth where romantic marriages do not occur, and a girl does not remain unmarried, where calculations outweigh emotions - is part of a vast region inhabited by six hundred million people. Half of this population is female, and in most countries of this region, women live under a long veil called a chador. The chador allows them to hide their entire body from any non-related man - someone who is neither their husband nor their son. Women look at the sky, the sun, and others through a small opening at the top of this veil, like someone peering out from a lattice window!
The realm of Islam is very large, encompassing many countries, with Pakistan being just a small point within it. Therefore, one cannot judge the status of Muslim women solely by observing the situation of women in Karachi. For example, their condition is better in Iran and much worse in Saudi Arabia. There, something called a harem still exists. The women of the harem have no knowledge of what happens behind the walls of the harem, and when they step inside, they know they will never go outside again.
In Saudi Arabia, women are considered so worthless that their names are not even recorded in the civil registry. Sometimes only their family names appear on their identification cards. Taking photographs of them is forbidden, and few women there know the meaning of the strange word that is referred to as love in other parts of the world. The man is the god of the woman and the owner of her entire existence.
In some countries, men who dare to assault a woman are severely punished, while in others, there is no prison sentence for a man who rapes a woman! In such cases, the executioner administers a harsher punishment! This means striking one of the vertebrae of the criminal's back with a whip so that he is forever deprived of his manhood. It can be said that respecting women appears to be abundant but is practically superficial and merely formal.
I was five and a half hours away; four hours from Calcutta to Singapore and an hour and a half from Singapore to Jakarta. On this journey, I saw nothing except for the geography map in front of my seat and the snacks that the stewardess offered me. It’s a pity that we modern people have killed not only the miracle of imagination but also the excitement for new things along our travel paths. The love for seeing new things and enjoying slow journeys and the beauty of waiting for unseen places.
Airlines take care of you like a backward child from the moment you step into the airplane until you disembark to board another plane. When you reach your destination, they have already provided you with all the information; if your innate curiosity about the dark corners of human nature doesn’t help you, you will only see what you have read in books or seen on screen.
The sun in Islamic lands has a strange brightness. Its light appears white and pure. However, women under chador never see or feel this light. Their eyes have become accustomed to darkness and blackness: the darkness in their mother’s womb, then the darkness of their father’s house, after that the darkness of their husband’s house, and finally, the darkness of the grave!
I couldn't distinguish between the sorrow of seeing the unfortunate bride of Karachi and the sorrow of watching the small feet of Chinese women, nor could I say that one was more distressing than the other. I couldn't understand whether the life of boat-dwelling women in Hong Kong was more terrifying or that of this American woman trying to trap a sleepy Italian man! I told Lorraine that I believe most women in the world are going down a wrong path that only leads to suffering and misery!
