In my graduate class about The United States and the Middle East, we discussed the idea that we can judge Islamic societies by how they treat their women. As an example our professor shared a story about a woman historian, whose focus is Turkey, who is concerned about the general decline of women in positions of government leadership. At a conference in Washington, she called attention to these changes and noted her concern for the direction Turkey, which is generally considered a more progressive Islamic country, is heading. However, on the brighter side, women have had a distinctive presence in recent revolutions, Egypt in particular, indicating that women are politically active in several Middle Eastern countries (see attached link). So, is women’s presence (or lack thereof) in public an indicator of progress or modernity in the Middle East? On another note, how can we judge ourselves, or the treatment of our women in the United States? –Huffman