Is Diaspora the Solution for Women to Obtain their Social Rights? A study of Laila Halaby’s West of the Jordan

Abstract

This study discusses Arab diasporic women’s resistance against cultural and social oppression on several aspects of women’s lives, such as education and the daily life in Laila Halaby’s West of the Jordan (2003). It also discusses the role of the Arab diasporic women in the West in confirming or resisting such oppressions. The study also illustrates that although diasporic experiences in the West helped Arab women uproot/resist social and cultural oppressions, in some other cases, diasporic experiences helped reinforce the consistency of such oppressive practices. Laila Halaby in West of the Jordan provides several examples of the heterogeneity of the Arab diasporic women's identity/ psychology. For instance, Soraya, one of the four main characters, is introduced as an example of those women who gain freedom in the diaspora, while Khadija, in contrast, experiences more pressure due to her being in the diaspora.