Search - Princess Sultana's Daughters

A True Story of Life Behind the Veil is another page-turner related by "Princess Sultana." A member of the royal family of Saudi Arabia, Sultana now is married to a progressive prince, but this privileged status does not protect her or her two daughters from the country's repressive laws against women. Though a devout Muslim, Sultana believes the entrenched male power structure has perverted religious doctrine to justify veiling women and depriving them of basic civil liberties. The lack of opportunity to forge equal relationships with men before and after marriage, Sultana argues, is why one of her daughters became fanatically religious and the other suffered a mental breakdown. This eye-opening account is limited to life among the royals rather than a critique of Saudi Arabian society, although Sultana describes the brutal custom of female circumcision practiced by the poor.

I wasn't as captivated in this book which deals more with her children than in her first book which deals mostly with her life, but it still told a great deal of the life and culture in Saudi Arabia. She seems to be a very strong woman and I applaud her for wanting to tell her story. Even though I skimmed through a few chapters of this book, it is well worth it to read along with the first book, and I look forward to reading the third and final book in the trilogy.

Who knew, that an insight into the lives of these women.

A fascinating look into the life of women in Saudi Arabia. I highly recommend it. I could scarcely lay it down until I finished reading it.