Description:
Drawing on extensive research in the archives of Russia and Uzbekistan, Douglas Northrop here reconstructs the turbulent history of a Soviet campaign that sought to end the seclusion of Muslim women. In Uzbekistan it focused above all on a massive...
Review Quotes:
Veiled Empire displays a thorough familiarity with the newly opened Russian and Uzbek-language archives, theoretical sophistication, historiographic erudition, and attention to everyday life. It offers the mold-breaking analysis of cultural change in Central Asia.... It is an important book for those interested in Central Asia and Soviet imperialism, and in the clash of modernity and tradition, especially over gender. As Northrop reminds us, the veil has remained a potent point of contestation between secular states and Muslim cultures... and he provides a detailed, compelling, and thoughtful analysis of the hujum in what should become the authoritative work on the subject.
-- "Journal of The Historical Society"