Between marriage and the market : intimate politics and survival in Cairo /

Hoodfar's book is a thoroughly documented and clearly presented interdisciplinary study of the economic and social strategies adopted by low income households in Cairo. Basing her study on intensive fieldwork and carefully situating her analysis in the larger context of the economic and political context of Egypt, Hoodfar offers a rich and sensitive description of the ideological factors and material constraints that operate in the lives of family members as they struggle to negotiate their individual status within the family and work to improve their collective well-being. The book is particularly good in providing a corrective to the general Western stereotype of the "poor Egyptian woman," who is often portrayed as doubly exploited by her husband and her religion. Hoodfar's finely tuned analysis shows the resourcefulness and strength these women exhibit as they strive to manipulate, resist, and accommodate the forces that shape their lives. Her book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in questions of sex roles, household economy, and socioeconomic change in Egypt specifically, and the Arab World generally. Upper-division undergraduates and above. A. Rassam; CUNY Queens College