Lebanese Women in All Their Diversity: Convergence and Divergence

Abstract

How can one portray Lebanese women in all their diversity? Not all women wear the veil, and many allegations exist that all Arab women are the same. Westerners often believe that all Arab women are veiled, illiterate, secluded, demure, oppressed, and belong to conservative sects of Islam. While there is an unbalanced equilibrium between men and women in the Middle East, women always know how to bounce back from the trials in their lives and not become downtrodden and miserable. Each woman has the potential to actualize her own life according to her upbringing and dreams and hopes to inspire others. The world is beginning to learn that there are both Christians and Muslims in the Arab world, and within those two groups, a great amount of diversity exists in women, but their commonalities are what makes the women of this region such fierce samples of a strong culture.