Create a List of the 5 “Most Powerful” people in the United States.

 Students will be able to define the term “oppression”.  Students will compare the treatment of women in two different cultures.  Students will debate if our views on how women are treated in Islam fit the definition of ethnocentrism.

YES or NO – come up with 2 or 3 points to support you position.

5 words that immediately come to mind when you look at the following pictures.

Are Islamic women oppressed? Why or Why not?

Time Photo Essay

 Working with a partner, log onto your laptop.  Go to the following site: /mideast/questions/women/index.html /mideast/questions/women/index.html  Read the article.  Find 6 examples that go AGAINST the stereotype that Islam oppresses woman.  Write them in your notes.

Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina Wazed  Is from a prominent family in Bangladesh.  She has served previously and is the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh.

NunMother Teresa  Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun who worked with the poorest of the poor in the slums of Calcutta, India.

Prime MinisterBenazir Bhutto  Became Prime Minister of Pakistan at the age of 35.  She is the first woman to lead an Islamic country as the head of state.

Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi  Indira Gandhi was the first (and to date only) female Prime Minister of the country of India.

QueenQueen Rania of Jordan  Queen Rania is married to King Abdullah II of Jordan.  She is well educated and is considered to be one of her husbands closest advisors.

 Why has the United States NOT had a female President?  Do you think that will change soon? If so, Why? If not, Why not?  What does it say about our supposedly “modern” society that we have not had a female head of state?  Do you feel that Islam oppresses Women?

 Like most topics in the study of World Cultures, the question of the treatment of women in Islamic countries is a complicated one.  In today’s lesson we learned to look at our own culture’s treatment of women so we can begin to make an honest comparison.  Tomorrow, we will explore the darker side of this issue when we take a reading test on the same topic.

 Students will be able to define the term “oppression”.  Students will compare the treatment of women in two different cultures.  Students will debate if our views on how women are treated in Islam fit the definition of ethnocentrism.