Lila Abu-Lughod was born in 1952 to a Palestinian academic and an American sociologist. She began her work as an anthropologist studying at Carleton College and graduating in 1974 before moving on to Harvard University where she received her PhD in 1984. Her academic research focuses on gender and culture in the Middle East, looking specifically at Egypt. During her graduate career, she spent two years living with the Bedouin Awlad ‘Ali in Egypt conducting fieldwork while living with the head of the community and his large household. Two books, Veiled Sentiments and Writing Women’s World were born from this long term ethnographic research. In 2013, she published a book ‘Do Muslim Women Need Saving?’ based on a 2002 article with the same name that critiques the Western narrative of abused Muslim Women and the West’s responsibility to ‘rescue’ these women. The book also delves into how this narrative is used to excuse and justify western military intervention in the Middle East. Lila’s extensive work in the field has granted her a number of awards including the Victor Turner Award and fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Fulbright, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.