The overriding theme of this work is that women's struggles, human rights, myths, and literary expression are indispensable to an understanding of the modern culture and socio-political development of the Middle East region. The work demonstrates that no aspect of Middle Eastern history and modern evolution was shaped in isolation of women's lives and contributions to society. The dictionary covers the biographies and written work of prominent historical female figures in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as 20th-century feminists, both male and female, who advanced women's rights...