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Wisconsin Public Radio

WOMEN AND ISLAM

Program 06-07-02-A

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The news from the Middle East is often dire. Kidnappings. Suicide bombings. Insurgency. Add to the list a bit of good news. A beauty academy. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, how beauty salons in Kabul are flourishing and a new Beauty School just might be saving women's lives. Also, why one activist says women in Iraq are being forced to conform to antiquated laws and things are getting worse under the American occupation.

SEGMENT 1:

Lila Azam Zanganeh is the editor of the book "My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes." She tells Jim Fleming that Iranian women who supported the Revolution did not expect to lose the rights and freedoms they had achieved under the Shah, but she has faith that things will improve for women in her country.

SEGMENT 2:

Liz Mermin directed a documentary film called "The Beauty Academy of Kabul." She tells Anne Strainchamps that her film chronicles the efforts of some Afghan women to maintain a little independence and earn a little money even under the Taliban by practicing hairdressing in their homes. Also, Houzan Mahmoud is a co-founder of the Iraqi Women's Rights Coalition and editor in chief of "Equal Rights Now," the paper of te Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq. She tells Steve Paulson that things have gotten worse for women in Iraq since the American invasion because of the general lawlessness and the rise of the Islamist militias.

SEGMENT 3:

Laila Lalami is a Moroccan novelist and critic for "The Nation" magazine. She tells Jim Fleming that Muslim women are trapped between two competing world views, neither of which knows how to help them or asks them what they want for themselves. Her novel is called "Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits."

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 06-07-02-A.

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Books:

Lila Azam Zanganeh, ed., My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices (Beacon)
Laila Lalami, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits (Algonquin)

Music:

• -Kani Sepi/ The Kamkars/ The Kamkars/ Kereshmeh Records
  
• -Don't Cry/ The Kamkars/ The Kamkars/ Kereshmeh Records
  
• -Orientale/ H. Aram Gulezyuan and his instrumental group/ The Oud/
  Lyrichord -Naiman Ene/ Shuudungut's Road: Music of the People of Central Asia/ Frequency Glide Enterprises -Chefti Telil/ H. Aram Gulezyuan and his instrumental group/ The Oud/ Lyrichord

Website:

www.beautyacademyofkabul.com

Distribution dates:

week of 09/16/2007 - hour 2 week of 07/02/2006 - hour 1

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Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

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