1. Cynda Tate
Ms. Lester
Honors Lit/Comp
24 October 2011
Multi-Genre Research Design
1) My multi-genre research paper topic
I narrowed my topic for the multi-genre research paper to Sharia Law dealing with women. I
want to analyze why women are bound to such strict laws in the Islam society and why the law
favors males, even if they are cruel to females.
2) What I already know
I understand some of the basic information about the issue of women’s rights, but I lack
much knowledge about the Sharia Laws. Before my research, I knew that women had varying
degrees of rights throughout different cultures, but I did not know that Islam rule was stricter. I
previously realized how fortunate I am to live in America where woman have many more rights
than most others. Although females face different injustices in Islam culture compared with
American culture, it is a like factor that men are to be respected more and are considered the
head of the household. Although women deserve to be treated equally, I knew that Sharia Law
favors men and that it is hard for women to gain more rights.
Although I was uninformed about the Sharia Law, the novel Sold informed me of women’s rights
in general. This specific instance of discrimination was in Nepal which was the protagonist’s
homeland. There were many examples in the book hinting that men were looked at as completely

2. superior to women. One instance stated that the protagonist served her stepfather dinner while
kneeling at his feet. Kneeling to one is a sign of absolute respect. Also, although the stepfather
is cruel to his wife and daughter, they still look up to him because he is the male figure. It was
seen as proper to have a man in the family in their culture, so they were thankful he took them in.
The novel additionally indicates that women were seen as only good for having male children,
cooking for their husband, and cleaning the household. Although this sounds much like the
Islamic culture, Hinduism was actually the leading religion, Islam being only a small portion of
the population.
3) What I want to learn
There are several key areas involved in Sharia Law that I would like to learn more about. First,
I would like to understand how these laws originated and who created them. I also curious to
why women were put at the bottom of the social class for no specific reason other than their
gender. I do not understand what women did to deserve the constant punishment of violence,
rape, and various injustices. I am eager to find out why it is so difficult for men to change their
social norms. Even though most males know it is wrong to treat women the way they often do, it
is almost impossible to change their stubborn ways. Another thing that left me curious was why
men’s actions affect women’s beliefs. Just because males act superior does not mean that women
have to agree to being in a lower class. Although many women fight for their rights and there are
some who do not even realize they are being treated unjustly, there are also countless who come
to an acceptance that they are menial. I am curious to why some do not take a stance and refuse
to be looked at as unneeded.

3. 4) The origins of my research
The broad topic of women’s rights sparked my interest because I am a female myself and I
thought it would be important to understand the conflicts my gender faces. I later narrowed
the topic into Sharia Law dealing with women because during my presearch, I realized that
women in the Islamic culture face the most violence and discrimination. It made me curious to
why this is occurring and what solutions are planning to be made in order to prevent inequality.
After I read about the gender discrimination that occurred in my novel, the issue was brought
up in the class’ fishbowl discussion. During the time this topic was being deliberated, I found
myself intrigued at what my classmates had to say. Before Sold allowed me to ponder the
conflict, I always had a firm belief that women and men should have an equal role in not only the
government and workplace, but also in the family. It always stimulates anger inside me when I
realize that men in Islamic countries do not value women at all. They can get away with anything
they want because the court system is on their side, and in anything they do, they are seen as
superior. I am a very independent person who believes that I can do anything a male can do, and
knowing that people think otherwise infuriates me. Looking further into Sharia Law allows me to
obtain more knowledge and could allow me to make an impact on those around me.
5) Some questions I have about Sharia Law dealing with women
1) How did strict and unfair Islamic laws originate and who created them?
2) Why were women put at the bottom of the social class in Islamic countries for no specific
reason other than their gender.
3) What did women do to deserve the constant punishment of violence, rape, and various
injustices?
4) Why is it so difficult to change the social norms of Islamic men?

4. 5) Why do men’s actions affect women’s beliefs?
6) How did the traditional Islamic lifestyle of women being inferior develop?
7) What causes Islamic culture to be harder to change than most others?
8) What will be required for women to truly gain complete equal rights?
9) What does the future of Islamic women look like and what solutions are expected to be found?
10) If there are laws against sexual harassment and marital rape in Sharia Law, then why does it
occur so often without punishment?
11) Why does the court system favor men, allowing them to get away with anything they want?
12) Why is it almost impossible for women to file for divorce?
13) Why does the marriage contract often work against women, and why is it almost always
written by the man’s side?
14) Many articles state it is a known fact that honor killings happen frequently in Islamic
countries, so why is the government not concerned about these killings and why can they not be
prevented?
6) My research plan
My plan for collecting information started when I used graphic organizers to complete presearch.
After completing my first copy of the multi-genre research design template, I narrowed my topic
of women’s rights into Sharia Law dealing with women’s rights. This will make it easier to
complete my project and prevent it from being scattered. I have done a lot of researching on the
databases provided for me on Symbaloo and I plan to continue further research. I printed off the
articles that I was interested in and am highlighting the needed information from those. I plan to
explore YouTube videos and maybe even complete interviews on my family members, asking
their opinion on the laws and if they have ever experienced any instances of discrimination in

5. their lives. I believe that exploring a large number of different sources in the beginning will give
me more ideas, making it easier to complete my project. During my research, I will keep notes
in Google Documents and keep track of my resources in NoodleTools. I will also use Scoop.it to
create an online reference to all of my information sources and to stay organized. Symbaloo will
also be a helpful factor in my project because I will have easy access to my favorite resources
and research tools while using this website. I plan to keep my assignment organized and up to
date so there will be no confusion.
7) Bibliography
Works Cited
Coleman, Isobel. “Women, Islam, and the New Iraq.” Academic Search Complete. N.p.,
8 Feb. 2004. Web. 26 Oct. 2011. <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/​login?url=http:/
/search.ebscohost.com/​login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=19250173&site=ehost-
live>.
Ebadi, Shirin. “Iran’s 7th-Century Justice.” Wall Street Journal
10 Aug. 2010: A17. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.
<http://sks.sirs.com/​cgi-bin/​hst-article-display?id=SSCHEH-0-
6939&artno=0000307937&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=women%27s%20rights%2C%2
0Iran&title=Iran%27s%207th%2DCentury%20>.
Ellison, Jesse. “The 2011 Women’s Progress Report.” Academic Search Complete. N.p.,
26 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/​login?url=http:/
/search.ebscohost.com/​login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=65554419>.
Leland, John, and Namo Abdulla. “A Killing Set Honor Above Love.” New
York Times [Dokan] 21 Nov. 2010: A8. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26
Oct. 2011. <http://sks.sirs.com/​cgi-bin/​hst-article-display?id=SSCHEH-0-
9905&artno=0000310101&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Women%27s+rights%2C+Iraq
&title=A+Killing+Set+Honor+Above+Love&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N>.
Macmillian Social Science Library. “Women’s Rights.” Gale Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. N.p., 2010. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://
ic.galegroup.com/​ic/​ovic/​ReferenceDetailsPage/​ReferenceDetailsWindow?
displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=true&action=e&windowstate=nor
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e=view&userGroupName=cant48040&jsid=55f26698ef0d12c9ee0d1a06369818f1 >.
Murray, Rebecca. “Iraq: War Turns Back the Clock for Women’s
Rights.” Inter Press Service/​Global Information Network [Baghdad]
13 Sept. 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

6. <http://sks.sirs.com/​cgi-bin/​hst-article-display?id=SSCHEH-0-
9905&artno=0000317600&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Women%27s+rights%2C+Iraq
&title=Iraq%3A+War+Turns+Back+the+Clock+for+Women%27s+Rights&res=Y&ren=
Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N>.
Sultana, A.M. “Measuring Gender Role Identity and Awareness among Women
Towards Their Right in Family.” Academic Search Complete. N.p., 2011. Web.
25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.google.com/​url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fproxygsu-
sche.galileo.usg.edu%2Flogin%3Furl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebscohost.com%2F
login.aspx%3Fdirect%3Dtrue%26db%3Da9h%26AN%3D65068827%26site%3Dehost-
live&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFUpddDT92lxac6yPOK2Yj65UGiVQ>.
“Women’s Rights.” Global Issues in Context. N.p., 2011. Web.
25 Oct. 2011. <http://find.galegroup.com/​gic/​infomark.do?
idigest=b527955b5caccdb4b4a2d40e86fe061a&searchType=BasicSearchFo
rm&type=portal&prodId=GIC&queryId=Locale(en,US,):FQE=(PI,None,5)
G1169$&portalId=G1169&version=1.0&userGroupName=cant48040&source=gale >.
Yusufzai, Ashfaq. “Pakistan: Coalition Aims to End ‘Honor’ Killings.” Inter
Press Service [Peshawar] 6 Oct. 2006: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web.
26 Oct. 2011. <http://sks.sirs.com/​cgi-bin/​hst-article-display?id=SSCHEH-0-
5408&artno=0000286343&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=women%27s+rights%2C+Pakis
tan&title=Pakistan%3A+Coalition+Aims+to+End+%27Honor%27+Killings&res=Y&ren
=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N>.
- - -. “Pakistan: Coalition Aims to End ‘Honor’ Killings.” Inter Press
Service [Peshawar] 6 Oct. 2008: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 26
Oct. 2011. <http://sks.sirs.com/​cgi-bin/​hst-article-display?id=SSCHEH-0-
5408&artno=0000286343&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=women%27s+rights%2C+Pakis
tan&title=Pakistan%3A+Coalition+Aims+to+End+%27Honor%27+Killings&res=Y&ren
=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N>.