Militant Women of a Fragile Nation

This micro history of the women working in Lebanese tobacco factories under French and national control gives a new slant on the role of women in the Near East. Abisaab (history, McGill University) traces the growth of the sense of identity and entitlement among working women as they moved from a largely rural silk-based economy to the urban one of processing tobacco. He emphasizes the labor struggles in which the women participated, sometime allying themselves with nationalist, feminist or socialist movement, all of which attempted to marginalize them when they were no longer useful. Abisaab chronicles how these women worked across religious and cultural lines in pursuit of a fair wage and advancement, concrete goals that are irrespective of ideologies. He notes that gender was an important factor in their participation in strikes but that it was as part of economic and social identities, as well. The book ends with the strike of 1965. It would be interesting to discover if conditions have changed since then. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Malek Abisaab is assistant professor of history at McGill University. He has published numerous articles on the subject of gender and the Middle East.