Being a Woman: A Personal Journey to Feminism

Wazir Jahan engages the reader in absorbing stories from her childhood to retirement against a backdrop of events in Malaysia -- cultural, academic and political -- which elucidates the complexities of being a Muslim feminist, in a divisive Asian society. Her narrative demonstrates that each woman can successfully negotiate the boundaries between patriarchy, family and modernity if they believe that being a woman is synonymous with being a feminist - that institutions which obstruct women’s path to freedom can be challenged through recognising the power of individualism. Jahan believes that once a woman understands what can work well for her, within the limitations of her own achievements and resources, she could be able to rise above these intimidations of life and actively engage in pursuing her dreams. For Jahan, femininity and feminism are complementary forms of activism which enabled her to gain acceptance and legitimacy for her work with disadvantaged and minority women. Her frank and refreshing confessions of success and failures in her work on women and gender demonstrates confidence, individuality and charisma -- a catharsis in the journey to discovering the power of womanhood.