#85 - Amal Awad / Beyond veiled clichés (her book title!)

On this episode of the podcast, we were lucky enough to be joined by Amal Awad. Amal is a writer, director and performer, and as a journalist has contributed to publications including The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, ELLE and Frankie. She’s produced and presented for ABC Radio National, and is the author of eight books, both fiction and non-fiction.  Together, Amal and Jane had a conversation about the complexity of the experience of wearing a veil, and the personal and societal pressures that play into this. They spoke about modesty and the policing women’s bodies in society, as well as the contrasts between wearing the veil in the Western world compared to in the Arab world. Amal and Jane also had a discussion about female sexuality and education around sex and bodies. Find Amal here: https://amalawad.com/ Read 'Beyond Veiled Clichés': https://amzn.asia/d/bOs4xPcWatch ABC Australia’s video, Why Muslim women wear a hijab, burka or niqab & the importance of modesty in Islam: https://youtu.be/hkLjExxCQdY?si=piVVLOL-uLBCT5me TIMESTAMPS 00:00 – Intro  00:41 – How does Amal’s work connect with Sex in Space?   02:23 – The need for nuanced conversations about the veil 06:51 – Amal’s experience wearing a headscarf 11:22 – The policing of women and their bodies 15:08 – The veil and symbolism 19:16 – The difference between belief and faith 22:57 – Wearing the veil in the Arab world vs the Western world 26:23 – Female sexuality and religion 32:24 – Understanding the lack of education around sex and bodies 35:07 – Different expressions of modesty 38:54 – Why Amal chose to stop wearing the headscarf 43:25 – About Amal’s book: Bitter and Sweet 49:16 – Conclusion  -----------------  Check out our books, 'How to talk with your kids about porn' and 'The Organ Education Forgot', available at https://www.sexinspace.com/books to download or buy.  Follow us here: https://www.instagram.com/sexinspacedotcom https://www.tiktok.com/@sexinspacedotcom https://www.facebook.com/sexinspacedotcom https://www.youtube.com/@sexinspace For more info, check out our website at: https://www.sexinspace.com/  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.