Fida and women

(November 18, 2013)

Back in November, the BBC Arabic did another show all about women. It was 'härligt', because all the participants were women. That meant that no one started yelling, no one interrupted, there were hardly even any pointed fingers! Different opinions, yes, but no one chomping at the bit and insulting others for thinking a different way. Ah, peaceful!

The show was helmed by the very capable Fida Bassil.

The basis for the show was a poll which had ranked Arab countries based on how women are treated. Egypt ended up really low in the poll.

This is an Egyptian activist for women's rights.

She says: probably the reason Egypt fares so badly in the poll is because it focused on violence. Maybe in other areas related to women's rights Egypt does pretty well, but when it comes to violence, it's really bad.

Fida: not so fast. The report did not just focus on violence. It looked at violence, but also at the role of women in families, involvement in politics and economics; and also besides violence, it also focused on sexual harassment.

Lady in the blue sweater: yes, the report did also focus on early marriages for girls, female genital mutilation, harassment and sexual assault. Yes, Egypt is right now seeing lots of these violations against women. And yes, I agree that we are not involved enough in political arenas, though we are present.

Fida: the report looked at four areas: violence towards women; how much of a choice a woman has in her reproductive rights; how women are treated inside a family, and the inclusion of women in politics and economics. Do you agree that those were the right metrics?

Lady in the blue sweater: I agree that these were the right standards to go by, and they follow what the UN and what Unicef would say the standards are. However, I think we should remember that the research team behind the report ignored political movements that are in fact happening. But when it comes to violence, the report is entirely correct; yes, we Egyptian women do suffer from violence.

Next a Tunisian lady, Ms. Fatoom, joined the conversation. She is a member of the political assembly in the Tunisian Nahda party.

Ms. Fatoom: We say that in spite of some things, the Arab Spring helped the status of women, because women were actors in the revolutions, part of the protests, and it is our right to enjoy our accomplishments of overturning the governments. I think this report revealed the fears that perhaps in the years to come, women won't continue to progress, but when it comes to Tunisia, Tunisia was ranked pretty high amongst all the Arabs, and was the first out of the North African countries, so we think we're doing pretty well, especially compared to the other countries who recently had revolutions.

Fida: what do you make of the fact that the role of women in society went backwards in some cases under the Arab Spring, for all that women participated in the revolutionary process?

Ms. Fatoom: it is a basis of Middle Eastern societies to revere men at the expense of women; and to be lacking in giving women true opportunities to distinguish themselves.

Self Defense for women in Somalia

(September 12, 2013)

These women in Somalia are attending a self-defense class.

The BBC Arabic report mentioned that Somali women are attacked at especially high frequencies inside of refugee or displacement camps. Isn't that the age-old story of men? First, they cause the war. Then, when everyone is already miserable because their loved ones have died and their homes and belongings are destroyed and their jobs and schools are inaccessible, they go around making everyone even more miserable. Then, and I think Muslim and/or Arab men are especially prone to this, they go bumbling about thinking themselves the best thing ever to hit the earth! You should just watch the BBC Arabic. Even when they are on TV, sometimes the men forget that they are supposed to try to at least project a decent, civilized image, and they start screaming, their voices grow raspy, and you think any second they are going to go into apoplexy.

Here is an Iraqi man in the midst of an apoplectic attack:

Ewwwww. Just eewwwww. Mind you, this is just one screenshot. You're not seeing the ones when his mouth is open in something resembling a dog's bark.

This guy is some kind of high-up government official in Iraq. Yikes!

A Sheikh of Beirut Speaks his Piece

July 18, 2013

A women's rights activist; Malak Jaafar, BBC anchor; and a Sheikh of Beirut

This nice sheikh was part of a discussion about how Lebanon needs better laws to protect women from domestic violence. The sheikh’s main observation was that any law also needs to also protect men from their wives, cause their wives are so much stronger and more threatening. To which the woman guest to the left laughed and said, look, we all know what guys are like in Arab societies, we all know what guys are like in Lebanese society …

Then the Sheikh said, yes, men can hit their wives because the Quran says it’s okay. He is so excited about the idea that he has that particular verse memorized. He said, that is the book I believe in, and that is the Prophet I believe in, and that’s that. He’s just like the politicians in the US who get so excited when they talk about rape. They’re trying to be sad, but you can tell they’re really smacking their lips and rubbing their hands together. 

The woman to the left told him: Lebanon and every country has to be a place for everyone, not just one particular religion. There's all sorts of people living in Lebanon. You need to have laws that protect all of their human rights.

After that, there was a lot of yelling. Too bad you did not hear the Sheikh, he was speaking like a classic Arab man. "Give me a second! Don't interrupt me!" Well, okay, the female guest did interrupt him, which must be annoying, but just the way he responded. When an Arab man wants to be really Arab, and they tell you to shut up, they do in a tone of voice that implies you are the stupidest person on the face of the earth, and that until you bow down to him, you are never going to be in any sort of favor, grace, or love. I guess that is how you speak when you believe you own the entire earth, and all the women servants on it, to boot. I personally prefer religious leaders to be gentle, kind, and humble. 

The anchor, in the middle of the screen, was Malaak Jaafar. I like her. She was the one that asked the Sheikh, should women and men have the same rights? He said, "no! I believe women should get more rights in some areas, and men should get more rights in other [many more] areas." I think Malaak knew that was to be his answer. I think she asked just the way some people pick at a scab, or will bit down on a sore lip, just to feel the pain!

And then she asked him, so is it okay for a husband to hit his wife? And the Sheikh said, yes, cause it says so in the Quran.

Here’s the thing. There’s so many Muslim women who tell you that Islam is the way to their liberation, and after you’ve finished talking to them, you feel like Islam is the best thing for women, ever. But then, you listen to a sheikh like this, and it’s like, really? Other people will tell you that other verses in the Quran say different things, but how am I supposed to feel when there's sheikhs like this, with I'm guessing lots of followers that they preach to, running amok?

Watch this video:

Then watch this video:

Obviously, I think the second video gave a better argument, and I've never believed that Islam is a violent religion in terms of going around and killing people left and right. But notice that for all his other rebuttals, the guy in the second video did not even touch on the last point the lady had raised in her speech, which was basically repeating the same verse that the Sheikh of Beirut was quoting so lovingly. In this one point, I would agree that a lot of people do dance around this particular verse when they try to soften it.