Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran

Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran by Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet examines issues of hygiene, marriage, sexuality, and reproduction in relation to notions of citizenship and politics in Iran. Kashani-Sabet's thorough research is grounded in a rigorous methodology. Her thoughtful exploration of politicized motherhood, while viewed through an Iranian lens here, is of regional and universal significance. The book's wider contribution lies in demonstrating how the combination of science and sexuality challenges existing Islamic values and practices and how it has played a critical role in the emergence of women's rights movements, a phenomenon observed throughout the Muslim world.

The Journal of Middle East Women's Studies Book Award has been established by the Association for Middle East Women's Studies to recognize and promote excellence in the fields of Middle East women's or gender studies, broadly defined. It is given to an author whose work is judged to provide the year's most significant and potentially influential contribution to Middle East women's or gender studies. The deadline for 2014 Book Award nominations is May 1, 2014. For more information, visit www.jmews.org.