After Shock

Abstract

This anthology, a feminist standpoint on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, engages critical feminist voices to counteract the United States’ specious justifications of hatred, violence, and vengeance against Afghanistan and Muslims in general following the tragedy. The authors relate the preeminence and politics of the West to violence in the Middle East, parts of Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. Their objective is to deconstruct the hypocrisy entangled in the West’s politics, particularly the Bush administration’s unilateral, patriarchal, misogynist, and masculinist foreign policies and actions that help create and sustain terrorism. The authors also seek to show that 9/11 is not the only act of terrorism; rather, there are different acts of terror inflicted on innocent people globally. While many writings have condemned 9/11, only a few depict women’s perspectives. Much of the literature focuses on men’s views about the war. Moreover, non-western women have hardly written anything that could be said to document feminist viewpoints on the war. After Shock: September 11, 2001 – Global Feminist Perspectives reveals the invisibility of women’s voices in condemning terrorism and in formulating responses to the terrorist attacks. The anthology utilizes the voices of women from different nationalities, professions, and cultural backgrounds, and thus fills a significant gap: feminist voices on terror and war. This book is one of the most welcome developments in voicing women’s perspectives on terrorism. The anthology is divided into two parts. Part 1, “Reactions,” has three sections framed by three questions: “Whose Terrorism? 12 September to 7 October; Whose War? 8 October to 13 November ; and Whose Peace? 14 November to 8 March.” Captivating pieces in the first section include Robin ...