In his 2009 publication dubbed Life as Politics, Asef Bayat presents his readers with an impression based on ten years of research and reflections.Apparently, the author’s text depicts the lives of the working poor in the Middle East, and women make up a considerable percentage of the same. With his target population in mind, Bayat’s observations revolved around the determination of how the mentioned group has been central to not only the social but also the political changes of the Middle East. To that end, Bayat’s work provides a compelling argument as the man insists that sociopolitical elites are not the only force that can bring change; on the contrary, there are the “non-movements.”
According to Asef Bayat, non-movements refer to the “collective actions of non-collective actors” who, despite the fact that they remain unaware of their potential, “trigger much social change” despite the lack of a recognized leader. By extension, the notion of non-movements disproves the idea of elite politicians as the only individuals who are capable of initiating change. In fact, Bayat confidently affirms that “it is not through formal institutional channels” that the needs for change become a reality instead it is the subtle but “direct actions” of the overlooked majority that propel societies into better conditions. After all, when the State fails to heed the cries of the people, there is little else the people can do and the only remaining option the development coping methods. Thus, when marginalized individuals and communities somehow manage to acquire their necessities, despite the hindrances set by their government’s negligence, they bring on a degree of social change in the most unassuming way.
In one of the perfect illustrations of the given claims, Bayat focuses his attention on the Iranian women who were challenging the concept of social hierarchies and patriarchal powers. The fascinating feature of the actions of the Iranian women is in the fact that all females held no rights. In what the book refers to as a “challenge [to] male superiority,” Iranian women’s public activity promoted egalitarianism in all spheres of society; including equal rights in cases of divorce. Therefore, to have a woman engage in politics initiated significant social changes in the Middle East, one that also solved gender bias. In yet another example, the urban youth engaged in the creation lifestyles and doctrines that Islamist Movements and the government disapproved. From running their parking services to holding parties behind closed doors, the youth defied the general descriptions of their persons by portraying completely different characters that forced societies to acknowledge the change[s].
In conclusion, there is additional evidence in the ninth chapter of Akram Khater’s Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. Of particular interest is the section on “Young veiled Women Embracing Their Lovers” which highlights on the non-movements of urban youth, something that is similar to the subtle methods Bayat identifies in his work. The non-movements are not in the same proportions as, for example, the Civil Rights Movement that defined the United States societies in the last half of the twentieth century. Still, social change is the main aim and the non-movements certainly bring changes despite the lack of attention.
Bibliography
Bayat, Asef. Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East . California: Stanford University Press, 2009.
Khater, Akram Fouad. Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. California: Wadsworth Publishing, 2010.
