DAUGHTERS ARE DIAMONDS

By: Shafinaaz Hassim

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Synopsis: Daughters are Diamonds is a ground breaking treatise on the objectification of women in honour-bound sectors of society. As a study, it sets out to define these questions: How are the opportunities, challenges and obstacles facing South African Indian Muslim women within the family, perceived and experienced by the individual? To what extent, if at all, does traditionalist culture create/influence a gap between opportunity and achievement for South African Indian Muslim women? The statement that "women are diamonds" is often used by Indian Muslim traditionalists to justify the abject seclusion of women. In this view, that which is valuable should be hidden in safekeeping. The metaphor of the diamond is used to illustrate the objectification of daughters borne of honour-bound societies, and the limits put to the administration of their lives, in keeping with the code of honour. This study is a comment on the notion that, in keeping with this honour code, there is a fine line between maintaining the dignity of a people and infringing on the rights of the individual. It also asks whether women are able to carve out a space for themselves within which a fully reflexive life may be lived in spite of the restrictions placed on them.