tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39798419625299895452024-03-12T20:11:21.312-07:00Fantasia's WorldFantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-20989043346928379762011-09-25T14:54:00.000-07:002011-09-25T16:36:24.823-07:00Strawberry Fields Forever<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6NGH4dsoXyZoOtzRtF3Yq0vAdWuDQaec4AlwBgi3EaU-wKSVRRVsJgksvkHqe_fqhkPmb2evFGz8j2pBs1pKKBkhRQDflG8eH1FH1G3SxClNiOhR0qCdXbnWIWodXe1h3e8SKrHbpEg1/s1600/strawberry+fields+forever.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6NGH4dsoXyZoOtzRtF3Yq0vAdWuDQaec4AlwBgi3EaU-wKSVRRVsJgksvkHqe_fqhkPmb2evFGz8j2pBs1pKKBkhRQDflG8eH1FH1G3SxClNiOhR0qCdXbnWIWodXe1h3e8SKrHbpEg1/s400/strawberry+fields+forever.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656419227532449970" border="0" /></a><br />When John Lennon wrote Strawberry Fields Forever, he was thinking "There was something wrong with me, I thought, because I seemed to see things other people didn't see. I thought I was crazy or an egomaniac for claiming to see things other people didn't see. As a child, I would say, 'But this is going on!' and everybody would look at me as if I was crazy. I always was so psychic or intuitive or poetic or whatever you want to call it, that I was always seeing things in a hallucinatory way. It was scary as a child, because there was nobody to relate to."<br /><br />It is precisely this feeling of not fitting in, being almost constantly misunderstood, that motivated unique minds to express themselves differently. Thinking in retrospect, I find myself letting out a deep sigh, saying "yeah, tell me about it!" For I too belong to Strawberry Fields. At some moment in my life I was wondering "where the heck did the ship which had dropped me onto this planet disappeared? Why did my folks leave me behind?" Then it was like, "or maybe there ain't any folks of mine! What made you think you have any affiliations, Fantasia?"<br /><br />Doubting yourself is by far the worst thing you can ever do. Yes, you become a natural haters-magnet (that's part of the package, you know) but your meanest enemies could not harm you a bit without you getting into this self-destructive mode. Still, as it turns out, all my folks allowed themselves to slip into it for some time.<br /><br />The good news is, it turned out that I did have folks!.. My creed! *wide grin* Fellow aliens with the same hallucinations that I had! Hurray!.. I was not one of a kind!<br /><br />But it took me a long long time to realize they existed. Wow!!.. What a moment that was! It was like discovering a fellow castaway on a neighboring island. How amazing can this be, huh? And then you start receiving these bottled messages and your jaw drops with awe at how similar your experiences have been. Then this alien leads you to another and another.. until you finally find it.. your spot, your world, your Xanadu .. strawberry fields.<br /><br />The thing is.. although Lennon drove the name from an actual place where he had lived for sometime, he used the name to refer to this alien-dropping-spaceship, which still is not located, you see. So, <span style="font-style: italic;">ehm</span>, this place actually exists in our heads. Yeah, we're sort of equipped with wide wide imagination. So we do see this place, we know it, we thrive on it, we're nourished by thinking about it, yet.. we can't get there. Even more, we know, in our sober state of mind, that we don't have a chance of ever getting there. It is unattainable.. and there lies the dilemma.<br /><br />Well, I hope I didn't lose you by now.. sounding too vague and, maybe, spooky. Come on guys, I haven't gone that crazy.. at least not yet. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to analyze why generations and generations of my folks ended up shut into their own universe. (Mind you, it is a universe.. it is so vast.. stretching endlessly.. but way out there, far from our reality.) Not just so,.. Unable to resist this aggressive desire of wanting to change the actual world, they almost always completely screw up, causing this huge discomfort and disturbance, then end up in a very dramatic way, leaving their work undone.<br /><br />Yes, they do inspire others. (You know, this sorta madness is contagious.) They have this huge impact on arts and culture. But our world, our crappy rusted f***ed-up real world, remains the same. Since the beginning of history.. Since the big bang or whatever.. it has remained the same! Peel off these illusionary layers of modernity, and just LOOK.. hey, IT IS THE DAMN SAME!<br /><br />Hey life, I believe our worlds do not intersect! I'm off to Strawberry Fields. Yes, I would give up on you, you bitch! You enjoy devouring your lovers and thrive in the arms of your rapers. I HATE YOU!<br /><br />You know what? I believe my alien buddies have made things even worse. Maybe if they had not interfered things would have been better in any way. You see, they have cast their pixy dust for the street smart guys to use it and sugar-coat all the ugliness there is.. prolonging the life of all evils! Now, thanks to these geniuses, people could live with tyranny, injustice, fraud, fascism, corruption, abuse, crime, deceit, divisions, wars, disease, famine, disaster, global warming.. you name it. All there is.. just wrap it in some shimmery, ethically, romantic, artistic ritual, as part of the process of moving on. Changing the world can be a great theme for a song.. perfect! But in reality, in practice, in our offices, societies, parliaments, governments, world order.. <span style="font-style: italic;">pouf</span><br /><br />And as for all the victims falling along the way, there are all the f***ing tributes and stuff. Yeah, once someone is dead, s/he suddenly becomes a hero! But of course.. they've finally left this piece of crap alone! No more disturbance. Rest in peace!<br /><br /><span class="st"><span dir="ltr">"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about <em>life</em> — <em>It goes on." ~Robert Frost</em></span></span>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-5486347208133230272011-09-21T00:46:00.001-07:002011-09-21T01:00:18.394-07:00Random Thoughts<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_d3gqsFzBF0yTgVyaYaD3FrVrhnzPI0XKr0tvL4y4XzZvOYxmaMNPJ-ARamt9G9-_yUxWEUcw2Ve0FiDbe6cup07rmceJ5ojHsUjOb7JOCEf8pe6fa_Wuxi_GDK0xwK5rgO-KrMVubZ2m/s1600/woman-with-long-hair-hair-growth-tips-and-tricks-braided-hairstyle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 297px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_d3gqsFzBF0yTgVyaYaD3FrVrhnzPI0XKr0tvL4y4XzZvOYxmaMNPJ-ARamt9G9-_yUxWEUcw2Ve0FiDbe6cup07rmceJ5ojHsUjOb7JOCEf8pe6fa_Wuxi_GDK0xwK5rgO-KrMVubZ2m/s400/woman-with-long-hair-hair-growth-tips-and-tricks-braided-hairstyle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654717778403289266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >The more I see men, the more spiritual I become.. thanking God that I was born a woman.</span>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-49593798031452465482011-08-05T21:37:00.000-07:002011-09-25T14:40:21.938-07:00Me and Drepression<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJgzxjaFmCz91-qWEKG1Vg4SbvidY4Bz5Y2YT_oLqvRds2cES51uC6Qo9VKlr8LS08CXSz7vpbs1XXT9G23V1dkVLuzkEDFBglxBHjQKfxU6uHHWwNrHCGGv8xzzCQI0Ml40-UMe2fw3z/s1600/depressed.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJgzxjaFmCz91-qWEKG1Vg4SbvidY4Bz5Y2YT_oLqvRds2cES51uC6Qo9VKlr8LS08CXSz7vpbs1XXT9G23V1dkVLuzkEDFBglxBHjQKfxU6uHHWwNrHCGGv8xzzCQI0Ml40-UMe2fw3z/s400/depressed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637613060449848290" border="0" /></a><br />Ain't it great when you still got followers long after you quit blogging! Thanks all.<br /><br />Don't know if I still have it.. I mean the ability to write. But since I'm struggling with my depression, and this struggle is all about trying and trying, then be it.<br /><br />I've done it before. Taken myself as an example and laid it out there for others in hope it will help someone somewhere sometime. However, this time, I'm the one who needs help. It's the same old story.. trauma.. tears.. anger.. depression. And once you slip into this last one, you are sucked in.<br /><br />Been there for years now since I was diagnosed with MDD (Major Depressive Disorder). Feels like it has become part of me, although I've been fighting it with all I've got. The thing is, it is very difficult to find true help with this battle. It's like a ghost, many talk about it while very few have ever seen one.. experienced what it is.. or is able to define it even.<br /><br />My therapy sessions were like long arguments between me and the psychiatrist, who is an excellent person by the way, and highly professional. Still, he talks about human conditions which he had studied.. studied very well, but never experienced. He did his best to help me out. Can't say he failed. He was honest enough to tell me he has no exit door to offer.<br /><br />One of our discussions was about the definition of depression. He went on and on about the medical condition and the chemistry of the brain, bla bla bla. Gotta admit, I learned a lot from the man. What I needed to know, though, was whether depression is a disease or a state of mind.<br /><br />The good doctor insisted that depression is a disease, yet he made it clear that even when I am 100% cured I have to say bye-bye to my former self.. that is the Fantasia who existed before depression. That is why I thought that treating depression like some disease or virus which takes control over your body for some time and then becomes cured is so far from the truth. Maybe it is more accurate to describe it as a state that will continue to have its effect even after its dangers are reduced.<br /><br />Our talks were more philosophical I would think. Of course, we discussed personal issues and stuff that led me to this. However, I guess that denying to see things the way they truly are is the root of all evil. Human beings spend so much time and energy in deceiving themselves. My experience with depression proves that the pain is due to the shock of someone who has been blindfolded for years and years and then all of a sudden you open your eyes to this strong light, and you can't deny, no matter how hard you try, that what you are seeing is real, has always been real, but you were simply unable to see it! And you can never go back pretending it didn't happen. It is an educational experience of the first degree.<br /><br />Now, the only logical reason why someone suffering from depression cannot go back to point X before s/he was hit by this hurricane would be that this so-called "disease" gives you eyes.. which is the total opposite of what psychiatry claims.<br /><br />What antidepressants do is simply shut down your nervous system, making you unable to feel anything, like constructing a thick glass wall between you and your emotions. The idea is to reduce the stress on your nervous system until you miraculously recover. Antidepressants are the materialization of hell. After 2 years, I stopped medication, without consulting my doctor. His opinion was I gotta live on this stuff no matter how long it may take, or else I'll crash.. like a computer crashes. Being a very scientific person, I waited and waited for things to change, until I could take it no more. Finally, I decided to trust my senses.<br /><br />Is life any better? No. But I am definitely better.<br /><br />This programming process that we go through ever since we come into this world is the true disease. Almost every single aspect of our lives is wrapped in lies. You are being trained to practice self-deceit and you go through life depending on this skill. You have to pretend that certain things have value, although they don't; because things which are really worthy are very few in life and are simply not enough to weave a whole lifetime around. So you gotta fabricate your own list of valuable stuff and toil to reach one by one, learn to celebrate when you get them and act dramatic when you lose them.<br /><br />Of the truest words I found on depression are the words of someone who's been there, Elizabeth Wurtzel. In her book <span style="font-style:italic;">Prozac Nation</span> she says:<br /><blockquote>"I start to feel like I can't maintain the facade any longer, that I may just start to show through. And I wish I knew what was wrong. Maybe something about how stupid my whole life is. I don't know. Why does the rest of the world put up with the hypocrisy, the need to put a happy face on sorrow, the need to keep on keeping on?... I don't know the answer, I know only that I can't. I don't want any more vicissitudes, I don't want any more of this try, try again stuff. I just want out. I've had it. I am so tired. I am twenty and I am already exhausted." </blockquote><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />P.S. I've been on Prozac for over a year.</span><br /><br />I can't forget this session when my doctor was trying so hard to convince me that life is worth trying, no matter how many times we fail to achieve what we aspire. He gave an example of a test they perform on lab rats. They place a rat in a cage with a piece of cheese, and every time the rat tries to take the cheese they give it a mild electric shock. The rat then spends longer time between each attempt until it completely gives up and stops trying, although they remove the electric current. The doctor then told me: "You see? If the rat tried for once after it had given up, it would have finally got the cheese." I couldn't help but laugh out loud, and I said, "Doc, are you really expecting me to be more stupid than your rat? If a rat can learn its lesson and spare itself the pain, then the least I can do is learn when to quit trying."<br /><br />Thanks for reading!Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-49293804236811348032010-01-19T02:48:00.000-08:002010-01-19T07:45:07.624-08:00Part 2: The Secret of the Sacred Bitch<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://magisteria.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/sekhmet_43.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 355px; height: 360px;" src="http://magisteria.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/sekhmet_43.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.1 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Epilogue</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">So, why do I scare you so much? I do wonder!</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Is it the divinity in me? Something that I cannot help being.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"> Was there no other possible way of getting even other than dragging me in the mud, dumping me into the whirlpools of shame, cutting off my throat, burning me, and scattering my remains in hell? Can't you see, you fool, that you're becoming my slave once more? You sure are, for you're dedicating your life to demonizing me, you idiot! And it's not doing you any good. It's not doing anybody any good. Look around you, the whole life lies in ruins.. wounded beyond healing. Just because of the stupidity of a bunch of psychotic idiots who started this machinery in motion.. your glorious grandfathers! Yeah, smile, sucker! You've inherited every bit of their chauvinism, bigotry and greed. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Smile idiot!</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Flashback</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">At the age of 9, I went on a field trip with my class to the Pharaonic Village in Giza. It is a living museum, a miniature of how life used to be like in Ancient Egypt. What a charming trip it was! We sailed down canals which go through the whole village, passing by replicas of tombs, temples, houses.. watching actors planting, making paper out of papyrus; women weaving and making perfumes. It all left me mesmerized. And that same year I would ask Santa to bring me a time machine! Imagine a kid experiencing this type of nostalgia. Life sucked back then, but definitely it wasn't anything like how it sucks right now.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">*Sighs* OK, so we were on this boat, with a nice guide from the Village who told us all the stories behind what we were seeing. We stopped by many monuments of Pharaohs, gods and goddesses. Of all of them, I somehow got very attracted to the statue of the warrior goddess <span style="font-style: italic;">Sekhmet</span>. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Back then I was still being introduced to the world of mythology. I had not known about the existence of similar goddesses in other cultures and found it so interesting that Pharaohs fought battles behind this female goddess. Why did the men choose a female to lead them in warship? It seemed a mystery to me. Why a lioness, not a lion? Certainly a lioness never comes to mind when words like bravery, heroism, fight, battle, glory or the likes are mentioned.. so I could not really understand it. I thought like Pharaohs too must have had their eccentricities.. lol. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">So, we continued our trip, took photos and all. Then we went to the gift shop to collect some souvenirs . Mind you, at that time the Village was only a fraction of what it has become today. It has immensely expanded ever since. Yet, for us, what we'd seen was too much already. We'd never seen history come to life in such a way. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">My friends started picking their favorite items. I had little money with me, and thought I'd better spend it wisely. It is no surprise that the only thing I thought to be worthy of purchase was the object which had inflamed my curiosity.. I bought a postcard with the image of Sekhmet.</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">On the bus, while on our way back to the school, I kept staring at her, almost talking to her and begging her to explain it to me. “So what is your story lady?” How have you managed to become the bravest of the brave; the invincible bloodthirsty warrior that you are?</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Forward</span> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">It is amazing how my feelings towards this lady remained unchangeable when many years later I saw her dignified statues in the British Museum. I actually spent a lot of time by her side there, telling her memories of the good old days. I apparently still admire her, although I am a person who utterly denounces all sorts of violence. To me, though, she stood for much better things.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.luisprada.com/Protected/IMAGES/sekhmet2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 251px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.luisprada.com/Protected/IMAGES/sekhmet2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Sekhmet</span> means <span style="font-style: italic;">'all powerful'</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">'the one who is powerful'</span>. This goddess also received many other titles when her religion flourished, all of them depicting how mighty she was. She's been called the <span style="font-style: italic;">Mistress of Dread</span>, the <span style="font-style: italic;">Lady of Slaughter</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lady of Flames</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Scarlet Lady</span> (related to blood), the<span style="font-style: italic;"> One Before Whom Evil Trembled</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Avenger of the Wronged</span>. She was also thought to be the reason behind diseases, and thus the only one who has their cures. So, her powers and knowledge were sought after by physicians too.. not only warriors. And as she brought war, she also brought peace. </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Now, you see how she gathered polar elements of cruelty and mercy, disease and healing, conflict and reconciliation... etc. Her rage was enough to evoke ultimate destruction. She had to be calmed down, and the only way to soothe her was through music! Music would keep her happy and relaxed. </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">I absolutely fell in love with this lady.. the lioness with a taste for music; the one who healed the sick and wounded coz she felt responsible for them. Other warrior goddesses wouldn't give a damn about the sufferings of those affected by their wrath. Maybe they deserved to be viewed as bitches in a way.. but certainly not the lioness! It seemed so fitting, though, that men would work around their fear of her by dragging her image into the lowest abyss of shame. <span style="font-style: italic;">Yeah, the same old scenario! Won't you try for once being more creative, dudes?? Just for change?</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The 'Labua' Complex</span>
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">OK.. For those of you who don't know, in Arabic, the worst name to be given to a female is that of 'lioness'.. that is, if a woman is said to be a <span style="font-style: italic;">'labua' </span>(which is the Arabic word for 'lioness',) it means she is the most disdained being to walk the face of earth.
<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">When I first learned about the horrible implications of this “insult” I found it hard to understand what the metaphor was all about. The common explanation you'd receive was that a lioness sleeps around.. she ain't faithful to one sexual partner! This is just so stupid, isn't it?.. For one, what is the difference between a lioness and any other female – or male – animal in this respect??<span style="font-style: italic;"> Hello!! Anybody seen a giraffe who spends her life with one sex partner?? or even a fish??? WTF is this about?
<br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2oSD_VrSz4M1guDPZfFSxTPtsWgpoRYbpqPG16AjfJ5WOB-5Rk1NlIItqorZW6Hy69c5xecO_FoajjbvxiX__BX7ueUf9F4ApNP_DejlY7jjZIyR2IijnbP6fHCtv7CtrW_5lIpCwVY/s400/Sekhmet+fr%C3%A5n+tempelv%C3%A4gg.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju2oSD_VrSz4M1guDPZfFSxTPtsWgpoRYbpqPG16AjfJ5WOB-5Rk1NlIItqorZW6Hy69c5xecO_FoajjbvxiX__BX7ueUf9F4ApNP_DejlY7jjZIyR2IijnbP6fHCtv7CtrW_5lIpCwVY/s400/Sekhmet+fr%C3%A5n+tempelv%C3%A4gg.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ancient Egyptians actually made sense when they chose to fight under the image of the lioness. People used some logic back then, and could clearly see that the lioness was in fact the best hunter in the animal kingdom. So, while Mr. lazy lion lies there sleeping most of his days, she was the one doing everything, including teaching her cubs how to hunt. A lion actually wins his fights by the mere shape and size of his mane!! (How adequate!) But rarely engages in a real fight, or displays actual courage. He depends on his intimidating appearance and counts on the females of the tribe to feed him. Plus, he's not any different from his selfish human counterparts, for whenever he finds an easy prey that does not require much effort, and thus decides to hunt once in a while, he never shares his meal!! </div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">That's exactly why today the lion became the icon of bravery and heroism! You see? Don't you just love our patriarchal societies? I mean, the guys hardly make any effort in identifying with the exact fitting types!.. Not forgetting, of course, to demonize their former goddesses who scared the sh*t out of them.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">Macho Macho!
<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; font-style: italic;">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: italic;">To be continued.. </span><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_JustifyFull" title="Justify Full" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 13);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img title="" src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Justify Full" class="gl_align_full" border="0" /></span></span></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-48061689382281340092010-01-04T04:02:00.000-08:002010-01-04T14:57:44.566-08:00Do I Scare the SH*T Out of You?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MQS8VcSpNds0TVa4OUTKIYiyPfGefo91Ax1qPZYHL6Xl65R9RsPVKpKWflayI0N3AwcN3klGc8tEo-PPOdyyyd-4QBV2KHLi-7JdeTnR76WpdpYmUh3V6DsQFCK73EXC1tpnLmidCMjZ/s1600-h/creepy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MQS8VcSpNds0TVa4OUTKIYiyPfGefo91Ax1qPZYHL6Xl65R9RsPVKpKWflayI0N3AwcN3klGc8tEo-PPOdyyyd-4QBV2KHLi-7JdeTnR76WpdpYmUh3V6DsQFCK73EXC1tpnLmidCMjZ/s320/creepy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422880301242106338" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This should have been a post for Halloween. Sorry I missed it. Been dealing with my own ghosts and stuff. But, no matter where I turn, I can't help but notice the amount of horror that a free , intellectual woman is greeted with in our society. Sometimes, it's too hilarious.. However, other times the defense mechanism which is automatically triggered at such a moment causes its beholder to turn offensive. Now, this is indeed pathetic, yet unacceptable.. and should not be tolerated.<br /><br />Alright, check this out. Independent women in our society are constantly under attack. It's fine if you have a job, but it is not fine at all if you've really got career ambitions and professional goals. It's not fine at all if you're seeking financial security. It's not fine at all if you're planning to hold a high position one day. It's not fine at all to seek to be really competent and perfect your work. Why? Because you're a woman! For God's sake, you're created to be <span style="font-weight: bold;">dependent</span>! You're the pet of our human world! What the hell are you thinking? Career? Ambitions? Money? You wanna make your own money? that is not inherited or bestowed upon you by a generous husband? How can you call yourself a woman?<br /><br />Women here don't get jobs to work or become productive. They have jobs so that society can indulge in the lie that women are enjoying their full rights. The majority of women have jobs that are not mentally challenging. Their employers always keep in mind that they won't stay long enough to hold any managerial position. Some workplaces cut the crap and make it clear they are employing men only. They don't even care what "a few" would think about that. They are putting the blame on women for being so unreliable.<br /><br />If, however, they come across a woman who has got clear goals, who is career oriented, and has got what it takes to really succeed.. the applause doesn't last for long.<br /><br />Somehow a woman cannot be separated from her personal life. She carries it with her everywhere.. you name it.. the office, the street, the club, the hair salon, the mall.. anywhere on earth. It's always the same old story.. Are you single? Why? Don't you intend to get married? What? You want a post-graduate degree? What for? You have career ambitions? You are I.N.D.E.P.E.N.D.E.N.T??!! What does that mean?<br /><br />Let's say she gets married.. All expectations then revolve somewhere around her regaining her sanity and forgetting all about this independence crap. You're a wife and a mother, and you're not allowed to ask questions about the husband/father thing. We're not kidding here. You're a WOMAN.. remember?<br /><br />Yeah, hell I do. I do remember when I took driving lessons. Everybody was asking my father (not even me) why he was allowing such a thing. "Do you really intend to let her have her own car?" they would ask. And when I traveled alone for the first time, it was like "Wow! How could she live on her own?" No rationale whatsoever. They expect you to be responsible for a whole family, yet they can't trust that you can take care of yourself!! And if you ask simple logical questions, like how do you expect me to be naive, weak, ignorant, vulnerable and yet at the same time become a super wife and mom? you get anything except what could be classified under "answer".<br /><br />Men have always feared women. It is part of who they are. There is a whole culture built on this ancient instinctive fear.. it is manifested in myths, legend, fairy tales, traditional practices, religions, literature, language, art.. all possible forms. A very good read on this issue is Wolfgang Lederer's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fear of Women</span>, published in 1968. It is a pity that libraries all over the world are so lacking when it comes to this subject.<br /><br />In this book, the author argues that women have always been mysterious. Their body functions perform miracles that were beyond men's abilities to understand. The fact that the continuity of the whole human race lay in the wombs of women was indeed scary. Giving birth, a human coming out of another human, this oneness that splits into two.. that was also scary. The male's exterior genitals made him so vulnerable and insecure. While women have their genitals and all their 'magical powers' intact. They are tough in handling pain, yet they are smooth, delicate and charming. That's why a woman was often associated with the serpent, smooth yet deadly.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7ewrHsAtI0pq3QLFPQemLCeOAr4raZ1KHeOa-px2KNMCp55ZOzo4bRB9SJPUxMfY8fXYSlnMUtJ49pC9hTZxWj1SO_aKBUPJn6Y87U_7kJYAZCxMfHB6-LwPqxM1UPc2R9yNHff5sCLx/s1600-h/girl+serpent.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk7ewrHsAtI0pq3QLFPQemLCeOAr4raZ1KHeOa-px2KNMCp55ZOzo4bRB9SJPUxMfY8fXYSlnMUtJ49pC9hTZxWj1SO_aKBUPJn6Y87U_7kJYAZCxMfHB6-LwPqxM1UPc2R9yNHff5sCLx/s320/girl+serpent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422881738168483938" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'll just quote a few lines here. Lederer says:<br /><br />"We have forgotten, or tried to forget, how much we are in awe of woman's biological functions, her menstruating and her child-bearing, and how much we abhor the smelly fluids of her organicity, the many secret folds and wrinkles of her inevitable decay. We are trying to deny her threat to our manhood, her serpent's tongue and the sharp teeth in her two bloody mouths. We refuse to believe in the lure of her depths, and the infinite demandingness of her void. We belittle her sexual challenge and deride, uneasily, her fighting strength..."<br /><br />Another interesting read, which also draws on the serpent imagery, is Youssef Zeidan's novel <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Shadow of the Serpent</span> </span>(Zil al-Af’a). In a series of letters from an anthropologist to her adult daughter, the author unravels many episodes of human history and the factors which shaped this complex relationship between the sexes. Fear, is man's most instinctive and deeply hidden emotion towards women.. it is indeed which kept this huge snowball rolling. And, through those letters, the daughter is learning how she, as a female, has fallen from grace.<br /><br />It seems that whoever refuses to become a fallen queen.. whoever attempts to regain her throne.. rekindles this dormant volcano. It seems the traditional wisdom goes along those lines: women cannot be contained.. unless enslaved, they turn into goddesses.<br /><br />To be continued....<br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-38362149671893965942010-01-01T01:27:00.001-08:002010-01-01T01:27:36.283-08:00Yes, It's MeDear friends and readers of Fantasia's World,<br /><br />I'm so sorry for letting you all down through those last months. I've been receiving your messages of love and support, urging me to go on writing, and surrounding me with a sort of warmth that has touched me so deeply.<br /><br />For those of you who haven't noticed my absence, I say: skip this post.<br /><br />For those of you who did, pardon me and spare me the pain of reliving those past times in order to provide an explanation.<br /><br />Just wanna tell you all that I LOVE YOU. And just as you've been there for me, I owe it to you all to be there for you. This is YOUR blog now, I can't claim any ownership over it any more. If you want to read more from me, then this is what you shall get.<br /><br />I may have started this blog for very personal reasons at one point. But you certainly gave me the inspiration and the dream of reaching out to serve bigger aims.<br /><br />Thank you all. You gave me something so precious.. so real, although it exists in the virtual world. Thanks to you, I'm back. I'm back to my self. I'm back to life. And I'm back to this blog.<br /><br />Happy New Year!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a5jp3wNE28QMbeNB-TcNwQKAfBW6-_1Xik7BskvIJEIVxU22oaltp41zVM94Bi1wrWz_mQeJlzvvB27UnXldWA4uij39f9bPojb4FtplOeBxCl5YC1apRs9xzdFHRM5C78SWilMlhzI/s400/love_is_blind_by_gardenofgloom_1168185618_7185599.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a5jp3wNE28QMbeNB-TcNwQKAfBW6-_1Xik7BskvIJEIVxU22oaltp41zVM94Bi1wrWz_mQeJlzvvB27UnXldWA4uij39f9bPojb4FtplOeBxCl5YC1apRs9xzdFHRM5C78SWilMlhzI/s400/love_is_blind_by_gardenofgloom_1168185618_7185599.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18170496820218921972noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-68845860496706136312009-03-08T14:11:00.000-07:002009-03-08T14:11:00.271-07:00Happy Women's Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_d8PPdPIAF3agYVguyAShPahYwCdb9ztiTwG7ijiVJG_0YJCDOshZ80YrUi8sAUb1qBtaj4RNwleDyo2y1TSN69LUHXc_bSIex_e_A5rdQEXQB-8YL8v729axW5k37uNWkBT-4aZ0m1f/s1600-h/womenday.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_d8PPdPIAF3agYVguyAShPahYwCdb9ztiTwG7ijiVJG_0YJCDOshZ80YrUi8sAUb1qBtaj4RNwleDyo2y1TSN69LUHXc_bSIex_e_A5rdQEXQB-8YL8v729axW5k37uNWkBT-4aZ0m1f/s400/womenday.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175206089890687826" border="0" /></a><br />It is the 8th of March.. which means that today we celebrate the <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">International Women's Day</span>. Fantasia's World Blog would like to wish all women all the best, and we invite men to celebrate this day with women in their families.<br /><br />HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-67335558809778701252008-12-23T15:47:00.000-08:002009-01-21T20:13:10.962-08:00Notes on a Scandal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfJgMWt6MIxjPn5e3-4DXIL2EHGqO2rhxeBEmYzEVocU6PGsF3FZLJpamcyfJkdQkfCnWMOWvkhS9h6k_x_rrA_RyNHHMBVwhdXVcLO_5LjCDa43J3C0HQk9vOYhwD4cbk7mB0P6QvVmk/s1600-h/notes.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitfJgMWt6MIxjPn5e3-4DXIL2EHGqO2rhxeBEmYzEVocU6PGsF3FZLJpamcyfJkdQkfCnWMOWvkhS9h6k_x_rrA_RyNHHMBVwhdXVcLO_5LjCDa43J3C0HQk9vOYhwD4cbk7mB0P6QvVmk/s400/notes.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293193995333769794" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This post has got nothing to do with the movie holding the same name. It just popped into my head while writing about what our Egyptian society would classify as a scandal.<br /><br />A few weeks ago a horrible murder took place in the 6th of October city, precisely in one of the new luxurious compounds which were initially built on the outskirts of Cairo before the 6th of October turned from being a mere district into a governorate . Two female students, Heba (daughter of the famous singer, Laila Ghofran) and her friend Nadine ( daughter of an Egyptian engineer who works and lives in Saudi Arabia) were brutally stabbed to death inside Nadine's family apartment.<br /><br />It is generally expected that the Arab media would prove to be more brutal than the murderer himself in its coverage of such cases. The newspapers, which were first to announce the news, have extremely increased the dosage this time, though.. seeking to exploit the fact that one of the victims is the daughter to a celeb. Mind you, I'm not talking about some tabloid papers.. No! These are daily newspapers that Egyptians read every morning to check local and world news and daily columns written by the top writers in Egypt. Thus, they are considered to be a trusted source of information, and usually people take what they say for granted. Yet, this time, we found journalists competing hysterically in spicing up the details related to the murder, with a special focus on the moral conduct of the two girls (the victims). They spread rumors in the form of news from their trusted sources, and made headlines out of imaginary crap, building upon a social stereotype which basically condemns a girl living alone, even if she is a nun! Those journalists kept making their wildest guesses and casting their dices on the best they could get out of this story, which instantly became a huge buzz in Egypt.<br /><br />It breaks my heart to go through the details, but I will just mention some examples to elaborate on how our media has got a very strong hand in misleading public opinion, of course without being bound by any ethical codes or rules or laws to organize this chaos. In Egypt, an editor-in-chief gets in trouble if he published fabricated info concerning our president's health.. but it is fine if his paper is totally fabricated from cover to cover. Just don't come near the presidency. It is true the press enjoys great freedom.. You can accuse anybody of anything you wish, without even having to prove it. We have a huge problem with the definition of "freedom" in this country, and usually what we consider to be freedom is nothing but chaos and meanness. Just look at our streets for God's sake! Isn't this the land of absolute freedom??<br /><br />Anyway, back to Heba and Nadine. And I'd like to apologize in advance for mentioning the following rumors, which, I repeat, were written as facts directly delivered from security sources, friends, and neighbors to the victims.<br /><br />Newspapers said that Heba and Nadine were drug addicts, who were notorious for their multiple relationships with guys and crazy partying in the apartment where they were both killed. It was said that during those parties the girls would invite friends from both sexes, serve drugs and alcohols, and dance till the early hours of morning. Journalists were specifically keen on suggesting the idea of "free sexual relationships" which took place during those parties, with special focus on the two victims.. not forgetting to mention the names of their boyfriends, who, according to colleagues and neighbors (the papers said,) were used to spending hours with the girls in the privacy of this villa!! Yeah, all of a sudden the apartment turned into a villa.<br /><br />As to how the girls were stabbed and the possible reason behind the crime (which journalists claimed was according to police investigations), it was said that revenge was a primary suspect, because both girls were stabbed several times, Nadine's throat and tongue were cut, and it was said that a post-mortem examination revealed the presence of explosives inside her womb!! You may wonder why this sadism was mainly directed towards Nadine, although she ain't the famous one.. Well, I have got no idea.. But I guess it is because the apartment was hers, and she was the one who lived alone.. which is such a shame according to our local customs and traditions. Basically, people assume that a girl living alone would normally indulge in all the worst kinds of behavior, including sex, of course - being the taboo of all taboos here - and in this case, one sex partner won't be enough, she has to have several.. while drinking and doing drugs are just to complete the stereotypical image.<br /><br />It was said that this "revenge" was either carried out by one of the girls' boyfriends, out of jealousy, or by a drug dealer!! And details just kept getting more disgusting, always ending by talking about Nadine's father who lives in Saudi Arabia without knowing anything about his daughter, while sending her a monthly allowance of 11,000 EGP (yeah, coz 10,000 won't be a convincing figure, the extra 1000 would make it sound more precise and thus causing people to believe all the other details) and that she had recently lent her boyfriend 40,000 EGP to be able to buy a new car!.. Oh la la!<br /><br />Why turn a simple apartment into a villa? and what have those amounts of money got to do with the murder case? and why is it considered to be such a shame? Well, again.. I don't have the answers.. but probably because a society where the majority suffers from poverty will definitely feel curious about how the girls who belong to the high society of Cairo live. Thus, those kinds of details are guaranteed to verify the stereotypical image that those people have become familiar with through the Egyptian TV series, soaps and films, which always show the rich family as leading a life full of corruption and vice.<br /><br />So, to make a long story short.. It wasn't long before the truth came out (and this drove people even more crazy because they expected this real-life crime series to last longer). The facts were as follows:<br />1- Heba was officially married to the guy they named once as her boyfriend and later as her fiancé. She called him after the murderer ran away and that's how journalists got his name.<br />2-Nadine's autopsy report proved that she was a virgin, her so-called boyfriend was a colleague she loved, has proposed to her family and was asked to wait until she completes her education.<br />3-The murderer was found to be a 19 year old blacksmith who came to rob the house, thinking that both girls were already asleep. But, Heba, who was still awake, saw him and started screaming. He was already shaking, so he kept stabbing her hysterically to make her shut up. Her screams caused Nadine, who was sleeping in her room to wake up. Then during a struggle, Nadine injured the guy's hand with the knife he held, running to the kitchen to grab a knife.. he then ran after her stabbing her repeatedly in the back, and when she fell, he thought she died, but she held on to his feet.. then he decided to cut her throat to finish her.<br /><br />Now it's questions time.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Why would our society insist on making a scandal out of this crime?</span> A scandal involving the victims!.. while the murderer in almost all similar cases has always had some kind of a ready-made scenario on his side.. from being a hurt lover, driven to commit the crime out of jealousy, to the young victim of poverty, to even suggesting a conspiracy theory in which the Egyptian police resorted to dragging an innocent guy to present him to the public as the murderer!.. Why?.. To spoil the fun of the masses, maybe!<br /><br />Anyway, <a href="http://fantasiarabic.blogspot.com/2008/12/blog-post.html">I've written about this terrible crime before</a>, in Arabic, presenting a kind of humble reading of what might be the hidden motives behind the industry of social scandals in Egypt.. Why a female victim of murder is automatically shifted to become the subject of a scandal, and may indeed be considered a criminal herself in a different context, in which a very strange definition of "honor" usually appears.. much related to the idea of "honor killings." In this context, the assumed violation of social customs and traditions is in fact viewed by the majority of people to be a very serious crime.. much more serious than murder.. to such a degree which makes the act of murder itself a righteous act or even "the sole cure" in such a case.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxE0gGLbovd1awTYQ1CfVcKhKW4kX1X2L0pOAGj3hQLCED5FGcAleDbIW1-T0BwMnDodlScy5NTVOg3uZKud7XtqsRorkIMXbSnnhVIE5jzQ38o3MsGX1UcS-38s8eHAMVEY55JndfaD20/s1600-h/wanted_for_murder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxE0gGLbovd1awTYQ1CfVcKhKW4kX1X2L0pOAGj3hQLCED5FGcAleDbIW1-T0BwMnDodlScy5NTVOg3uZKud7XtqsRorkIMXbSnnhVIE5jzQ38o3MsGX1UcS-38s8eHAMVEY55JndfaD20/s320/wanted_for_murder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293197872858752610" border="0" /></a><br />A female exercising free will over her body is committing the most horrible crime. Anything else can be forgiven. Anything else can be dealt with. Any other crime has got a fitting punishment, and in such a case, the criminal can indeed be forgiven after undergoing this punishment.. even if it was execution.. he can still have a good name, and his family won't live with the burden of shame hanging over its head for a lifetime. Anything and everything can be forgiven, except a female out of control. This is the scariest notion.. It is a social obsession.. It is the greatest fear of every man in our society. Families are constantly under the stress of this ever present nightmare. And it just keeps getting worse and worse as their daughters grow up.<br /><br />I often get criticized when I tell my female friends that I pity Egyptian men, and that I can, on a certain level, sympathize with them. I might be asking for too much if I expect them to accept this coming from me. Yet, it won't be fair if even someone who has got the insight to realize such strong influences shaping men in our society, ever since their early childhood, can not bring herself to understand their motivations and inner struggles. Yes, we have all the right to be frustrated and to consider our men to be the worst ever at times, but we must not forget that <span style="font-weight: bold;">they just can't help it</span>.<br /><br />Imagine this.. A little boy being taught from his early childhood not to mix with girls, being urged to play the role of a bodyguard for his sister/s, and even his own mother in some cases. He is bullied at school by merely naming his sister or his mother (not to mention the dirty language dictionary which mainly focuses on using the mother as the source of shame. For example, mother f***er and others). This boy then grows up to see women as a source of shame and scandal.. his own shame and his own scandal. His next mission is to go through puberty and teenage years, suffering from feelings of internalized shame, because at this age he fantasizes about females a lot, yet he cannot understand his mixed feelings towards them.. a love/hate sort of relationship. Add to that the feeling of guilt that a teenager always carries like a bulk of chains weighing down his/her soul, merely because they are normal human beings who have got a reproductive system!<br /><br />Then, this young man goes through the biggest challenge off all, a sort of "to be or not to be" kind of dilemma. He is brought up to believe that his manhood lies between his thighs.. And now he became old enough to put this to the test. So, what will it be? Man or Not Man?<br /><br />There are 2 ways to find out: Marriage or else.. I won't go through the second option.. it needs a separate post. Let's say he chooses marriage. Then again he faces another challenge.. not the one you have in minds.. no.. finding "the one" is not really a big deal when choosing an Egyptian wife.. The challenge here is not finding real love, it is finding the <span style="font-weight: bold;">absolute virgin</span>.<br /><br />In a society like ours, a mere virgin just isn't good enough.. every man's quest while mating is to find the absolute virgin. Well, I'd better clarify what that means.<br /><br />An AV is a never-been-touched, never-been-in-love, never-had-a-relationship, kind of girl. This is different from the simple "virgin".. Coz it is taken for granted that the girl must be a virgin in the biological sense! She has to bleed on her wedding night. That is out of question. The absolute virgin goes beyond her hymn.. Her husband has to be the first man in her life. It is even better if she told him he was her prince charming.. and she would really do the perfect job if she was able to convince him that his ghost used to visit her in her dreams.. a very common proto-image inspired by some Egyptian movie classics.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMQ3TpBh7OJbi9lYUfj3eqPXw4zvPt4wspEOi6Qk9YUIVKNgdcnaKQMUfm9OlqQsGUAqErGDgay04jygWgbdp896rBmSt0Zp6HIxrB6pNMGE1VQRAsby-AYUhN3ZrU0x8T-5dfgoFCqoH/s1600-h/wedding+bride.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMQ3TpBh7OJbi9lYUfj3eqPXw4zvPt4wspEOi6Qk9YUIVKNgdcnaKQMUfm9OlqQsGUAqErGDgay04jygWgbdp896rBmSt0Zp6HIxrB6pNMGE1VQRAsby-AYUhN3ZrU0x8T-5dfgoFCqoH/s320/wedding+bride.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293196912725823138" border="0" /></a><br />Let's say our guy (thinks he has) succeeded in his mission, and he was able to find his half human, half angel AV. Is the nightmare finally over? Hehehe.. you wish!<br /><br />To be continued...<br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-67661362665656787152008-11-26T03:49:00.000-08:002008-11-26T16:40:45.095-08:00Are You Making Your Country Poorer?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1_OYJe5dzqVOWPVFixh1uwzq-pMqWb1AFG9Q2Cl_1kzMuMq2TM0SRoUQhmSQsItIFyM67Ff-H_xhodRMzI2Io56vo8IMrQCfUNyRlCdO0Fo_N4vRtaovmLWdl0_t-CiJA5M9iF_zI-At/s1600-h/poverty+in+egypt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1_OYJe5dzqVOWPVFixh1uwzq-pMqWb1AFG9Q2Cl_1kzMuMq2TM0SRoUQhmSQsItIFyM67Ff-H_xhodRMzI2Io56vo8IMrQCfUNyRlCdO0Fo_N4vRtaovmLWdl0_t-CiJA5M9iF_zI-At/s320/poverty+in+egypt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273122323372347426" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This post is a special dedication to all the bitter, ever-complaining, dissatisfied housewives.. who were once my school buddies, university comrades, and work colleagues, but have chosen to stay at home after marriage.<br /><br />Sorry, all. You have always found me to be your comforting pillow.. always an attentive listener, with whom you can split your pains, and someone you can always count on for relief. You've always found me to have a great ability to sympathize, or even empathize. I realize the amount of your shock at my sudden loss of those abilities, and I understand how painful this could be at times, especially when it adds up to your bitterness and misery. I'm sorry, gals.. I can't do it.. Not when it comes to this.. and certainly not when you are responsible adults who are supposed to be accountable for your decisions.<br /><br />I've always understood your weaknesses, and swallowed your follies.. being careful not to criticize you or blame you until you are totally in the right mood for thinking and re-evaluating your acts. I was extra gentle with matters of the heart.. less with life-defining decisions.. yet constantly focusing on absorbing your pain and frustration. I am still the same. Only one thing is too many for me.. and that is when you complain that you are stuck in a bad marriage, having to stick to a tight budget (complaining about the high cost of living), and that you can't help transferring your anger unto your kids! Now, that's way too much. I can't absorb that.. and you'd better be ready to find your emotional sponge turn rock-solid.<br /><br />Again and again I say.. there is a huge difference between being a victim and being a criminal. Turning into a criminal because you've been yourself victimized is not a good excuse to get out with, for one.. and won't change the fact that now you've become a criminal. So, be an adult and face it. You made a huge mistake.. and even if the whole world deceived you into thinking that you did your family a favor, you can not deceive yourself, especially after seeing all of those disasters that you are causing everyone around you.. in addition to harming your country as well.<br /><br />I seriously don't get it! You said that your family needs all your time, so that's why you don't need a job.. then you complain of loneliness and the huge spare time you are never able to fill! You said that your husband has got a handsome income that would make your slim salary seem ridiculous, that's why you're better off without your work.. then you complain that prices are rising and that your budget is getting tighter! You said that work for women is not primary.. then you envy your ex-colleagues whenever one of them gets promoted or whenever you see one of'em on TV! You just turned into one of those horrible women you once hated and criticized. You are searching for the faults in others to prove that nobody is perfect, as if this will calm you deep inside, instead of trying to improve your life or make it a happier one.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-mS8LMUiTCNZUj2siDf5I3TUoBiap5aIfYcPdgmRm0JbAEtQK9tKb-WAFu7UA5hjHV9tqsNni4qzQmhz47f4fwviQu2sZYb5bPG8qWtiuInrWpvtGicQVubx6yJlfSoG_zfOvAir4IPA/s1600-h/watching+tv.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-mS8LMUiTCNZUj2siDf5I3TUoBiap5aIfYcPdgmRm0JbAEtQK9tKb-WAFu7UA5hjHV9tqsNni4qzQmhz47f4fwviQu2sZYb5bPG8qWtiuInrWpvtGicQVubx6yJlfSoG_zfOvAir4IPA/s320/watching+tv.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273126252809230242" border="0" /></a><br />Anyway, if a woman makes this choice, it won't be logical of her to expect sympathy from others. Believe me, it is not because the other busy bees out there are too envious of a coach potato. Those who told you this tale are the ones responsible for your misery. Simply, I can't forgive you for adding up to the poverty of our country. Yeah, that's right. You are making this country poorer.. so at least do not complain, baby.<br /><br />Belonging to the third world is not like being a member in a club. A country earns its place in the so-called third world because it belongs there.. it is poor, has a slow development rate, and does not contribute much (if any) to global economy or development (for example, in scientific research). Hence, if a country does what you do.. that is, become dependent on other productive countries.. it fits into the third world. And as long as half the population in those countries think the way you do, then those countries have got zero chance in improvement.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdcs2uawikAFltee1oqUBNbKRxR5CppvOX0dlPp4LV2wi2tOrzz76cxo2JEC4iC9_dJT3U2rto5ySX1jnFsBkbwMJybLYL-rvYedJ7KH-Zg9qNqvyXZm3Y5joxARAODmaBzuuC1IVxorz/s1600-h/bread.mme.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdcs2uawikAFltee1oqUBNbKRxR5CppvOX0dlPp4LV2wi2tOrzz76cxo2JEC4iC9_dJT3U2rto5ySX1jnFsBkbwMJybLYL-rvYedJ7KH-Zg9qNqvyXZm3Y5joxARAODmaBzuuC1IVxorz/s320/bread.mme.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273125151937564386" border="0" /></a><br />To be able to imagine how weak our production rate is, I'll just give a couple of examples.. The average productivity of an Egyptian citizen is estimated to be around 1000$ a year.. and it tends to be fixed around this figure through many years.. while in Israel for example, a citizen produces the equivalent of 15000$/year.. And in a country which used to belong to the third world only a few years ago like Singapore, this amount reaches 45000$ per capita.. meaning that the productivity of the Singaporean citizen is 45 times as much as that of his Egyptian counterpart!! Now, where can this get us for God's sake?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTG4cQcoic2LYOsElCS2h8XM1mNonZpeQhh5vdwsN7jNyt2ZT8NrbSr-rfSijAXM4iX0l3L4ivfBSI3_F-LGhiX1Ld12Wwbe1DHj2E7CplmnftLTz_lmyIPPmpZbRfy2stceOrK0hLlNK/s1600-h/poor+district.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTG4cQcoic2LYOsElCS2h8XM1mNonZpeQhh5vdwsN7jNyt2ZT8NrbSr-rfSijAXM4iX0l3L4ivfBSI3_F-LGhiX1Ld12Wwbe1DHj2E7CplmnftLTz_lmyIPPmpZbRfy2stceOrK0hLlNK/s320/poor+district.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273125819915235554" border="0" /></a><br />It is as simple as this.. there are 78 million Egyptians.. half of them are brought up to think that their primary role in life is to reproduce and serve their households. Then the whole population is dependent on the other half to feed them and satisfy their basic needs.. How lovely!<br /><br />By sitting at home, you are just turning into a huge burden on economy. You keep adding to this burden when you keep getting more children to keep yourself occupied at home. The end result is more poverty and misery for thousands. Urban women are the worst of the lot.. they are not productive at all. A rural woman bakes her own bread, plants her vegetables, raises chicken, sews clothes...etc. While all what urban women do is consume, consume, consume. Not only do they consume goods.. but also endless hours on the phone and in front of TV to keep themselves entertained. They consume energy.. which (in case you don't know) is becoming rarer and rarer, and is expected to be the number one reason behind endless wars to come.<br /><br />So, back to urban women.. What do they produce? What is their share in the national income? Zero.<br /><br />The government has contributed to this crisis when it failed to provide adequate daycare service to help their female employees stay in the workforce; hence, making it easier for the private sector to get away without having any obligation towards female workers. Why on earth would a company owner bother to provide a service that the government itself does not require or care to provide? The ridiculous alternative of the 2 years maternal leave (in the public sector) only means that those women do not actually work, or else how would 2 years of absence be OK with them? Those women then return (if they ever do) to resume their work in the same position they occupied before their leave, falling back behind their colleagues who got their promotions on time. The private sector is even worse.. it gives a maternal leave of 3 months, after which you can bid your job goodbye. Most probably what a woman pays for daycare and transportation to be able to carry on this daily tour (home-daycare-work-daycare-home) will be enough to swallow her full income. Thus, she finds herself compelled to stay at home with her baby.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8bOvT9k5J-FkeCRCsnNf7TWB2r1Ui5jGrreu_DDJWXb5qGyNK2xkCg69y6qlhLDvUEtk2xETt-mVQVkZHn-vK4UYdu1HeWoy6XlXRzDfbsjXNEqdrf_TO-e-bbh1JSp1z3JcGsT-VZ_h/s1600-h/female+workers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE8bOvT9k5J-FkeCRCsnNf7TWB2r1Ui5jGrreu_DDJWXb5qGyNK2xkCg69y6qlhLDvUEtk2xETt-mVQVkZHn-vK4UYdu1HeWoy6XlXRzDfbsjXNEqdrf_TO-e-bbh1JSp1z3JcGsT-VZ_h/s320/female+workers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273124049631866914" border="0" /></a><br />Now, let's do the maths to find out why Egypt continues to be a poor country.<br /><br />1- With the gender gap in favor of males in literacy rates, we have to confront the fact that only 59.4% of females could read and write, 93% of which complete the primary stage, while only 67% attend secondary school.<br />2- Only 23% of women join the labor force.. they make 22% of the total labor force in Egypt.<br />3- Of those women in the labor force (23%), only 22.6% hold a university degree, (which means that only 5% of Egyptian women are highly educated working citizens! Freakish!) 16% of those are in administrative posts, and 28% hold professional and technical posts.<br /><br />Aside from those horrifying figures, one might think that a crisis of this magnitude must be a top priority while designing reform programs.. yet, unfortunately, we can not count on that.<br /><br />In her "Egypt: A Poverty Profile," Professor Mahassen Mostafa Hassanin says:<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote>Reform programs tend to work to the benefit of men than to the benefit of women. Macroeconomic policies concentrate on the reallocation of resources to achieve both stability and growth rather than on microeconomic issues and gender differentiation. Development programs usually address males while neglecting females.<br /></blockquote></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Not only so, but the pop culture is another huge obstacle, acting as a strong barrier, preventing girls from aspiring to play an active role in society. And I quote again from the same source:<br /><br /><blockquote>Equality and equity among males and females represents the cornerstone of this new development paradigm which concentrates on sustainability of the development process and this requires changing the prevailing social paradigm, and re-educating men and women on how to work together to create a more humanitarian world order.</blockquote>On why Egyptian women would ever consider having a job , Professor Hassanin says:<br /><blockquote>The pattern of women in the development process is controversial. Women devote nearly all their income to the welfare of their family and still have to comply with the constraints of their gender role in the society. This makes the cost of their participation in the development process rather excessive.</blockquote>And that is so true.. Women are rather pushed into the workforce than deciding to join it out of a personal will.. They lack empowerment, ambition and a sound environment which might inspire them to be productive citizens.<br /><br />For further elaboration on this point, let's check out what was in a paper called "Women and Poverty," by Ms. Sahar Nasr, as part of the Joint Report of the National Council for Women and the World Bank (2003).. In her research on women headed households, Nasr has found that most of those women are widowed. Which means that as long as there is a man at home, poor women would never consider having a job.<br /><blockquote>Poverty has Higher Price for Women and Girls. While poverty per se is not a gender concern, women, along with their children, tend to be more vulnerable to poverty than men.<br /><br />Poor women often face a triple disadvantage:<br /><br />•Heavy reproductive burden and their non-market contributions are often not recognized—undervaluing a significant part of their economic contributions.<br />•Social concerns may also limited women’s access to labor market and the type of jobs from which they can choose.<br />•Finally, women generally have lower educational achievements, reducing their earnings ability.<br /></blockquote>Do you realize now that you can not just sit there and complain? Your country needs you, because you are one of the very few young, healthy, well-educated women who expected to be productive, and any development would simply not happen as long as you insist on throwing all your education and personal skills against the wall and sitting there doing nothing.<br /><br />BE RESPONSIBLE.. ACT RESPONSIBLE.. DO SOMETHING FOR THE FUTURE OF YOUR KIDS.. STOP MAKING YOUR COUNTRY POORER<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZHF2HPUXJ5290XPLRkYphIPFM3-cj8Sca_cSTUx5jq1etSVMmD3gmzrwzZn9pPd96aETpSkgcGK6NVOWBkuIMftqV_as3dBjWBW3OJiVvkLT_9hFtKYkG8N9ZmfYeUVix_PCHynr0gK0/s1600-h/poor+children.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZHF2HPUXJ5290XPLRkYphIPFM3-cj8Sca_cSTUx5jq1etSVMmD3gmzrwzZn9pPd96aETpSkgcGK6NVOWBkuIMftqV_as3dBjWBW3OJiVvkLT_9hFtKYkG8N9ZmfYeUVix_PCHynr0gK0/s320/poor+children.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273128686402382626" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-70731623235945169842008-11-05T11:11:00.000-08:002008-11-05T11:48:38.915-08:00THEY DID IT!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5FU844tX71dZQj0IUoAoBMklfFYXDstsXmsS7N7e-RV5YttiveSoxXbFIXGXb2em2-m-WuuQ0aWBATc5fLOqfMj-jH8smTsSI0G3fq-3sfc_Eokl6rHNNd9rA7RR6KaLABx6wCePhB08/s1600-h/obama.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5FU844tX71dZQj0IUoAoBMklfFYXDstsXmsS7N7e-RV5YttiveSoxXbFIXGXb2em2-m-WuuQ0aWBATc5fLOqfMj-jH8smTsSI0G3fq-3sfc_Eokl6rHNNd9rA7RR6KaLABx6wCePhB08/s320/obama.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265262213195368194" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In celebration of Obama's win.. and in response to this positive air of change which proves that dreams are indeed possible to achieve.. and in expressing hope that one day nations will rise above all kinds of discrimination, to finally co-exist in harmony and declare the victory of their humanity.. I thought about re-publishing the following post, which I wrote more than a year ago, calling for keeping the faith in our dreams. I seize this opportunity to revive this call and share the optimism that the wind of change will reach us here.<br /></div><br />I have a dream.. that one day Egypt will have a woman president.<br /><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWICu21-Ge14Zo0M6aeMTtCSebyPPBILUNhIpnXfecNPzHQQJFxqDyyWwSXyQyv7hckanzIog_s_7Y2w91bawN9scI2HxHv0OQslSyEDHWat32BtSzn4OSEMLiNlAM4Cg4eFZpCyP4AOB/s1600-h/pamela_masik.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111911075362754514" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWICu21-Ge14Zo0M6aeMTtCSebyPPBILUNhIpnXfecNPzHQQJFxqDyyWwSXyQyv7hckanzIog_s_7Y2w91bawN9scI2HxHv0OQslSyEDHWat32BtSzn4OSEMLiNlAM4Cg4eFZpCyP4AOB/s400/pamela_masik.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Woman with a Dream</span></span><br /><br />When Martin Luther King stood there, giving his public speech in 1963, saying his famous "I have a dream...", he certainly had no idea that his dream will come true. He had no idea that his speech will be a historic one, or that it will later be ranked the top American speech of the 20th century. He was only being sincere and dedicated to his cause. He spoke his mind and heart, giving the American people a peek on his dream: that one day both blacks and whites will exist harmoniously as equals.<br /><br />That was a black man, whose dream exceeded himself to include all people of his race. He did not hide his dream in shame. He did not say that everything is OK as long as he himself is not negatively affected by the racial discimination practiced in his country. No, he made it his mission to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and to stand up in the face of the powerful. He knew that nothing will change as long as he and others are silent. He believed in the power of reason and justice. He understood the value of words and how taboos can be broken by talking about them. He stood there, solid and firm, expressing a beautiful dream, where black and white kids can play together, without feelings of hatred or superior/inferior relationships to destroy their innocence.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yvqxv7Pb0vzjCE1OBuMMRvKZkjOBf8LCGG98TwqalxUE-LLQxPIoOBC8egd7Do7Yfis8X4pRUYjX_uXLJhlwtj_VvpYpXoXcRqwBPAxT84KFpuQafLuc5CEPDBW6kgFUCSwfMww2aEMS/s1600-h/fem.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5111910199189426114" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6yvqxv7Pb0vzjCE1OBuMMRvKZkjOBf8LCGG98TwqalxUE-LLQxPIoOBC8egd7Do7Yfis8X4pRUYjX_uXLJhlwtj_VvpYpXoXcRqwBPAxT84KFpuQafLuc5CEPDBW6kgFUCSwfMww2aEMS/s400/fem.bmp" border="0" /></a>Just like it took a black man to fight for the rights of the blacks, it takes a woman to fight for the rights of women. It takes a woman with a dream; a dream of a better future, where men and women would coexist harmoniously as equals in society. It takes a woman with a mission and determination to bring down all the false taboos and misconceptions about her sex. It takes a woman whose dream extends beyond herself and her present wishes. It takes a woman who believes that she's not an inferior and that she deserves to be treated with respect. It takes a woman who believes that she was created equal, and that she holds the same brain that men hold. It takes a woman who's not afraid of imaginary ghosts haunting her life. It takes a woman who believes in herself and her abilities. It takes a woman who is strong enough to face the winds of opposition and ridicule. It takes a woman who won't give up the fight for justice and humanity. It takes a woman who will stand up and face the world with her dream.<br /><br />Don't say that most girls are happy with the way things are. You know better. Your level of awareness is a gift, a precious gift that only a few get to possess. And with this gift comes a responsibility. Your awareness enabled you to understand why those vulnerable girls are silent, why they act satisfied, and why they even sometimes stand against their own rights. They are victims of a massive brainwash, just like black men were once made to believe that they were born black to be marked as salves, and that it was their inescapable destiny.<br /><br />Patriarchs used the same mechanism used by Great Britain when they invaded African countries and made its inhabitants become their salves. The British colonialism was clever enough to convince those slaves that they were born slaves. They made them believe that it is a bless that they now found masters who can take care of them, because slaves can’t think for themselves. They even turned their colonialism into a crusade of some kind, where the mission was to bring civilization to these savage lands. The idea of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_man" target="_blank" snap_icon_added="spa" snap_preview_added="spa" parent_link_icon="maybe">“The White Man’s Burden”</a> was so popular and found its believers among the colonists themselves. The “burden” was that of educating and civilizing the black barbarians. It turned intro a sacred mission, just like that of the Arab men, who want to protect women from themselves. So now we have ”the Arab Man’s Burden.”<br /><strong></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong>Women are the only ones who can fight their battle.</strong> Just like blacks were liberated by the blacks, women will be liberated by women. Therefore I'll continue to say, <strong><em>"I have a dream."</em></strong> </div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-74047146160150152232008-10-22T05:34:00.000-07:002008-10-25T19:48:34.588-07:00Noha Roshdy<div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6J5IZR_q1bLo3oUQEA1Cct2Sn-XNCqu91v5X_j0djJK38gQj89VGkQNorwCcgbSg_2LDlsPjMVFTHEOhG8uvbDYZ-OROFvdOpCBYG3dqkNOfXFdqAaWBXx_YQNz2OI6MsG4S-UJnadZy/s1600-h/noha+roshdy.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6J5IZR_q1bLo3oUQEA1Cct2Sn-XNCqu91v5X_j0djJK38gQj89VGkQNorwCcgbSg_2LDlsPjMVFTHEOhG8uvbDYZ-OROFvdOpCBYG3dqkNOfXFdqAaWBXx_YQNz2OI6MsG4S-UJnadZy/s400/noha+roshdy.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259985582763744578" border="0" /></a>Yesterday, I read about a brave girl from upper Egypt called Bikhyta, who was attacked by a wolf and kept struggling with it for 3 hours, during which she lost 2 of her fingers.. yet in the end, Bikhyta was able to slay the wolf.. all on her own.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Today, all the Egyptian newspapers feature another female hero of a very special kind on their headlines.. She is Noha Roshdy, a young director of documentaries who had been harassed by a truck driver while walking home with her friend Hend about 6 months ago. The human-wolf stretched his arm out of the truck while slowing beside Noha and grabbed her breasts so violently that she almost fainted out of pain and fell onto the sidewalk while screaming hysterically. He then simply smiled at her and drove off!<br /><br />Thanks to the traffic in Cairo, that animal couldn't go any far. And of course, he took it for granted that Noha will be lucky if she just managed to escape a nervous breakdown. He assumed that the best she could do is rise up and continue her walk home, carrying all the shame and pain, and probably going to the first pillow to weep. It never crossed his mind that Noha is not that kind of girl. To his amazement, he found Noha rising up like a tigress, chasing his truck, and jumping over the driver's cabin to force him to pull off and get out. She succeeded! And she held him by the collar determined to take him to the police station to charge him of sexually harassing her.<br /><br />The reactions that Noha got were just unbelievable, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">I highly recommend that this would be the subject of serious studies by Egyptian sociologists and psychiatrics</span>.<br /><br />Imagine that the harasser himself, the truck driver, thought Noha was crazy! He couldn't understand why a girl would jeopardize her life in such a way just to get hold of someone who grabbed her breasts! See? That's what we were talking about girls.. your passiveness in dealing with harassment caused you to be taken for granted in such a humiliating way! The good old wisdom of laissez-passer proved to be not good, huh. That's the way you are viewed by harassers out there.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">for them, you are not the polite girl who couldn't get herself to face her attacker because she is a shy cute virgin! You are just a whore who has to shut up after being sexually assaulted. That's who you are.</span><br /><br />Noha's shock did not stop there.. For, of course a crowd quickly gathered out of curiosity to see what all the screaming was about. Some of them had witnessed the incident from the start. Yet, Noha says: "Some of them tried helping the driver get back into his truck to flee.. Some tried calming me down by saying that they will make him apologize, and when I refused taking an apology, trying in vain to get them to see the crime he committed, they didn't understand why I was so determined to take to the police station and called me crazy. One of them even told me 'I don't understand what a girl like you is doing, standing her with men!' While others kept watching from their balconies without even caring to offer any help."<br /><br />You may wonder, were there not any women on the street at the time?.. Well, according to Noha, only one woman volunteered to help her.. and her way of help was as follows: She said to Noha, "Never mind my girl, let him go, just don't humiliate yourself like that!"<br /><br />What kind of society are we living in?! Are those normal people? Or were they all subjected to some kind of mysterious gas that caused them to lose their minds? Seriously, it seems that our society is suffering from <span style="font-weight: bold;">mass hysteria</span>! People are sick in a disgusting way! Have they lost any trace of common sense! Do they stand there blaming the victim for wanting to claim her rights?.. Seriously??.. Are they helping the criminal to get away with his crime??.. Seriously??.. Is that the presumably Religious, Pious, Conservative society of ours?? Damn it!<br /><br />I'm sorry to shock you all, but it just keeps getting worse and worse. For those of you who love horror movies I recommend reading the full story as told by Noha in <a href="http://www.youm7.com/News.asp?NewsID=45178&SecID=97&IssueID=26">an interview</a> with <span style="font-style: italic;">Al Youm Al Sabe3</span>.. Unfortunately, it is not available in English.<br /><br />For 2 whole hours after the assault, Noha stood there in the middle of a crowd, merely trying to convince them that this man she was holding is a criminal!! According to Noha, she was unable to find anyone in this very busy commercial road who was willing to help her, except for one young man who sympathized and bravely took all the criticism because he volunteered to help her get to the station with this harasser!<br /><br />Now, we are going to see<span style="font-weight: bold;"> a totally different episode of how those things are handled by our heroic patriarchal security forces</span>!<br /><br />Noha's friend who was with her when she got attacked went off to the nearest community police station, which we call no2tah, to get help. But the constable there said that it was none of their business (I wonder whose business it is!) and told her to call 911! There was nothing to do other than holding this harasser all the way to this community station.<br /><br />When Noha got there and told the story to the constable, he did not hide being so disinterested and warned her that she will suffer a lot if she insists on placing legal charges against the guy who harassed her! When she insisted, he called the police officer, who didn't bother to come. He then wrote down her complaint and said that they won't be able to take the suspect to the main police station!!.. and that if she wanted this complaint to take its legal course, she had to drive him by herself there!!.. Which she did.. She then had to go to the prosecutor's office on the same day, and there, according to Noha, the prosecutor was the only one who thought she did the right thing and saluted her courage. That's how the Noha's case found its way to court.. any other girl could have given up after facing all those obstacles. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Does our honorable ministry of interior now understand why girls do not complain when they get harassed??? Or don't they?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCsfMSl3BtizeUNcXwAdGMqnVPaEdEL7kqV67uiKbo3ztgJ1iB8A_0DxOMXD8UhhZVUTIBJLP68_iJMOi4EyH9xDvFiCIOrsXgFUPRiNDDJYqwk62Udzza-cMPwT7kpM3x9Q5Zy-I2I57/s1600-h/Noha+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCsfMSl3BtizeUNcXwAdGMqnVPaEdEL7kqV67uiKbo3ztgJ1iB8A_0DxOMXD8UhhZVUTIBJLP68_iJMOi4EyH9xDvFiCIOrsXgFUPRiNDDJYqwk62Udzza-cMPwT7kpM3x9Q5Zy-I2I57/s400/Noha+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259985856839120226" border="0" /></a>Yesterday, 21 October 2008, Noha's harasser, Sherif Gabriel was sentenced to 3 years behind bars. A great victory to all the women in Egypt.. and a badge of honor to the Egyptian court. I am so happy that Noha's effort and courage in fighting for her civil rights were not wasted in vain. I am also so glad that although we still don't have a law under which harassers could be tried, Gabriel could not escape punishment. It is good to find some sanity and justice when all we could see around us is pure madness, and when violence against women has somehow become the norm.<br /><br />Yes, justice was served. <span style="font-weight: bold;">But not all is well that ends well</span>. In fact, this good ending is just a beginning which opened a tiny window unto a world of evil and ethical rot. For example.. I couldn't help boiling with anger at some of the comments posted by the readers on <a href="http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=183377">Al Masry Al Youm</a> this morning. Some of them still blame women for being the cause of harassment!!.. Some of them refuse to admit that Noha is a human being and a citizen that has the right in a safe street!! Some of them can't see beyond Noha's hair!! As if this is what tempted the harasser to grab her breast, and not the fact that she is a female! They haven't learned anything.. They insist on compromising their humanity and degrading themselves to the level of animals. But even animals do not do this to one another!<br /><br />The image as it says that <span style="font-weight: bold;">we have a serious problem in Egypt</span>. A problem with the people, their minds, their psyche, their values, and the way they see matters. Something is very wrong with this country. We have to face it. Noha's case is only the beginning.. It gave us a peek into the darkness inside our souls as a society. Now, we have to see the disease that is eating up our moral system and causing us to fail miserably as human beings.<br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-5080465824325503552008-10-13T16:43:00.000-07:002008-10-13T20:51:28.218-07:00Harassment Season in Egypt<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMJ3uVqttZE4y0pjDEpXBuHRydGl6SdYqBu_H_ROYxcYfNPQQXuIFJalgRp_UFVN0g0Gif_L-BGKQvggcCEOGs_sTfsX1fd1AuLDoQ0qI9sSzYZsQm4AFxMkT2L39Qk5LDRZfyMCx2vZ1/s1600-h/sexual+harassment.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMJ3uVqttZE4y0pjDEpXBuHRydGl6SdYqBu_H_ROYxcYfNPQQXuIFJalgRp_UFVN0g0Gif_L-BGKQvggcCEOGs_sTfsX1fd1AuLDoQ0qI9sSzYZsQm4AFxMkT2L39Qk5LDRZfyMCx2vZ1/s320/sexual+harassment.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256841382257762706" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, what can I say? It seems like we still have to deal with this shit for some time to come. Again, I talk about sexual harassment.. and this time the return of a new phenomenon which takes place during Eid El-fitr.. which is a Muslim feast, following Ramadan. It seems that Egyptian sexual harassers have chosen this time of the year (what a choice!) to unleash their savageness as a group.. instead of the individual assaults they practice on daily basis!<br /><br />During the Eid of 2006, incidents of mass sexual harassment took place in Down Town Cairo. This was the first time for such a thing to happen in Egypt (as far as I know). Hundreds of young men went about attacking women down the streets, grabbing them, touching them, and even tearing up their clothes! Back then, the Egyptian police refused to admit the occurrence of these incidents, even after actual footage were released over the internet and were being sent via mobile phones. Still police maintained that all this was not enough proof, and that all these were mere rumors!.. according to them, as long as there was no single complaint officially filed to certify the occurrence of such incidents, then this means that nothing has happened!<br /><br />How hilarious our government becomes when it acts stupid! The problem is that, as citizens, we've seen enough to be assured that our security system is so damn knowledgeable. It can be loose at times, but it has got all the power and the tools it needs to gather information. They can not even pretend to be stupid. Anyway, what happened then reminded me of the well-known Egyptian movie "Al Noom Fi Al Assal" [Fast Asleep] (and a better translation would be "Sweet Obliviousness"), a comedy that mocks this fact about our government (that is, their habit of denying things, refusing to admit the presence of problems in order to escape responsibility of having to work on solving them). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAC2Qe2Ua5-Q2TTO1vLaFFcbLDE5TXQNoaC0kXBGGc8gs_p2YVOPmJl_IKmi-NNGUSlPkhiFyXwsrS4zKtHc-GnIXCsJ9fdHBNI9gJR4GYam0RKN__l03aVhk9JSECrje8OCLmj10tAwi/s1600-h/fastasleep_i_LRG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAC2Qe2Ua5-Q2TTO1vLaFFcbLDE5TXQNoaC0kXBGGc8gs_p2YVOPmJl_IKmi-NNGUSlPkhiFyXwsrS4zKtHc-GnIXCsJ9fdHBNI9gJR4GYam0RKN__l03aVhk9JSECrje8OCLmj10tAwi/s320/fastasleep_i_LRG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256842100693662866" border="0" /></a>In this regard, the film was so realistic; yet in order to avoid problems with censorship (yes, we do have censorship on movies, books...etc) its makers resorted to an imaginary plot: aka, a mysterious disease is spreading rapidly throughout Egypt, causing men to lose their sexual ability. And because in a conservative society like ours such a thing is considered to be so scandalous and a horrible insult to a man's manhood, nobody dares confess being infected with the disease. The issue is discovered accidentally, when a young man commits suicide on his wedding night, a poor plumber slays his wife, and disputes between spouses reach police stations. The government discovered what was wrong, yet refrained from admitting it to the public, being sure that nobody would be brave enough to confess that they became impotent. However, the film ends on a very strong note when the police chief investigator who was on the case (played by superstar Adel Emam) loses his job because of taking those facts he found to parliament. He gathers people from all over Cairo in a huge march to the Egyptian parliament while screaming "Ahh".. a declaration of their suffering and a demand for action.<br /><br />It seems that this movie predicted 10 years earlier (1996) how our government would handle the the mass sexual harassment of 2006. And it seems that Egyptian girls have learned the lesson. Here is what happened as published on <a href="http://www.alarabiya.tv/articles/2008/10/05/57724.html">Al-Arabiya Net</a>:<br /><br /></div><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102); font-style: italic;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The independent al-Masry al-Youm reported that 150 young men assaulted female passers-by on Gamaat al-Duwal al-Arabiya street in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandeseen. One woman’s clothes were ripped off her body and another had her veil torn, the newspaper reported.<br /><br />Police arrested 38 suspects, between 15 and 22, and questioned three of the female victims.</div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="txt_article_lrg"><a name="001" id="001"></a></p><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the female victims, who wore the 'niqab' (an Islamic dress covering the body from head to toe, except for the eyes), said that a number of young men assaulted her and her friends.<br /><br />"They tore our clothes and snatched the 'hijab' (veil) worn by one of us," she was quoted as saying. She added that there were many other groups of young men along the street.</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />So, as expected and as usual this lollipop myth has proven to be useless. As I said <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2008/07/retards-make-it-to-atlantic.html">earlier</a>, "wrapped on unwrapped, you'll be consumed one way or another". This time harassers were actually arrested because their victims spoke up and testified. Nobody could deny it. But there remains the problem of "SO WHAT?"..<br /><br />The arrests were random, some of the suspects complained. "Yes, I was there, but I did nothing. No one could prove that I touched any of these girls." On the other hand, imagine being trapped inside a circle of 150 harassers! Would you be able to recognize any faces? The trauma itself is enough to waste your chances in proving anything. The result? Yes, they were arrested.. but they were also released shortly after! It's that simple.<br /><br />As <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2008/09/its-time-to-say-back-off.html">previously</a><a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2008/09/its-time-to-say-back-off.html"> </a>mentioned , we are waiting for a law against sexual harassment. Now, if you are in a position like that, nothing will help you, even in the presence of such a law. But, what encouraged those guys in first place and made them unite in attacking those girls is their confidence that each of them was successful in his previous individual assaults. Therefore, the importance of this law cannot be ignored or marginalized. Still, as a woman you must be able to defend yourself. This time, I mean being able to defend yourself in case of being subjected to a physical sexual assault that may involve violence. Of course, until police regains control over the streets, <span style="font-weight: bold;">DO NOT TAKE A WALK NEAR A CROWD OF YOUNG MEN,</span> especially during feasts.<br /><br />Here are some self-defense techniques that are a must-know, especially if you live in Cairo. You'd better be prepared. If nobody's willing to defend us, then we'd better be prepared. It seems that when men fail to go back to the <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2007/06/men-out-of-jungle.html">jungle</a>, they go ahead to establish their own.<br /></div><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yAm1WdFTqKQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yAm1WdFTqKQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/akjurM9KbZo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/akjurM9KbZo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lV2_JikdLJk&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lV2_JikdLJk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-27272740940266261642008-09-26T02:28:00.000-07:002008-09-26T17:32:26.252-07:00Natural Born Feminist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXc1nf0N9ES5Nu5YgSZZHQPZd9Ly1S4zJlhyZyhwO1QTzg_W9fAzX_LX79Ec9QJNDh5z5WZHnZXkTYu6Bk3L04jeR9ei1f6mz2_w_lJeQnZ3ane6rhSOQfR1ZbVTZU3OHgPICzJfDF5FAY/s1600-h/GirlsAreStrong.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXc1nf0N9ES5Nu5YgSZZHQPZd9Ly1S4zJlhyZyhwO1QTzg_W9fAzX_LX79Ec9QJNDh5z5WZHnZXkTYu6Bk3L04jeR9ei1f6mz2_w_lJeQnZ3ane6rhSOQfR1ZbVTZU3OHgPICzJfDF5FAY/s400/GirlsAreStrong.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250469505907088386" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Being an Egyptian feminist never fails to show you its ugly face.. or to be more frank, this is almost the only face you will meet ever since people decide to "honor" you with this "label". Once you get known as such, get ready to be bashed with all kinds of questions (a polite word for "accusations") like "Why do you hate men?.. Don't you think you are exaggerating?.. Do you want us to live like they do in the West?.. Are you married? " and (quoting the King of Siam) <span style="font-style: italic;">et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The stereotype for a feminist assumes a certain scenario</span> which goes as follows.. She was brought up in a miserable family, having to wash the dishes and cater drinks to her male brother.. Her father was probably a harsh man who used to beat her day and night, or deserted his family when she was young.. She probably was heartbroken in love, or met a man who cheated on her.. She's an envious spinister.. most probably her looks aren't good enough to attract men's attention...<span style="font-style: italic;"> et certera, et cetera, et cetera.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I'm always sorry to disappoint those who carry this sort of pathetic stereotype and trust so much. But, first of all, I'd like to say that I don't like to be called a feminist.. not because I became ashamed of the fabricated qualities associated with this term, or that it has grown notorious in our society.. but because it fails to express my aims and what I really seek to do. You cannot sum-up Fantasia in mere "feminist." That will not be an accurate description. I'd rather be called a "<span style="font-weight: bold;">myth-slayer</span> or a "<span style="font-weight: bold;">folklore-deconstructor</span>".. for that is what I actually do. If you would like to add the term"feminist" before either of them, though, it is absolutely fine by me.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfRSM8r9besLs5l22yjmSxPQXAf-tGTCSiS1ELq_I77lRt8cqvYjuc1qACd62n1xKwy0yYlVnOji5HT3c5XXloEn3rxdNO19TFXcrln4L8O4w6j0700x1VpO29N-2dIkvwX2v6KqUSSpB/s1600-h/feminist3.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfRSM8r9besLs5l22yjmSxPQXAf-tGTCSiS1ELq_I77lRt8cqvYjuc1qACd62n1xKwy0yYlVnOji5HT3c5XXloEn3rxdNO19TFXcrln4L8O4w6j0700x1VpO29N-2dIkvwX2v6KqUSSpB/s320/feminist3.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250469811447879938" border="0" /></a>Growing up with all those familiar accusations from people who try so hard to prove that I fit into their stereotype of that thing called "Feminist," has, nevertheless, caused me to reflect more on why I was different.. and to rephrase it according to pop culture, it would be "what was wrong with me?" Again, I apologize for disappointing them all, for I have discovered that nothing was wrong with me. And check this out.. I found out to be one of the rare cases of those who don't fight against nature. I am in complete harmony with who I naturally am and what my primary instincts dictate! People like me may be considered to be <span style="font-style: italic;">rare species</span> in our world, but I believe I am just one among many, whom you might well call "Natural Born Feminists." Please allow me to elaborate, using my diary.<br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. The Day I Broke My Doll:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7JNF8RTl9Bz0Za7tA-g8lvxaJy3mBN79Bq_zHrb22BDexX55xKE-gbxtVnq8v73bqayUJVK0r0udAaLt3gZ8QyAK0NJwnkbTuSFpEfPVkmjSBX5EvsS-58eZnME0ajnUmGzkHrDBcLtP/s1600-h/broken+dolls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7JNF8RTl9Bz0Za7tA-g8lvxaJy3mBN79Bq_zHrb22BDexX55xKE-gbxtVnq8v73bqayUJVK0r0udAaLt3gZ8QyAK0NJwnkbTuSFpEfPVkmjSBX5EvsS-58eZnME0ajnUmGzkHrDBcLtP/s320/broken+dolls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250470222283898002" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I grew up in a loving, traditional Egyptian family. My parents, like all others, loved me so dearly, and thought that showing this love would be through grooming me into what society would expect a girl to be. As a kid, I didn't understand it, and I thought the role of parents was to prevent their children from doing what they wanted. For instance, when the Legos I had received as a gift for my birthday suddenly disappeared, I thought the purpose was to deprive me of my favorite toy. However, I later discovered that my mom was hiding them away because she didn't like to see me playing a "boys' game", besides the mess that the scattered pieces of Legos cause. Instead, she got me a Barbie doll, only to find it broken into pieces the next day. She thought I hated this particular doll, so she brought me a new one; and when its fate showed to be no better than the first, my mom didn't give up.. She kept showering me with loads of dolls, never having pity on them, even when she sees them, one by one, ending up as plastic spare parts. I told her that that was my way of playing with dolls, but she insisted that I should use them to play another game.. pretending that they were real people, combing their hair and dressing them and stuff. When nothing seemed to work, she complained to my father that I spoiled my dolls, and thus was unworthy of any more toys. What my mom couldn't understand was that not all girls love to play with dolls. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kids differ.. not according to their gender, but according to their characters, abilities and preferences. </span>And what I didn't understand was her presistence that I play with a "dummy" (in the full sense of the word).<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2- The Screwdriver:</span><br /></div><br />As a kid, I hadn't known that exhibiting your talents was scary. I thought that parents would be proud of what their young ones could do, and should encourage them to be more curious and learn more about the world. I thought that being independent was a bless, not a curse.. and that showing everyone that you were able to do things on your own was worthy of applause. <span style="font-style: italic;">Oh how green I was!</span> [sigh].. Anyway, I used to show off my skills in front of adults, especially my parents, with best of intentions.<br /><br />One day I brought a screwdriver and started to unscrew our cassette-recorder to explore what lies inside. Yet, my dad made me feel as if this recorder was a bomb that would explode if I touched it! Needless to say, this didn't prevent me from seeking after what I wanted. A kid's mind is designed to be curious, constantly seeking after knowledge.. you can't stop this automatic mechanism just because you fear that a stupid machine will get out of order! So, I waited for the time when I was home alone, and I would get my dad's tools and open all of the electric machines at home, one by one, and I would take out the pieces inside, carefully remembering where each piece belonged, then see if I could assemble them all again in the same order. I applauded myself when I succeeded, since there was nobody present to witness this achievement. And when my parents came home, and turned on that same device, I would keep saying to myself "If only you saw it one hour ago!" and experience a sort of evil kind of joy :)<br /><br />Years later, when our VCR went out of order, I couldn't keep myself from helping my dad who seemed so frustrated. I begged him to allow me to take my shot at repairing it. Of course, he was totally against it, but when I told him there was nothing to lose and that the technician was going to repair it anyway, he seemed to have been too tired already that he let me do it. He couldn't believe it when I actually fixed it! But I never confessed to him my long hidden secret. Up till today, my family depends on me when it comes to installing or fixing electric devices. They are satisfied to think it is a miracle, and I no longer seek to disturb their peace of mind.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3- A Lesson Well-Learned:</span><br /><br />Being a female, you can not be proud that you're talented or that you're smart. People won't admire you for it.. but will treat you as an abnormality instead.. a lamb that has lost its way and should be guided back to her flock, or forced to do so against her will if necessary. In a society like ours, you learn that a woman and a smart brain do not meet.. that it is OK for women to be dependent, because that's what men are made for. Only a man is allowed and encouraged to be independent, while a woman is brought up to be weak and vulnerable. Shall any girl show any sign of being smart or having ambition, she must be knocked down, for fear that she might disturb the balance of the universe! Hence, a smart man impresses you, while a smart woman freaks you out. A strong man wins your admiration and respect, while a strong woman makes you reach for your gun. <span style="font-weight: bold;">That's what an artificially-fabricated social order does to us. We invent molds, we shape our young to fit into those molds, pushing and squeezing them throughout their lives to enter their boxes of what we decided to be "masculine" or "feminine," feeding them all about the "division of roles" and other myths of our invention.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-fWyrt1u_QCl-KfswFKYI4T_dCtv75lx-mTAuJ7GzW1CBfGfagYFhaND2M7p3shExl0TCZmZc0W0gwFovjIb_5cYEt7xlru-8W2w8xG7ZUTgGCJAToPqHfj9a6AUghMu4ZKZ5LIBQ443/s1600-h/brainwash2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix-fWyrt1u_QCl-KfswFKYI4T_dCtv75lx-mTAuJ7GzW1CBfGfagYFhaND2M7p3shExl0TCZmZc0W0gwFovjIb_5cYEt7xlru-8W2w8xG7ZUTgGCJAToPqHfj9a6AUghMu4ZKZ5LIBQ443/s400/brainwash2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250470627669697362" border="0" /></a>By now, you should have figured out what I meant by saying that I am more in harmony with who I naturally am than the majority who consider themselves to be the norm. We are all born equal, but outside forces stand against our natural evolution, preferring to turn us into puppets, playing roles according to a pre-written scenario.. even if it is against our humanity, and even if it defies mere logic. Yet, what's worse than all that is <span style="font-weight: bold;">the brainwash process</span> that we are subjected to throughout our lives.. the brainwash that leads generation after generation to accept such ideas and in turn implant them into their offspring. Thus, the vicious cycle continues to produce people who basically spend their lifetime fighting against their nature. And unfortunately, there is a huge machinery backing-up this false system.. it's everywhere (TV, magazines, commericals, schools, universities, laws, etc.) .. and patriarchs have always been careful to keep all its keys under their control.<br /><br />Societies, in any time or place, would have never moved a single step forward if it were not for the few who refuse to give in to such mutilation. <span style="font-weight: bold;">All of us were born feminists</span>.. yes, all of us.. boys and girls.. we were all born equal and we wanted to remain as such. Feminists are believers in equality and justice. And if anyone considers that to be wrong, or strange, or bad, then s/he would better look and see where they stand. As for me, I shall forever remain happy and proud to be guilty of feminism.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwk0IYFzD0qVcUnz9_MZgcny9c8Msac5_rNk1ZoneaL6QPX5d588oVnke5zsQQuvpdYZJq0CTe5hovDxk-l1Dyk7V_BxQTgfFrQzAP1Z4ubT1ujC4da0NotUnkYPfkPjvPN5J2zVY6AuQ/s1600-h/baby+feminist.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwk0IYFzD0qVcUnz9_MZgcny9c8Msac5_rNk1ZoneaL6QPX5d588oVnke5zsQQuvpdYZJq0CTe5hovDxk-l1Dyk7V_BxQTgfFrQzAP1Z4ubT1ujC4da0NotUnkYPfkPjvPN5J2zVY6AuQ/s400/baby+feminist.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250470865747069714" border="0" /></a>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-52472372804040256782008-09-16T16:27:00.000-07:002008-09-22T18:15:52.274-07:00It's Time to Say: "Back Off!"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_hfujEZ-ZpKILRHId3ZFEDi4G0XR-ijWks7vYx0vt1onas3FqtU_tcqkVVlDEcoAOkUhKpoi-bAlz7HtnCzrxWZRpq_eJ9I3Hd5FMwduRlzCSUy9nDzCS2Qoozjc4vIbPpzIFEISHn9C/s1600-h/anti+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_hfujEZ-ZpKILRHId3ZFEDi4G0XR-ijWks7vYx0vt1onas3FqtU_tcqkVVlDEcoAOkUhKpoi-bAlz7HtnCzrxWZRpq_eJ9I3Hd5FMwduRlzCSUy9nDzCS2Qoozjc4vIbPpzIFEISHn9C/s320/anti+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246940884822344130" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Hi again.. I'm saying 'HI' as I have recently come back from vacation. My absence was due to many reasons, none of which can be discussed here. Yet, from now on I can promise everyone that they would find a huge change with this blog. Let's make it a surprise..<br /><br />Today I talk about sexual harassment.. Wait.. I know what you're thinking now. Please be patient.. No, it's not a "going-with- the-flow" kind of business. And no, it's not because I suddenly discovered (like many people pretend to do) that women are being harassed in Egypt! And no, I won't waste your precious time on the usual talk which is being reproduced here and there. Nonetheless, I can't hide how happy I am that Egyptians have (at last!) decided to speak up and publicly condemn this shameful practice, which had in fact turned into a massive plague during the past few years.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8YDpO_Wt4_ruk_5WqUhf8PxzyIx8V-OB7mJKdaXtw0HlyhWD2BcqR4vI-u6zre-gPJtPwsw57kkpTOhy22DijTCfcbGFUVEIbdbNiF9XybaI0FnOdI9FRGkM8KkWX7YXfu3h2e9fWAd6/s1600-h/anti3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8YDpO_Wt4_ruk_5WqUhf8PxzyIx8V-OB7mJKdaXtw0HlyhWD2BcqR4vI-u6zre-gPJtPwsw57kkpTOhy22DijTCfcbGFUVEIbdbNiF9XybaI0FnOdI9FRGkM8KkWX7YXfu3h2e9fWAd6/s320/anti3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246957245395248786" border="0" /></a><br />I'm glad that nowadays we openly admit that women are not safe in Egypt. And I salute the idea of the campaign launched by the Ministry of Tourism. One of their TV ads show a truck driver harassing a female tourist, who angrily complains that "this has never happened to her anywhere else." The ad ends by telling the harasser, "You're not the only one to lose. We all lose." They might have as well added the label "ONLY IN EGYPT", although I don't believe it's true. Still, we should admit that sexual harassment is not as widely practiced anywhere else as it is in Egypt. In fact, it has become part of an Egyptian female's daily routine! You wake up, get dressed, head to school or university or work, get harassed on the way, and then get harassed again on your way back home.<br /><br />I really wish to see an ad asking men to stop harassing Egyptian women. Don't get me wrong. I encourage protecting tourists with all my heart. Their safety is the least we can guarantee them while they're visiting our land. But don't you think that we lose more by turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the daily suffering of our own women! Money is not the only thing to lose. And allow me to say that it is the last thing we should care about losing if we lose everything that makes us human.. I'm talking about honor and dignity.<br /><br />This <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7593765.stm">BCC report</a>, titled "Egypt voices: Sexual harassment", is not only worth reading, but it is also worth writing about. In this report, several Egyptian girls talk about their personal experiences with sexual harassment. Up till here, there's nothing new. What's new is that those girls did so while showing their faces, stating their true names and professions! Now, many will consider this an act of outstanding courage. But I wanna tell you that one becomes that brave (or daring if you might say) when one loses hope. In other words, when you are fed up, and you realize that you're all alone and that things will never get better unless you scream out loud in the desperate hope that someone may overhear you. This does not decrease our respect for their courage, for it takes a very strong person to face a society like ours with such facts. There is no more "I heard that". There is no more "one of my friends got harassed". There is finally a confession in first person pronoun.. "I was harassed". And it didn't stop there, for they moved to describing real incidents.. what the harassers did to them and how they felt during and after this ordeal.<br /><br />I don't remember how many times I have been verbally harassed. According to the latest survey, 4 out of every 5 females in Egypt get harassed on daily basis! This doesn't mean that the other 1 out of 5 were never subject to sexual harassment.. It simply means that they don't experience it on daily basis. And I believe that this is the first true figure to be announced about sexual harassment in Egypt.. or 'the cancer', as the The Egyptian Center for Women Rights calls it in its latest survey. However, I don't like this metaphor, as it makes harassment sound like it has no cure, while on the contrary, this disease <span style="font-weight: bold;">can</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">must</span> be cured. Its cure lies in the hands of many who have for long chosen to be passive and to simply live in denial. Finally, I'm glad to announce that we're waiting for a law that would punish sexual harassers. However, I don't trust how laws function in our dear third world countries. My own problem, I know.. but it may as well be yours if this law (in case it sees the light) didn't improve anything.<br /><br />In my <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2008/07/retards-make-it-to-atlantic.html">previous post</a> I wrote about the ridiculous lollipop ad and warned that it will only serve to provide more support to harassers. I also said that females in this country have got the choice between allowing themselves to be reduced into inanimate objects, or fighting for their humanity and their basic civil rights in a safe street and safe means of transportation. I think it's time to be more specific about what is expected of a girl who values her humanity.<br /><br />One of the girls interviewed in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7593765.stm">the report</a> mentioned above said that her mother told her <span style="font-weight: bold;">not to answer back to those who harass her</span>. How many times have we heard this, huh? With all respect to our mothers who lived in a different Egypt and who safely wore mini skirts to university without ever meeting an indecent look or gesture.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">this dusty advice can go straight to hell</span>. Being raised in shame, swallowing all kinds of insult and abuse in silence so as not to disturb our patriarchal society in its sleep has caused us to reach this dead end we're facing today. Now, what should we wait for? For society to protect us?? Hahaha. <span style="font-style: italic;">Bogus!</span><br /><br />I say we keep screaming. It's healthy. Better than increasing the repression and hiding the agony. It is time for this society to wake up and see what it has done to its women.. <span style="font-style: italic;">don't you think so?</span> But meanwhile, you should also seek to defend yourself. Unless you care to stand up for yourself, nobody will care for you. You won't earn anyone's respect if you just keep enduring being slapped. You will turn from being the victim into being guilty. You will be the cross onto which society shall hang all its failures and rottenness. If you have respect for yourself.. and if you think that you deserve to be treated with respect.. raise your head up high and shake off all the shame and guilt that they laid on you. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Defend your right and take back your street</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, it is yours!</span> It's not Men's Street. It is your street as well. You are not an excess. You are not a lollipop or any goody they want to reduce you into. Put the shame on the one who deserves it. Make the insect who dares touch you or talk to you in an improper way see your disgust, and expose him in front of everyone.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3rb-fgy6eyJlfvLXeFVv6AKyBgC2XI4azMeilvHG1qIy2NZOe1PQ759olkc2U9WZ7NnvJ2kEqGQ1VMKCskB2_M-Fe81-wX1UCNg7Ra1iZeKgXZmJq9aZNkyng6OffQQ5_fjV53oU0zVm/s1600-h/back+off.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm3rb-fgy6eyJlfvLXeFVv6AKyBgC2XI4azMeilvHG1qIy2NZOe1PQ759olkc2U9WZ7NnvJ2kEqGQ1VMKCskB2_M-Fe81-wX1UCNg7Ra1iZeKgXZmJq9aZNkyng6OffQQ5_fjV53oU0zVm/s320/back+off.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246961489040800018" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here are some final tips which are personally tested and proven to reduce harassment. Preventing it, though, would need a collaborative effort. Remember that by being passive you are not only harming yourself, but you are putting hundreds at risk. Think about it.<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Have a serious look on your face </span>whenever you're walking down the street. This would give any harasser an indication that you're not the quiet, shy kind of girl. He would be reluctant to approach you for fear that his assault might provoke you enough to scream and scandalize him.<br /><br />2. When you ride a bus or metro, or if you are in a crowded place, don't look around you as if you are expecting to be harassed at any moment. Harassers smell weak girls who are already scared. They know that fear will paralyze you for a few seconds, and that is all they need. Instead, stand up straight. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Act confident.</span> Look people in the eye. And if you meet the eye of someone you suspect of being a harasser, don't ever look away. Give him a slight grim mixed with the "Don't-even-think-about-it" kind of look directly in the eye.<br /><br />3. If you have to walk down a quiet inner alley, <span style="font-weight: bold;">don't walk close to the buildings</span>. This will encourage any harasser, because he knows that chances of you being noticed by passers by or inhabitants who might be present in their balconies is minimal. Instead, walk towards the middle of the street. You might think that hiding makes you safe, but in fact you are trapping yourself, being blocked from view. It is also recommended, in case you pass by this alley on daily basis, to save the number of the nearest police station on your mobile.. preferably saving it as "1police", for example. This will make it on top of your phone book list for a fast dial.<br /><br />4. If you think you're being harassed, <span style="font-weight: bold;">do not deceive yourself</span> into mistaking it for a joke. Many girls endure inappropriate comments or gestures made by their colleagues, bosses, teachers…etc, trying to convince themselves that it is just their way of joking, or that those persons have a crude sense of humor! They think that rejecting these acts or being firm would cause embarrassment and unneeded tension! Baby, if you feel bad, awkward, offended, uneasy, or that something is wrong, then it has to be as such. Sugar-coating harassment won't make it sound any better. If you don't stop this early enough, the person who is harassing you (whoever he is.. and yes, he can be as old as your grandfather) will take it as a green light to proceed to more daring stuff. Don't be a willing victim. Denial always makes things worse.<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">If you get harassed, make a scene</span>. This does not only teach your harasser a lesson, but it also makes you stronger as you discover how cowardly those harassers turn to be. You will be more able to defend yourself. Once you lose the fear.. fear of the harasser and fear of speaking out.. you will be amazed as you encounter less and less harassments. By then, you'd think that those insects that roam the streets have suddenly disappeared. But no.. The harassers didn't disappear.. it is the new you that they fear.<br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-78965718481962706792008-07-27T10:35:00.000-07:002008-08-17T02:58:46.885-07:00The Egyptian Working Woman<div style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks ago after a long busy day, I decided to sit down and watch a little TV. I was flipping through the channels when I came across an episode of "elbeyout asrar". I started watching in the middle of the episode, and figured out that the subject was women's work. There were two groups of people on the show... The invited guests, which were men and women in their late 40's and 50's, and the audience, which were mainly younger people... Some were college students and others looked like they were in their early 20's. I do not recall the exact words of every person on the show,however, The older people were all pro work. the women all talked about their experiences in life, how their careers helped them, and how their husbands supported them. They talked about their children. More than once they were asked if their careers compromised the care for their children, and they all answered that the children were not compromised. Until here, it all sounds fine and dandy..... you would think that since the older generations think this way, the younger generations will definitely be more open minded, and women will be more career oriented....<br /><br />Sadly things were not at all this way. The moment the young audience members were given the chance to express their opinions is the moment that things began to go downhill..... A young man, possibly in his early 20's stated that he will not allow his wife to work.. no matter what. He believed a woman's place is her home and nothing more. Another young man said I will give my wife a chance to work and see if she can work, take care of the children alone, and take care of the house alone...( and get this)..... and take care of ME!!!! ( is he 2 or something?? does she need to change his diapers as well??) then he will "ALLOW" her to work, however if she defaults in any way, or if he feels that she is not up to par.... then he will "FORBID" her getting a job or having a career!!!! ( Ya LAHWY!!) Much to my dismay and utter disappointment his sentiments were echoed by several male audience members.. The Female audience members let me down even more.... ALL and I repeat... ALL the women in the audience ( whom I will add that judging from their appearance were in their early 20's) Stated that their "DREAM" was to get married and sit at home.... no one.. I repeat... NO ONE mentioned the desire for a career.... success was nothing they referred to or thought of in any way. They were all college graduates who "chose" to throw away their degree forever!! A couple mentioned they would like to work until they meet the right man.... so for them work was a way of "catching" a husband! When these girls were asked about their ambition, their comment was very similar to the young men... they all agreed that women have no ambition, that a woman's ambition should be to cook and clean and care for children... They agreed that a woman's career ambition is a "myth" that the western media tries to brainwash women into believing!!!<br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.more4kids.info/uploads/Image/nov07/Busy-Mom-and-Housewife.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.more4kids.info/uploads/Image/nov07/Busy-Mom-and-Housewife.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I cannot even begin to express my utter dismay at this picture, or my disappointment at the young women and men of Egypt... At a time when our country is falling deeper and deeper In debt, our educational system is corrupt, various groups are fighting over control of our government... poverty is rampant... health care is sub par to say the least, and inflation is tearing homes apart.... gas prices are rising, bread is scarce... our industries are practically non existent... there is absolutely no form of organized scientific research... no publications, and no funding or resources... at a time when all our young talents are leaving the country to look for a better life abroad.. thus costing us billions... unemployment rates are so high that the norm for young graduates is not being employed At time where our borders are being breached, fundamentalism is gaining new grounds every day, and our country needs a complete overhaul... These women are only thinking about sitting at home... and the men are thinking about how to keep them at home!!<br /><br />The way I look at things is that our country needs every ounce of work and energy available to help us rise out of this economic and social depression. The concept of a woman working should be a no brainer... The subject has been discussed over and over for more than 120 years... and women have been working since our grandparents came of age in the 40's and the 50's. It is unusual for a society to fall back so much, and for women to lose so much in such a short time. What Egyptian women have worked so hard for is slowly being yanked out from under their feet... and they are totally oblivious. The amount of brainwashing that has happened in our culture over the past 20 years is astounding!! The mystery to me is how do you oppress people while at the same time convincing them that oppression was their idea in the first place... so they think that their oppression is liberation??? I know it sounds confusing but we are living examples of this twisted logic.<br /><br /><br />I am not against a woman deciding to be a "stay at home mom" . The concept itself is a noble one that involves hard work, selflessness and endless dedication to the growing children. But if all women suddenly decide to stay at home... It is no longer a selfless act... it is actually turned into a very selfish act... Let me explain why:<br /><br />1- For starters... Children only need their mothers in the first few years of life..... After the age of 4, all kids go to school, so really a mother sitting at home isn't doing much for the child... the child is not getting any more attention, care or love than a child who has a working mother. So sitting at home at this point is selfish... The person is just being lazy and not contributing to society.<br /><br />For working mothers in Egypt, The Egyptian government has done a lot. A very generous law that does not exist everywhere is the "child care leave". A working woman in Egypt by law can take up to 5 YEARS!!! off of work., and can go back to her job immediately in the same position she was in before she took her leave... so mothers have the option of keeping their jobs while caring for their families at the same time... so if you have 2 kids or less..... you have enough vacations and leaves to cover time off to care for your children... So why do Egyptian mothers want to leave the work force? Unfortunately I cannot answer this question, since everyone who leaves says the excuse is to "care for the family".. Which is a redundant argument....<br /><br /><br />2- Men argue that they need a wife to "take care" of them...<br /><br />Unless the man is incapacitated or handicapped in some way, No adult responsible working man needs a woman to take care of him. Men can feed themselves, dress themselves and clean themselves after bowel movements just as well as women... so no, they do not need to be cared for. Men are taught from a young age that they should not lift a finger to care for their house... they should not clean, they should not cook..... all of this " dirty work" is beneath them.... leave it all to the woman... women should do these jobs... to men these jobs are insults.<br />My question is... why not share house work? share caring for the kids? this way spouses have more time together... women are happier and more rested, so can dedicate more quality time to their significant others and children.. And how exactly does this interfere with a woman's ability to have a career? The young man on TV who mentioned that he will "test" his future wife's ability to multitask without lifting a finger to help her really infuriated me... Is this how we are raising Egyptian men? to be selfish self-centered conceited judgemental spoiled brats? and at the same time we are teaching the young women that they are not worthy enough to complain?? Just be quiet and quit work and do what the almighty man dictates!!!he is superior so his opinion shall prevail no matter what?? Excuse me while I go barf at the mere thought !!<br />I would have been happier if the young man had said, I will see what my wife can do, and help out with the rest so we can both have careers, and we can both be happy!!! Why are they all oblivious to this concept??<br /><br />3- Men argue that if a man can afford to care for the house financially, a woman doesn't HAVE to work....<br /><br />This is actually one of the most annoying arguments. Women in Egypt cost the government thousands of pounds to get a college education.... so if a woman chooses not to work, she should pay back this money so another person can use it to be educated and benefit society. Sitting at home after costing hundreds of thousands of pounds to get an education is a waste of public resources that should not be allowed.... It is no wonder we are in debt... money is being thrown left and right to give "free" college education to people who do not need it and will not use it.<br /><br /><br />If this money is used by the ministry of education to fund research in labs wouldn't it be better spent? wouldn't it help Egyptians more than if the money is thrown away by women who would like to sit at home?? One of the major reasons of lack of scientific research in Egypt is the lack of Equipment and supplies that are needed to run the labs.... intelligent people who know science or medicine are not enough for conducting research..... equipment that no one can afford... which costs millions is needed before any research can be carried out. .. so this is my argument..... if you don't want to use it, then don't take it!!!<br /><br />I believe in free college education only to those who will use it to benefit society... so no... there is no such thing as someone who doesn't "have" to work.<br /><br /><br />4- People argue that women are crowding men and pushing them out of work... They make this claim saying that women don't need the jobs and are doing it for "fun" so it is best that they just sit at home and clean and cook.....<br /><br />To this claim, I would like to respond that not all women have someone who supports them. Some women are widows with children... some are single, some are married, but with the current level of income in Egypt, one salary is never enough!!! sometimes 2 salaries are not enough either, and one of the spouses ends up getting a second job. To men who feel that women are overcrowding them I say, please don't be short sighted.... do not underestimate the value of the woman who works in the neighboring office.... she may be doing more for her family than any man could. Women in the work place need to be acknowledged, respected and appreciated. They do not "overcrowd" and their value in the workplace is not any less than their male colleagues. I came across this very interesting documentary on youtube. If women are suddenly not allowed to work, or their presence is not tolerated in the workplace, what would the women in this video do??<br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZZkQnOIRafQ&hl=en"></object><br /><object height="344" width="425"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZZkQnOIRafQ&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">5- People argue that there aren't enough jobs for everybody... so women need to sit at home, and let the men work, so every family will have at least one income!!<br /><br /><br />To this claim I would like to say that even though there aren't enough sources of income for work for everyone, however, there is so much work that needs to be done that no one is doing. The one concept that we rarely ever hear of in Egypt is volunteering.<br /><br />I believe it is the duty of every capable Egyptian person whether male or female to volunteer in some way to help society. Public hospitals are a mess. Patients need assistance left and right. In most countries high school and college students volunteer in the summer to help in hospitals. they wheel patients to their rooms. They sit at information desks and give directions. They assist with placement of patients in rooms in the public clinics.... they even help clean the place. This practice is much needed in Egypt, it will give idle young people something to do,they will get experience and they will help others.<br /><br />In rural areas illiteracy is rampant. We need volunteers to educate these people.<br />Our streets need cleaning. We need volunteers to help with that too.<br />We need money for education, health care, food for the poor...etc. we need volunteers to help.<br />We have millions of homeless children... we need volunteers to feed them and teach them and get them off of the streets.<br />We don't have enough blood in our blood banks, we need volunteers to help with the blood drives.<br />We have special needs children in schools, we need people to help with those children.<br />We have old people who are alone, or can't cook or are incapacitated, we need volunteers to help them.<br />We have public schools where there aren't enough teachers, and classes are overcrowded.. we need volunteers there too.<br /><br />The examples are endless... I can go on forever. So to say there isn't enough to do is an understatement. There is plenty to do, but we choose not to do them. If people are complaining of unemployment, and can afford to live without a job at least temporarily, they should go volunteer. Women who are married to men that can afford to take care of the house financially should go volunteer. High schoolers and college students in their summer breaks should go volunteer. Being idle at home should not be an option. Progress is not easy and it comes with a price. If we don't pay this price, then who will?? Our strength as Egyptians comes in our numbers and in our intelligence. We need to not waste them, since they are our most precious assets. Women who sit at home waste valuable manpower, that we all need to move forward.<br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://edhivtestguide.org/uploads/hret-hiv-measuringProgress.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://edhivtestguide.org/uploads/hret-hiv-measuringProgress.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">SO to say that women should stay at home is selfish, and is something that is said by people who only think of themselves. Our country needs us, we are the driving force behind the progress of our nation. We all need to work together,. Whining about corruption or where money went will not help us. Working together will. I am not saying that corruption is not a factor, but I am saying Corruption has become the excuse for everything wrong with our lives a " mosmar go7a" if you will, that we hang all of our problems on. There is so much more we can do to make Egypt better.... we just need to try!</div>Egyptian Feminist Chichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927651472484414243noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-44137214368770626922008-07-14T04:24:00.000-07:002008-07-14T06:43:44.762-07:00Retards Make It to The Atlantic<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB3DcMKQgEf3FNmFnIGoe4MNN7ve-XdQH_sAHswocR-bcA-GBrNWViqAALvdmAqcSuQqUVIb5EC8wDkcP8akBcl36xV9gYYjMZmXlg9bPKjcLV4t4BPVy6Cg6-QbmGFOdA3UUKNcYiaTc/s1600-h/hajabpropaganda.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAB3DcMKQgEf3FNmFnIGoe4MNN7ve-XdQH_sAHswocR-bcA-GBrNWViqAALvdmAqcSuQqUVIb5EC8wDkcP8akBcl36xV9gYYjMZmXlg9bPKjcLV4t4BPVy6Cg6-QbmGFOdA3UUKNcYiaTc/s320/hajabpropaganda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5222834469348186818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The money quote:</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">"You won't be able to stop them (i.e. guys), but you can protect yourself. He who created you knows what's best for you!"</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Hello all the lollipops out there.. and the flies too. Hope everybody's is doing great in Candyland!<br /><br />Well, I've -unfortunately- seen this stupid ad in many places around the internet. I even received it in an email! (Some of my buddies have gone into the habit of spamming lately.) When I first laid eyes on it, the only thing that came to mind was.. <span style="font-style: italic;">WTF?</span> I felt disgusted and offended beyond belief. And every time I saw it on a blog or a Facebook group the same lump found its way to my throat.<br /><br />Until, one day, I saw it on <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/07/an-ad-campaign.html">The Atlantic</a>! Even Andrew Sullivan seems to have been moved by it. Yeah.. Voila.. It's right there in my face.. But this time there was something new about it. I thought I saw a tongue sticking out from behind the lollipops! Most probably it was the working of my insulted brain which in turn intoxicated my imagination. I rubbed my eyes, looked back again.. still nothing changed.. There is the stupid ad, the lollipops, the flies and the tongue!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sandmonkey.org/2008/06/30/boys-are-flies-girls-are-lollipops/">Sandmonkey</a> has said enough about this, that I need say no more. Although in his post he has reached an awkward conclusion assuming that hijabi females themselves are the ones responsible for this stupid campaign! (Why?.. No clue.) Wish such a disgusting ad would have stayed at home.. but uhuh.. that's just one of the disadvantages of Globalization.. Things cannot be kept at home for too long! Now, the whole world can see the latest inventions of the Egyptian mind! That's how Egyptians use the evil West's modern technology.. precisely, as manifest in Photoshop! See? Who on earth could have thought of this but us? It still is creative, if you can somehow bring yourself to take out the "sick" aspect of it.<br /><br />Let's cast all that aside now, and please bear to look at this thing (sorry) from a fresh angle.. an Egyptian one as well.<br /><br />I don't believe hijab propagandists have grown that desperate while seeking to influence more girls to wear hijab, knowing that almost 80% of Egyptian females today are hijab-wearers. What's freaking me out about this ad, though, is<span style="font-weight: bold;"> its indirect encouragement to sexual harassers</span>!<br /><br />Seeing this ad from a boy's eyes, the message is totally reversed from a presumably "religious", "pious", or "moral" cause, to an implication that sexual harassment is <span style="font-weight: bold;">the norm</span>, and that whoever dislikes it should make this clear by dropping down a veil over her head.. so as to say, become marked. You guys are thus being encouraged to direct your sexual advancements towards those who do not hold this mark.. the X.<br /><br />Mind you.. How come we see no ads, stickers, flyers, posters or the like, telling guys to back off? or reminding them of the punishment of a sexual harasser in the afterlife? The doors of hell seem to be wide open exclusively to females!.. and in today's Egypt those females are defined as those who do not cover their hair! On the other hand, though, <span style="font-weight: bold;">nothing whatsoever is said about male sexual harassers</span>. Sometimes I even imagine that they are ready to place a reward for those who harass females down the streets or means of public transportation! And the message that is being transmitted all the time sounds like "Girls are asking for it. Girls deserve it. Girls are the source of evil. Girls are temptation. Girls are the ones who push you to sin, and if you give in to their temptation you are just a poor fellow, and it is totally human, and God will forgive you for being weak. But she.. she will burn in eternal hell."<br /><br />I can't believe I'm about to do this.. But let me play a devil's advocate for a while.<br /><br />Suppose that girls are asking to be harassed.. Supposed that they enjoy your sneaky hand exploring their bodies.. Suppose they are just pretending to be offended while in secret that is what they are seeking after.. And suppose that you are merely answering their call. Why don't you count your sister among them? Why don't you count your wife among them? Why don't you count your daughter among them? Are they immune? Or.. the question I'd better ask is.. Are they marked as untouchables?<br /><br />Here it is. In a man's world you can not place any restrictions on men. You can not ask them to be moral, religious, God-fearing.. or even human. Most of them will be delighted by the thought of being considered as insects, as long as they are allowed to roam freely and indulge in every low desire. "So what? Call me an insect.. Fine by me. But let those lollipops be prepared for my adventures. Let them know that they can never hope to get rid of my jaws and my stinky tongue. Let them surrender to my rules."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Islamist Fundamentalists exploit this patriarchal rot seeking their own advantages.</span> They are other insects of another kind, feeding on social fungus. For them, reforming manners and calling people to abide by high morals means their distinction. What will they feed on when there is no more rot? While the status-quo is so full of advantages.. that's their ultimate playground. That's why they can exercise their influence at full length. Patriarchs will appreciate this license to sin, while in return they will offer huge support to those fundamentalists.. after all, they are the ones in power.. they control society.. and those fellow insects will help them to gain more control.<br /><br />Girls in this position have no choice. They are not doers, and they are brought up to believe that they can never aspire to be doers. They are the done-by. You either accept the marking system (the veil) or you are exposed to waves of criticism and rebuke for being the primary source of evil on earth. <span style="font-weight: bold;">You can not break this affiliation between patriarchy and islamic fundamentalism</span>.. it is a match made in heaven!.. and you are too weak to dare question their values.<br /><br />But wait a minute.. Your submission is not solving anything.. not even for you. On the contrary.. it is making things much worse. <span style="font-weight: bold;">By accepting to play the role of the lollipop, you are in fact declaring the death of humanity.</span> You are the one building Candyland with your own hands. And you're building it for insects to enjoy! In Candyland, there are only lollipops and flies.. Flies are the living organisms, they rule.. lollipops are merely inanimate objects. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wrapped or unwrapped, they still are the same. Insects will consume you one way or another.</span><br /><br />Believe it or not.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">you can stop all this!</span> You have the power within you to decide and choose, because you are still a human being. So, you can either choose to stay as such and change your society to better, inspiring them to stick on to their humanity, and refusing to be exploited in such a way.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">or</span>.. you can go ahead and surrender.. go with the flow.. be the lollipop and lose any hope in becoming a human being once more. It all lies within your hands.</div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-22749110569708897962008-06-26T18:08:00.001-07:002008-06-26T20:51:57.843-07:00D for Dream<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xk1_IpEKuI-Tnn9O1h1Y11U0OkACKN3iyIr3JBU2BjJfTtp_6v5CQaLAoC-wn7z4zkbNhTGXLqKWN_AOMrFloKs6vm5F629HhgoTloQ9YN_6DLb9OSshLKdK1l57rhsoiyT8b1JypZ78/s1600-h/n504841993_44307_4367.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xk1_IpEKuI-Tnn9O1h1Y11U0OkACKN3iyIr3JBU2BjJfTtp_6v5CQaLAoC-wn7z4zkbNhTGXLqKWN_AOMrFloKs6vm5F629HhgoTloQ9YN_6DLb9OSshLKdK1l57rhsoiyT8b1JypZ78/s320/n504841993_44307_4367.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5216362547606719154" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Been a while since my last post.. You might think I've started to get lazy or that my enthusiasm is fading. Wait until you hear my side of the story..<br /><br />I didn't follow a tradition that I saw lots of bloggers following.. and that is celebrating their blogging anniversary, or as you might say the "birthday" of their blogs! It's not that I missed the date or that I didn't think of anything to write.. As a matter of fact, it was quite the contrary. First of all, I can never forget the day I started this blog.. a day which opened a door to a wonderful experience, that looking back now I can't imagine how life was before. Secondly, I shall be forever grateful for the blessings that this blog bestowed on me.. If only for the friends I made, I can write a book.. a big fat happy one.<br /><br />So, why has my production decreased and why have I been slower?<br /><br />Well, you might think it's funny, or that I'm joking.. But the truth is.. my production has actually increased, and super fast! Today, I write on several <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094">blogs</a>, several groups on <span style="font-style: italic;">the booming</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>, and I'm the editor-in-chief of a very promising <a href="http://masrelgedeeda.blogspot.com/">online mag</a>! I've reached out to thousands of people, not only in Egypt, but in different places around the world. I somehow got used to reading about my blogs and groups in Egyptian and Arab newspapers and magazines, or hearing about them on TV. (Had only one TV appearance because I am keen on privacy.)<br /><br />All of this in only one year! And what a year! I've grown a lot in this year, I gotta say. I've stretched myself to the max and kept branching wherever I could. Mind you, I have a life.. and a very busy one!.. I'm not an online geek. Yet, being a person driven by passion and a strong belief in the message I'm seeking to communicate to the world, it just happened naturally, without any plans.<br /><br />Aiming high, there was always a force pushing me forward and urging me to do my best. Throughout my life, I've never stopped to celebrate my achievements.. and maybe that's why I didn't celebrate my first year of blogging. What's more important, though, is knowing that there has been an accomplishment and being willing to increase it.<br /><br />Still, I had to pause and catch some breath. I had to look and see where I'd be heading next. It's good to be driven for a while, but you shall never allow yourself to lose track. Being dedicated to cause is a human blessing, and being able to serve this cause in an efficient way is a double bless. And that's precisely what I'm after.. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">efficiency</span>.<br /><br />Back when I was young, success for me was merely "overcoming a challenge," given the many obstacles on the way to it. I believe most girls get tricked the same way, and that might be the reason why they don't continue towards making solid achievements.. Their experiences are usually cut off when they think they've reached the end of the road, like when you pass the last and biggest challenge in a computer game. And that's it for them.. screen says YOU WON!.. so that's where the game ends, right? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Society consumes us into this empty game of overcoming challenges towards small milestones that are not by any means an aim in themselves.</span>. Yet, girls are being deceived into mistaking them for a end.<br /><br />Take education for instance.. A college degree for most of the Egyptian girls is an end in itself. You'd scarcely meet a girl who has planned her career, even if she's about to receive her degree. Some of them do not even make up their minds whether they'll pursue a career or not! "Let me finish the challenge at hand.. that's my success", a typical girl would think.<br /><br />It is indeed a big challenge to think outside this box into which society has confined us. That's why our girls are not demanding in any way (except when it comes to material demands, huh?). They're kept in their little world, their computer game, their Barbie house.. and likewise, their dreams are tiny, earthly and shortsighted. I wonder if the word "dream" is even appropriate to use in this miserable context. Dreaming women contribute to shaping our world, while those girls never make it past their itsy-bitsy doll houses. And, I must say, they were brought up to think that this is how far they can go, and be safe!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Women who make big achievements are usually categorized as bitches</span>. You can either be a weak woman, or a successful bitch!.. And if you've got a brain, you've got to be a bitch. That's the patriarchal culture we live in. You think and act, then you've trespassed your feminine limitations into the masculine territory. Now, you have to be ready to pay the price. It's not only that in your case the road to success was the hardest of all.. wait until you get there and you'll be damned for it.<br /><br />Thus, <span style="font-weight: bold;">motivation and strong will are other big challenges in a woman's world</span>. Many women think that whatever they can achieve is not worth being stoned for it. Therefore, they follow the safety instructions listed in their old grannies' manuals, which they learned to trust and treasure so dearly. Wisdom is always good, you know. What they don't know, however, is that wisdom never built anything or invented anything. If we allow ourselves to get stuck in this old wisdom safe box, we can never move a single step ahead. Stepping ahead has got its risks.. and you can never be able to take those risks unless you are a dreamer. <span style="font-weight: bold;">If you dream, you dare take risks</span>. Only then will you discover, and grow, and make a change.<br /><br />So, what has this got to do with what I was talking about in the beginning of this post? Alright.. I've been reflecting on the difference between thinking, writing down your thoughts, and publishing those thoughts. Many people think to themselves and then lock up their thoughts inside their heads.. or maybe exchange bits and pieces of their views during friendly chats. Other people have got what it takes to give these thoughts a written form and deliver a coherent piece of their minds. They may keep a journal for themselves, or share it with friends and dear ones. Yet, publishing one's thoughts is a totally other thing.<br /><br />This blog started with a dream dwelling inside my mind.. and when I dared raise up my voice and reach out to the world, this dream finally made sense. Not only so, it developed in so many ways that I've never thought of.<br /><br />My partnership with Egyptian Feminist Chic has allowed this dream to evolve, and acted as a live manifestation of how dreams meet and create a new hope. No one can imagine how much we both have in common.. and I wouldn't have found that out if I hadn't taken the decision of going public. She, on the other hand, could have easily been one of those who drift over this blog and say to herself "nice" and move on. But because she is a dreamer, she didn't. She actually took the time to express herself and share ideas and discussions. She had her say. And before she knew it, she turned into a blogger. (I must ask her how this felt like.)<br /><br />This brings us to the big dream.. a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Modern Egyptian Feminist Movement</span> that would inspire women to fight for their rights. All of you are invited to contribute to this one. I've grown so tired of thinking alone, and I stopped this habit a year ago. Let's all cast our cards and think together.. How can such a movement be possible? Does it have to follow the footsteps of the movement we once had in the beginning of the previous century? Does it have to be led by someone from the political arena? How can we pave the way for such a dream to take shape and become real? What's our role as intellectual women and men in bringing about such a movement? OR.. Is there an alternative method through which we can achieve the same aims?<br /><br />OR.. Am I merely being insane?</div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-5579078864585033242008-05-25T23:36:00.000-07:002008-05-27T06:59:23.303-07:00Childless by choice ... dream or nightmare?<a href="http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/72305409.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=D7D5341DF8CB2C36395554DB5F983933284831B75F48EF45"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/72305409.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=D7D5341DF8CB2C36395554DB5F983933284831B75F48EF45" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">From the day a girl learns to play, she is given dolls. Most girls will pretend the dolls are their "babies". They will pretend to feed them, and care for them. They lull them to sleep and kiss them good night.. They will pretend to be mothers. Most girls will love interacting with new babies, holding them, helping grown ups take care of them... by looking at these girls, one would think that motherhood comes naturally to females in general. The concept is taken and generalized... and becomes the norm, and the expectation of every adult woman. Any woman who dares think differently is not tolerated. As girls get older they are taught that motherhood is the most important role a woman could have. They go to school and get an education, but they are taught that children and motherhood come first, career comes second, if at all. Many are told that a career in something to fall back on just in case you never get married, or your husband for some reason is incapacitated and cannot work, so you can be the "backup" breadwinner until he recovers. Many girls spend all of their premarital life looking forward to the day when they will be mothers.... others will marry only to have children, the husband has a secondary role in their equation. To top it all off, religion dictates that a woman's "role" is child bearing and caring for the family.... This may seem like a traditional way of thinking... a no brainer.. really isn't this what all women want??<br /></div><br /><a href="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PTGPOD/609330%7ESilhouette-of-a-Pregnant-Woman-on-the-Beach-Posters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PTGPOD/609330%7ESilhouette-of-a-Pregnant-Woman-on-the-Beach-Posters.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The answer to this question is yes, and no. Yes, because most, but not all women want to have children. There are no real statistics to verify this statement, but if you look at countries where having a child is not a necessity, it is not uncommon to see a woman who has decided not have kids. They are women who are childless by choice. They would rather go to the movies than spend the weekend feeding and changing diapers. They would rather spend time with their significant other, enjoying each others company, rather than fighting about whose turn it is to put the kids to bed, or fix a big healthy dinner, or change a dirty diaper. They would rather get a good night sleep rather than be up all night with a child with a fever. <a href="http://www.mental-distortions.com/gallery-vector-illustrations/2006-vector-female_executive.gif"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px;" alt="" src="http://www.mental-distortions.com/gallery-vector-illustrations/2006-vector-female_executive.gif" border="0" /></a>They would rather spend all their energy advancing their careers, rather than spending it dealing with issues relating to caring for kids. They would rather save their money for retirement and for fancy houses, great vacations and expensive cars rather than saving it for a child's education. Is this right? Is this wrong? No one can judge, it is an individual choice. If this is how these women want to spend their life, it is their prerogative. They make a decision, and go through with it, and whatever consequences there are, they bear them, because this is their choice. The other kind of woman is someone who wants to dedicate her life to her family and children. She enjoys caring for dependant children that are her own. She is happy to sing her baby to sleep. Saving money for a child's future gives her a purpose in life. It doesn't matter if her spouse does not do his share of the house work, or refuses to change the baby. Having this baby and caring for it is the joy of her life and the purpose of her existence. Nothing compares to the feeling of tiny hands around her neck giving her a good night hug and a kiss. When she is with her kids, her career is secondary, and whether it exists or not, is not an issue, as long as she has a happy healthy family. She is not concerned about the future if for example she gets divorced or her spouse dies.For this woman, this is her choice, and whatever consequences come of it, they are hers, because it was her decision to live life in this manner. Other women can combine both options together... this is also their choice, and if it results in lack of sleep or excessive stress, or being drained all the time from too much responsibility, they will be happy because they have both a <a href="http://www.more4kids.info/uploads/Image/woman-and-career.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 287px; height: 426px;" alt="" src="http://www.more4kids.info/uploads/Image/woman-and-career.jpg" border="0" /></a>career and a family. Again a choice they made. In this day and age, do women in our Egyptian society have this choice? Can an Egyptian woman decide not to have kids? Will she be ostracized by society for making this decision? What about women who cannot have children?? How can these women cope in such a society?<br /><br />For an Egyptian woman, life after marriage changes dramatically. From day one of her marriage, she is asked if she is pregnant. If the answer is no, the question will be repeated on each subsequent visit, every phone call, every chance meeting in the street. Parents will ask, in laws will ask, siblings will ask. Friends, neighbors, distant relations, and even colleagues at work. Everyone who knows that she is recently married will ask if she is pregnant, and if she says no, they will ask so when do you plan to get pregnant? The pressure to reproduce is relentless. Delaying child bearing for a year or two will be frowned upon. She will be pressured to have a baby immediately or else. She is "advised" by concerned family members that if she does not have a child as soon as possible, her husband will run off with the next available woman. She is "threatened" by her in laws that if she does not produce the next heir... preferably a male baby, they will get their son a second wife. Religion will be mentioned in every conversation. Her God-given "role" has to be fulfilled as soon as possible.... she is told it is her duty.. it is why God created her. For many women, there is no way around it.... they will try to get pregnant as quickly as possible to please everyone.... and to fulfill the role society demands. Most of the time, one child is never enough... soon after her first child, the relentless nagging and social pressure will begin again to force her to have more and more children.. how these children will be supported is not their concern.... God will provide for the kids, so there is no need for her to look at her finances to see if she and her spouse can afford to take care of a new child. The only way an Egyptian woman can be childless by choice is if she never marries.... which puts a whole new stigma on her.... she will forever be "spinster" a reject, never a part of society.... never accepted for who she is... and constantly reminded that she is nothing without a man. Most women will avoid this stigma if they can.<br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.stupidchurchpeople.com/uploaded_images/Picture-1-789683.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.stupidchurchpeople.com/uploaded_images/Picture-1-789683.png" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The consequences of this peer pressure on women seems trivial when compared to the consequences suffered by women who cannot reproduce. These unfortunate women will have to sustain tremendous amounts of societal pressure, and they will have no way out. Explaining intimate details about her very private medical dilemma as painful as that will be for her, will only bring about looks of pity, and gossip behind her back. Some will even offer to find a new wife for her husband, so the man can have a family, totally oblivious to the feelings of the woman. It is as if she does not exist, and her infertility is a crime that requires she be punished for it. A very good read that discusses the dynamics of the cultural impact of infertility on Egyptian women is "Infertility and Patriarchy: The Cultural Politics of Gender and Family Life in Egypt by <a class="" href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=Marcia+Claire+Inhorn" _extended="true">Marcia Claire Inhorn</a>".<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A close look at infertile couples in Egypt will show that the blame is usually placed on the woman's shoulders. Many men will refuse to be tested and will feel that being tested for infertility is an insult to their "manhood". Then the husband's family will blame the woman even if she is not at fault, and threats of divorce or a second wife will be constantly thrown in the woman's face. Lack of reproductive education in our society, and the stigma associated with educating youngsters about their bodies are contributing factors to the many misconceptions prevalent in Egyptian society.<a href="http://www.winsomebooks.com.au/Images/9780646460918.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px;" alt="" src="http://www.winsomebooks.com.au/Images/9780646460918.jpg" border="0" /></a> The image that comes to the minds of most Egyptians when sex education is mentioned is pornography. This is why most parents are so adamant about preventing their children from learning, or from being taught a course about sex education in the school curriculum. Parents also have many issues regarding this matter. It is often an awkward subject to discuss with teenage children, so many parents avoid it all together, also not all parents have all the answers, since they themselves never received the proper education. If only parents are informed that sex education is about Reproduction, how it works, and how the human body functions, they would understand why this is an important part of education that needs to be included in school curricula, and that it is in no way shameful or embarrassing, and it will not teach children bad behaviour.<a href="http://www.info-gal.com/images/childnsex/stork.gif"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px;" alt="" src="http://www.info-gal.com/images/childnsex/stork.gif" border="0" /></a> It will teach them information that will help them function as adults, and will answer questions that they already have, which will otherwise be answered by peers who don't have the proper information as well... hence all the misinformation circulating in society. In the previously mentioned book, the author interviewed Egyptian men who believed that a man deposits a fetus (rather than sperms) in a woman's body, and these men were shocked that women produced eggs, and actually thought that it was a ridiculous idea, because women are not like chickens!!!! One informant went as far as saying that if a woman does not produce children, then the man is feeding her for nothing!!! Another form of unacceptable women objectification. The point of view of women is not any better. Many feel inadequate, and unable to fulfill the role they spent their entire life preparing for. These women live in constant fear that their life as they know it will end because they have "defaulted" in an unforgivable way. They know in their hearts that they can wake up one morning and find that their husband decided to marry another woman, they may wake up one day to find themselves alone, while the man they spent years with has gone and started another family. He laughs and goes out, and sleeps with another woman. He has a life to live... but not the woman. Her inability to conceive is unacceptable. Many women in this situation will end up with depression, and some even contemplate suicide.... There are no support groups for these women, and the nagging society they live in is unforgiving. Even if this is through no fault of their own. I believe that if being childless by choice were acceptable in society, women who suffer from infertility would be less ostracized and less liable for devastation of their family life. Why not encourage careers for girls? Why do we hammer into their brains from the time they open their eyes that they need to be mothers? Why not give them something besides motherhood to look forward to?? The need for motherhood comes naturally to most people, so why are we reinforcing it at the expense of all other options in life? Why is a successful man without children accepted by society, but a successful woman without children ostracized? Encourage your daughters to be talented in music, art, science.... anything she likes.... let them have a life besides being mothers.... let grown women have the choice to be mothers... Why make it a necessity? why is it an order done under societal pressure? When will we be able to see "career women" who are childless by choice?? Why do people feel the need to dictate other people's lives and choices? Why ostracize someone for their ability or inability to reproduce? Just live, and let live. Let Egyptian women be Free!!!</div>Egyptian Feminist Chichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927651472484414243noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-66058227195633348712008-05-09T18:09:00.000-07:002008-09-17T05:56:29.705-07:00The Victimization of Egyptian Women and Children<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRFiL6OhCDqsdo933flL0ihr3AuXcPf9aGzylPe2LU8jYijk8fHWcnpYrLmvN0XmtBNx67ZRLCUtORpKH2NnlkTKma469vmq1ofeMFYsbNSff8SOuACN1NVrztVFCqM-Wp1sBJ-vhxhxM/s1600-h/044_44_RTR1WG9X.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRFiL6OhCDqsdo933flL0ihr3AuXcPf9aGzylPe2LU8jYijk8fHWcnpYrLmvN0XmtBNx67ZRLCUtORpKH2NnlkTKma469vmq1ofeMFYsbNSff8SOuACN1NVrztVFCqM-Wp1sBJ-vhxhxM/s320/044_44_RTR1WG9X.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198608332792093794" border="0" /></a><br />I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Somethings are just beyond belief! And I seriously wish that what Egypt has been witnessing lately is just one long bad dream. Don't know what to do if this nightmare doesn't end. Excuse my sad, or rather depressed, tone.. but I am extremely shocked, and on many levels.<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Let's start with the <span style="font-weight: bold;">child rights laws</span>, which have been the subjects of many debates in Egypt lately. This led to some amendments and now the articles are being discussed once more, faced by huge resistance led by.. of course you know who.. the Muslim Brotherhood! Unfortunately, now that they have occupied 88 seats in the Egyptian parliament, they can object to such laws.. not only so, but the huge media controls they own, as well as those that surrender to their influence, enables them to disfigure anything they object to, and represent it in the most horrible attire to the masses who have come to consider them as their trusted source of information and ready made judgements.<br /><br />Why am I writing about child rights? Well, there are a number of laws that mainly target the rights of a female child. Pardon me, I feel stupid when I call them rights.. let's say discontinuing violations against young girls, from FGM to early marriages. But that is not the only reason.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg052ZLCIZaoyNLkhxthGJENNVKLVv7Cf19iMyMEO2h7Ns1UG2rxNuqsnKvF9zgeFSHdx1inIqjcWSUNnF9T0RPQ9Z12YYCb8HcPsXR9xvLj6XQUljjGZ8C5kjjKTZOo7M0PX2gEoeLAul2/s1600-h/151866917_431db11951_m.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg052ZLCIZaoyNLkhxthGJENNVKLVv7Cf19iMyMEO2h7Ns1UG2rxNuqsnKvF9zgeFSHdx1inIqjcWSUNnF9T0RPQ9Z12YYCb8HcPsXR9xvLj6XQUljjGZ8C5kjjKTZOo7M0PX2gEoeLAul2/s320/151866917_431db11951_m.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198606584740404290" border="0" /></a><br />I don't know how to explain it to those of you who are not familiar with the Egyptian society (or Arab societies in general), yet let me try. Women here, in spite of of their utter vulnerability, are expected to bear full responsibility of their children. This responsibility may or may not include the financial one. Yet, even if the financial aspect is included, a woman is not supposed to take credit for it.. as opposed to the man, who is automatically perceived of as the bread earner, the hero who toils to provide for his family.<br /><br />Take this as an example. A typical Egyptian mother is supposed to get as many children as <span style="font-weight: bold;">her husband wants</span>. She doesn't have a say in this. This is a man's decision to make. If he asks for more kids, his wish must be granted, or else.. and this "else" includes horrible options.. needless to say, all of which are totally controlled by the man, for he can decide to divorce his wife or desert her or have a second wife. So, to make a story short, that's why a woman has to keep producing babies into this world until her husband decides that he's had enough.<br /><br />Then, she becomes responsible for nourishing those kids, upbringing them alone (just like a single mom) looking after their health, taking them to school, helping with their homework (if she is educated|), besides her regular chores of course, and satisfying her husband in every possible way. Which means, that basically this woman never gets a chance to have any time for herself.<br /><br />Now, <span style="font-weight: bold;">what if she is married to a cruel man.. or worse,</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> a psycho</span>.. which is not a rare case? He has the right to beat her and her children as severely as he wishes. No criminal charges can be directed against him, unless one of them dies as a result of this beating. And yes, it is allowed in our legal system. And yes, you guessed it right, because some crazy sadistic men have claimed that this is an authorized tool for disciplining a man's wife and children in Islam! Which is absolutely not true.<br /><br />This woman, even if she has a job, is never encouraged to leave her husband. Even if you are married to a psycho or a drug addict, society expects you to stay in this marriage for the sake of "the children". Black comedy.. but true.. she is stuck with this psycho and her children have to pay the price, until either this man dies a natural death, or one of them ends up being murdered. Then this man is put to jail and the other members of the family, who are already ruined by then, can continue their lives without neither upsetting the society nor being tortured by the father (being in prison).<br /><br />At last, in the year 2008, and for the first time, new laws are being endorsed to protect child rights in Egypt. Those laws include:<br /><br />1- Prohibiting the practice of FGM and considering it a criminal act which deserves to be punished by law. ( Yes, up till now FGM is not considered a criminal act. It is prohibited at public hospitals, and the ministry of health forbids any registered doctors from doing the procedure. But there can be no charges against those who break the rule. 2 girls have recently lost their lives while undergoing FGM, and those who operated on them were not charged with anything.)<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcv0DCdSxTasPqFzWBUrx1zaPwuTlaKbRws8-DibYVU0-cLAFpUY2Bsgc_rYD3rSgeYeud9KnQKFbdPjJ8QOG86BHBh8KD6xcHMJuIoJvkvmG9nZjFsfNZR2xUBtLoSac0QB5RFyv9Hik/s1600-h/photo.bdour.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDcv0DCdSxTasPqFzWBUrx1zaPwuTlaKbRws8-DibYVU0-cLAFpUY2Bsgc_rYD3rSgeYeud9KnQKFbdPjJ8QOG86BHBh8KD6xcHMJuIoJvkvmG9nZjFsfNZR2xUBtLoSac0QB5RFyv9Hik/s320/photo.bdour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198605867480865826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Bedour, lost her life while undergoing FGM<br /><br /></span></div>2- Considering <span style="font-weight: bold;">severe beating of a child by his/her parents to be a violation against child rights</span>, and therefore authorities will have the right to place charges against the parent in case of severe injuries and causing disabilities.<br /><br />3- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Raising the age of marriage for females to 18</span>, and any female under this age can not have a legal marriage certificate. (Early marriages are usually arranged by the parents who wish to get rid of the responsibility of their daughters or force them to marry for money.)<br /><br />4-<span style="font-weight: bold;">Giving a mother the right to register her child on her name in cases of illegal children</span>, where the father refuses to give his name to his own child outside marriage. (Currently, there are 120,000 cases of illegal children in Egyptian courts. By law, even if a DNA test relates a child to his parent, the man can still refuse to give his name to his child, as long as there is no official marriage certificate bonding him with the mother. Moreover, a man cannot be forced to take a DNA test in those cases. If he refuses to take it, then nothing can be done.)<br /><br />Now, imagine this.. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The MB objects to all those laws</span> saying the following:<br /><br />1- FGM should be left as a matter of choice. If parents wish to preserve the "chastity" of their daughters through this procedure, then it is their way of protecting her and deciding what is good for her! Therefore, they claim, by closing the legal doors, they will still do it (as if this is a matter of fact that we have to live with) even if they resort to unprofessional physicians, nurses or "hala' elseha" or "daya".<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3dHcRsffrwIFntMmjHNCEKRT6jrxQPPMjZy_-ABM2c7jaVSyRjZEZ1dBmk8VQ5puANUE5UWMZ2TarnsgB6o4OHS2WvLbMlKVsjzgt7g6QgiO7YPo233iM0GKu1bB7iKigKJQCVl9YDsA/s1600-h/fgm_divka.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA3dHcRsffrwIFntMmjHNCEKRT6jrxQPPMjZy_-ABM2c7jaVSyRjZEZ1dBmk8VQ5puANUE5UWMZ2TarnsgB6o4OHS2WvLbMlKVsjzgt7g6QgiO7YPo233iM0GKu1bB7iKigKJQCVl9YDsA/s320/fgm_divka.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198606129473870898" border="0" /></a><br />2- The Muslim Brotherhood considers <span style="font-weight: bold;">corporal punishment ban "imported from west"</span>, saying that it is an authorized method of disciplining children according to Islam, and building on the hadith "Order your children to pray at the age of seven, beat them for it at the age of ten, and let males and females take separate beds." (The hadith didn't mean to beat a child until death. Severe beating is prohibited in all cases, while minor rebuking back at that time before any other methods of parenting or discipline were introduced was permitted in the case of reminding a kid to pray.). Then the other hadith, which they present in the worst version I've ever seen is "Play with them (your children) for seven (years), beat them for seven, befriend them for seven, and then let them be." Now, this hadith, if it is a real one (I've never seen it anywhere except on their websites) was never said with the verb <span style="font-weight: bold;">"beat"</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">edrabohom</span>, but the versions I saw before either had the verb <span style="font-weight: bold;">"discipline"</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">adebohom</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">"educate"</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> 3alemohom</span> in its place. It does not make sense at all when you relate it to what we know about how prophet Muhammed brought up his children, besides the crazy and brutal message behind it. Seriously, those people are cursing their religion!<br /><br />3- Again, as always, they like the idea of kids getting married. Don't know what those sick people are thinking! And they keep making pathetic excuses for it. <span style="font-weight: bold;">How can a girl under 18 be responsible for a family, for God's sake?</span> What are they benefiting by causing more men to rape kids in the name of a legal marriage? Yes, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">this is rape.</span> Straight and inhuman rape, no matter what the papers say. How come a kid who can not even have a bank account or a driving license be able to get married??!! If I can't be responsible for some money bills or a car made of metal, how come I am allowed to be responsible for a family and raise children while I am legally a child? Who on earth would want a girl under this age to get married? and for what purpose? This is way too much!<br /><br />4- Yeah, the usual talk. Leave the illegal children in the streets. We have <span style="font-weight: bold;">one million</span> homeless children in the streets?.. so what? Let them double or triple.. not a problem. But a child can never have the name of his/her mother. A child whose father is an animal must pay for it for a lifetime. But the animal has to be protected, because he's a man. Now that's a heavenly privilege that no one can touch. He is the god on earth. He chooses whether to give his children a life or execute them. A child whose father is unwilling to give him a name, can never have a life. The god on earth has decided his fate.. so leave the kid to meet it.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAAANpyRVHj6UL5__ZntRai1p2xsk1lUFVphKayl-MGcBuEP4SrTRrRM-Njz1kvk6J19I-5ZcuFf-cboI9jE-q2PlWHzUUyiX1aBSRDgv1pFrqTEO27nAhan1ejdLUrXTXJ5xoXlRehPB/s1600-h/girlInSlums.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAAANpyRVHj6UL5__ZntRai1p2xsk1lUFVphKayl-MGcBuEP4SrTRrRM-Njz1kvk6J19I-5ZcuFf-cboI9jE-q2PlWHzUUyiX1aBSRDgv1pFrqTEO27nAhan1ejdLUrXTXJ5xoXlRehPB/s320/girlInSlums.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198606795193801810" border="0" /></a><br />Yeah.. yeah. <span style="font-style: italic;">Great macho men!</span> So, this is religion, huh? We are supposed to buy this, aren't we? So, Islam for you is a religion that rewards sadists, psychos and brutal men, while it punishes women and children, the scum of earth, right? Now, let me see this clearly. According to you, we are worshiping <span style="font-weight: bold;">a sick man in the sky</span>.. for this <span style="font-style: italic;">being</span> you are claiming to talk on behalf of can never be a deity of any kind.. he can not raise to the level of the human even! What a bunch of psychos you are! I bet that the devil himself has got more ethics than you do.<br /><br />Take a look at what the MB makes of this<a href="http://www.ikhwanonline.com/Article.asp?ArtID=35815&SecID=230"> here</a>.<br /></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-49535101234875704092008-04-22T17:07:00.001-07:002008-04-30T18:13:20.098-07:00Girls Need Modems<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOkcgafg1d_b7y4ee0JZ9hFhytToPRg4NBT3_S0CgHqvaeOPaC2JBXlwbyCqy9St1f8SLXajypzy3pFLv1he3htnoVAFIeWMZQ3jWZwp80aEOCheeJuxJsLm4MpJpAPs1IID9m2BL_FW4/s1600-h/Grrl-Blogger-04.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192236373712781106" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFOkcgafg1d_b7y4ee0JZ9hFhytToPRg4NBT3_S0CgHqvaeOPaC2JBXlwbyCqy9St1f8SLXajypzy3pFLv1he3htnoVAFIeWMZQ3jWZwp80aEOCheeJuxJsLm4MpJpAPs1IID9m2BL_FW4/s400/Grrl-Blogger-04.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">Yup! They defintely do. I've recently stumbled upon this amazing <a href="http://www.stumptuous.com/mrp.html">research paper</a> by Krista Scott while surfing the net, and I immediately realized that she had clearly spoken my mind.. in a detailed, in-depth and highly organized manner.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">In her masters thesis, Scott explains the advantages of female self-publication on the Web. </div><br /><blockquote><p align="justify">"The self-publication potential of the Net is one of the main reasons which creators cite as advantageous, since it allows for rhetoric and content which is unmediated by publishers, editors, or the like. Self-publication lends itself to a perception of immediacy, in that readers/users are more likely to feel that they can interact with ezine creators to those whose thoughts apparently are laid bare on the screen."<br /></p></blockquote><div align="justify">Hence the title "<a href="http://www.stumptuous.com/mrp.html">Girls Need Modems</a>".. Before the internet, female voices were too feeble.. scarcely heard. And society kept pilling up restrictions on female writings in such a way which made publishing an almost impossible dream for women. They found many hands volunteering to shut them up, while they hardly ever found a helping hand that was willing to encourage them to express themselves, unleash their talents or exhibit their intellectual power.</div><br /><div align="justify">In the beginning, cyberspace was not really promising. It was totally controlled by men.. Staying up all night programming, designing, entering codes, and publishing their own content. Yet, by time things have amazingly changed.. And in some cases even it may seem that tables have turned. Women stepped in so powerfully and made the best they could out of this new tool.<br /></div><div align="justify">Female activity on cyberspace has exceeded the phase of being merely an outlet for expression and creativity.. Nowadays, one can actually say that the internet has given lots of girls a place to become actively involved with social and political issues.. Things that they would rarely, if ever, have had the chance to participate in! Moreover, the existence of multiple accessible self-publishing tools like blogs, forums, instant messaging.. etc, has allowed women who would not normally speak up on touchy issues to really dig in and find out what they believe and what they want to fight for. It is a haven for free thought, a place to meet like-minded people, get involved with activities and organizations, and write about how we feel as women in the world today.</div><br /><div align="justify">But how many girls are lucky enough to enjoy that "luxury" in Egypt? That is the sad face that we gotta confront now. <strong>The number of Egyptian girls who publish online has got to increase.</strong> They need encouragement and support. They need a wave of gurus to teach them how to break out of their silence and realize that it is time for them to speak up.</div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">Women issues has got to be addressed by women.. that's a fact. And girls who enjoy the freedom of owning their own voices online have got a major role to play in the battle for retreiving their freedom in the real world. With freedom comes responsibility. And each one of us out there.. each one who has managed to grab a piece of this cyberspace.. has got a responsibility towards the millions of other girls who haven't got the same opportunity. Believe me, there are millions who count on us. And I sincerely hope that we wouldn't let them down.</div><br /><div align="justify"><strong>Female Bloggers Unite! Girls Online Unite!</strong> Let's do our best to make a change. We are lucky inividuals who have got a chance to rewrite history. We CAN do it. We are able to expand the horizon for millions of girls out there, if we only BELIEVE. The future of generations to come lies in our own hands.. RIGHT HERE.. RIGHT NOW. </div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-90847833265590382402008-03-31T00:04:00.000-07:002008-04-04T07:49:57.733-07:00Women....The Forgotten Media Moguls<div align="justify">As We have mentioned before, a lot of what people think is influenced by the media... what they see or hear influences their peception of the world around them, and alters their mentality and how they handle various situations. Media is obviously a very powerful tool, and to control the media is to control how people around you will think and act. If women ever regain their status in society, I am almost certain that the media will play a major role. I often wonder, when will the time come when women will be able to freely influence the media? when will their voices be heard?<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgeSK2fmCLNmXJahtNf6-i7fjM_VW3KrCcVFkCvzzkOvw6Sz3OW6PlUty-7pJAfklF3af4sBL74YJzgRgv9pYRoOJ3TomVSE7LwWjuodV5vAUMXUgyGePat9TCw4UdvqvNZ7EiplEZkXq/s1600-h/Fawzi_El_Gazayerly_.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184128077311361106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhgeSK2fmCLNmXJahtNf6-i7fjM_VW3KrCcVFkCvzzkOvw6Sz3OW6PlUty-7pJAfklF3af4sBL74YJzgRgv9pYRoOJ3TomVSE7LwWjuodV5vAUMXUgyGePat9TCw4UdvqvNZ7EiplEZkXq/s320/Fawzi_El_Gazayerly_.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="justify"></a> The first cinema production in Egypt was a film shot in Alexandria. This was the beginning of the cinema industry, in 1907 and was a revolution of its own.The first Egyptian to act in a movie was Mohamed Karim, who only had minor roles in movies, which were mainly directed by foreigners. The first Egyptian actors to act in full length movies were the Fawzi el Gazayerli Troup.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLTxBhmVqZG_eOWO7pL7Be_g-fMCEr8Vk0lbI3LmcICXnvO-V8EosIxOlqQYMKHDjgYpcXpz4zr38w3iHqLoASaVbvnN6SFJLElnxFSz_4P3AdwFcJ_YayJImqLARuYn649722ITEAjQQ/s1600-h/Fawzi_El_Gazayerly_and+his+daughter.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184129112398479474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLTxBhmVqZG_eOWO7pL7Be_g-fMCEr8Vk0lbI3LmcICXnvO-V8EosIxOlqQYMKHDjgYpcXpz4zr38w3iHqLoASaVbvnN6SFJLElnxFSz_4P3AdwFcJ_YayJImqLARuYn649722ITEAjQQ/s400/Fawzi_El_Gazayerly_and+his+daughter.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><div align="justify">This troup was famous for the comedic act of " elme3alem ba7ba7, and his wife om a7mad". Played by Fawzi and his daughter, indicating that since the beginning of the Egytian movie industry, it is clear that both women and men were equally represented, and participated freely. Actors and actresses do not have a major role in influencing the public, meaning they do not write the stories, and they do not produce or direct the movies, so in a sense, they are only the "image" but not the idea.<br /><br />An astounding fact that I have come to learn in that the first feature film in Egypt was in fact directed by a woman.... Aziza Amir produced Egypt's first feature film, "Laila," in 1927. Numerous women directed and produced films in the 1940s through the mid-'60s, during Egypt's golden age of cinema, which ended when then President Abdel Nasser took state control of the cinema industry. Women have yet to regain their power in the industry. Aziza Amir was Born in Domiat in 1901.... so she was only 26 years old when she took that major milestone.<br /><br />It is quite clear that most of the Egyptian movie pioneers were women. Examples Aziza Amir , Fatma Rushdi, and Assia.<a href="http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/604/diwa.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/604/diwa.jpg" border="0" /></a>Although not all of them had enough personal funds, there were people in the community who respected and admired them, and were ready to fund their ventures into the world of movie making. Another important note is that these people did not care about each others religion, or political points of view, and they all worked together to introduce the movie industry into a country that had never seen it before, only one year after the first movie was ever made in the world. An example of this is Fatma Rushdie, whose work was funded by a Jewish man called Elie Derie.<br /><br />Women were pioneers at a time when they needed to struggle and persevere to continue the project. When Aziza Amir made her film Laila in 1927, Talaat Harb told her the famous statement: “You have done what no man dared to do”, because he had been unwilling to risk a long movie, and was content with short movies. All of the hard work eventully paid off, so we can safely say that the foundation of the biggest movie industry in the Middle East was placed by women, and the golden age of that industry was accomplished by both men and women working side by side.<br /><br />This brings me to the main point of this post.... Whatever happened to the Egyptian movie industry? Where have all the women gone and why are actresses getting fewer and fewer roles, why are women rarely, if ever, the main stars in movies? Why have they been sidelined? The main complaint by Egyptian actresses, that I read and see, is that writers don't write roles for women, and producers do not produce movies for women... It is quite obvious that the wahabization of Egypt has affected our movie industry, and is threatening to destroy over 100 years of work. Add to all of that the increasing number of Egyptian actresses who are obviously in great distress, and are sufferring mentally and intelectually from the wahabist push in the ultra extreme conservative oppressive direction, who suddenly quit work, wear hegab, announce o the world that they are quitting the "sin" of acting and wish God will forgive them.... some have even wore a hegab, and then took it off, then put it back on... or even a niqab! It is quite clear that the actresses of today are hesitant, unrealistic, and confused... Which doesn't help with the current image of women in the media, and which makes women less likely to be taken seriously by their male colleagues.<br /><br />When it comes to directors on the other hand, it is a totally different story. There are only a few female movie directors, but these women had to fight against great odds to get into the field of directing which has been predominantly run by males since Nasser took over the film industry (as opposed to to how easy it was for men to get into the industry when it was run mainly by women... makes you wonder why men would be so insecure as to opose a woman doing the same job?!) A few examples are Hala Khalil, Sandra Nashat, and of course Egypt's most established and controversial <a href="http://www.bibalex.org/alexcinema/actors/images/Fatma_Roushdi/Fatma_Roushdy02_resize.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.bibalex.org/alexcinema/actors/images/Fatma_Roushdi/Fatma_Roushdy02_resize.jpg" border="0" /></a>female movie director Inas El Degheidy. All 3 women have been quoted at one point of time saying that they had to stand up to family and to the community around them in order to enter the field of movie directing.. as well as the blatant discrimination in the work field against them simply for being women. When speaking about Inas Eldegheidy in particular, it is clear to see that she has drawn the most criticism because of th nature of her movies. Most of her movies have a main theme.. that is the idea of feminism, and the injustices suffered by Egyptian women in particular due to unfair laws (for example "3afwan ayoha alqanoon", and many others). In our current society, many if not most (but definatly not all) men find this kind of woman intimidating. They fear a woman who is loud enough to be heard and influential enough will some how shake the foundation o the wahabi infiltration into the Egyptian household, thus shaking their egos and sense of self worth... <a href="http://www.egypttoday.com/imageview.aspx?ID=2533&ImageWidth=150"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.egypttoday.com/imageview.aspx?ID=2533&ImageWidth=150" border="0" /></a>so by the extreme criticism of her work, the feel that in part they are not just fighting the movie's idea, but also fighting any woman who dares complain of the chauvanistic culture that exists.<br /><br />On a lighter note, I have come to learnthat An American Play I had mentioned before "The Vagina Monologues", actually has an Egyptian version!! It is called "KALAM FI SERRI" Directed by Riham Abdlrazik, who also acts in the play. It played last November in The Cairo Opera House as a part of the second female play directors festival in Cairo. The show aso travelled outside of Egypt, and played in Tunisia in December of 2007.<br /><br />Even though the play showed in Egypt,it was not without repercussions....Of course, all the opressive anti-woman media moguls objected and theMuslim brotherhood interfered. Mohsen Radi, the MB representative in the Democratic party decided to sue and ban the show, since according to his ideas, the words women an sex cannot be placed together in one sentence as it is "insulting" to the communiy. He claimed that they have crossed all the lines, and have discussed things that should not be mentioned, and that this will result in immoral sexual practices in the community!!! The good thing though is that for once people were not intimidated by the MB's and the ministry of culure ( wezaret althaqafa) <a href="http://eldagher.maktoobblog.com/793267/Ùزارة_اÙØ«ÙاÙØ©_تÙتÙد_ÙÙاب_جÙ
اعة_اÙإخÙاÙ_اÙÙ
سÙÙ
ÙÙ_بسبب_ÙÙاÙ
_ÙÙ_سرÙ">Criticized </a>the attack of the MB's on the show stating that the MB's were not truthful , and lacked objectivity in their counterproductive argument, and that they are trying to "ye7agebo" the movie industry :)<br /><br />The one conclusion I have is that we need freedom of speach, and the MB are doing their best to prevent women expressing themselves in the ,media.... starting by suing actresses who decide to take off the hegab, to plays they dont approve of, to <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/save_print.php?save=1&cont_id=44903">accusing women of attacking religion </a>in movies and plays, thus inflaming society against them, to deciding that certain shows should not discuss problems in society that pretain to certain women, as thay have done to Hala Sar7an when she discussed prostitution in Egypt, and as they are doing with Kalam fi Serri.<br /><br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/04.09.21.Goat-X.gif" border="0" /> <p align="justify"><br />Overall , the way I see things is that women have revolutionized a country... and not just one country, but an entire region of the world. Since Egyptian media was the only media for a very long time, and it was only over the past 10 years that other Arabic speaking countries have begun to have a media that is beginning to be somewhat influential. I have yet to see a movie in Arabic that gets as much attention, or publicity, or influence as any Egyptian movie. If women at that time were opressed, this revolution would not have happened. The opression of women is the opression of society. It is the loss of great minds and great ideas. It is the loss of advancement in different fields, and the loss of potential benefits to our country. Wahabists know this , so their main attack is always an attack on women and their freedom and their rights. They do this to weaken us, so they can be the dominant power in the region. Their power and influence comes from oil, which we lack.. However, we have something far better than oil. We have manpower, a bigger population that is more educated than any of the wahabi countries. By sidelining half of this population, they are cutting Egypt's main source of strength and progress in half. They are sending us back in time. We all need to stand up for women and stop the blatant attacks on all their efforts and hard work. When we stand up for women we are standing up for society. When we stand up for society we are standing up for a better future and a better Egypt. Lets all unite and fight for a better Egypt. We need our voices to be heard. We want women to be given their rightful place in the media. The one they have worked so hard to get, yet was stolen right before their very eyes in the name of extremism and mysogyny. </p>Egyptian Feminist Chichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927651472484414243noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-77821989167589388652008-03-23T17:10:00.000-07:002008-03-23T19:02:15.121-07:00Women Rights in Egypt: When the Wheel Has to Be Reinvented<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayiRmMEbh0oaGelq9jngSPmZ5Wt-z1JrteIDSSS8mcQnVGajNFzA1bGydeIpmOsjY6OpvnQEiEl2cxZmXpEbUV2KxfkDSV5nuuKjHcchLSd4oN8Sdr7D0Z2WBsL5LlEW8AngyxvUGUPPG/s1600-h/40demoegypt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181118383285717842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjayiRmMEbh0oaGelq9jngSPmZ5Wt-z1JrteIDSSS8mcQnVGajNFzA1bGydeIpmOsjY6OpvnQEiEl2cxZmXpEbUV2KxfkDSV5nuuKjHcchLSd4oN8Sdr7D0Z2WBsL5LlEW8AngyxvUGUPPG/s320/40demoegypt.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="justify">I've said <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2007/06/one-step-forward-two-steps-back.html">before </a>that the huge steps taken by Egyptian women on their road to liberation in a previous era have now been reduced to a few centimeters. We're heading back to square one, thanks to the deterioration that Egypt is witnessing in the cultural, educational and social fields. And today I am saying it once more. Sorry to break the news.. but unfortunately <span style="color:#cc0000;">there seems no hope in improving women conditions in Egypt unless we reinvent the wheel</span>.<br /></div><div align="justify">Why so?</div><br /><div align="justify">1- Egyptians are revisiting the old libraries of the gulf, digging up the history of a different culture and trying to apply it to their present lives. In the process, they totally forgot their own identity and neglected their own history and culture. Books of Muhammed Abdu, Qassim Amin and Huda Shaarawy are now fit for the Egyptian museum. Nobody knows the titles of those books.. and that is in the most optimistic scenario.. as there is another scenario in which people do not know that such books exist in first place. Therefore, displaying them at the museum may do them good.. at least young people would know that we once had a women's liberation movement.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">2- Everything that women struggled for in the past, until they were finally successful in attaining some of their rights is being threatened. We are nowadays arguing basic human rights issues related to women.. like women's work! Even sexual harrassment has got its supporters based on the idea that women should not leave their homes!</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">3- Whatever rights women seem to be enjoying in Egypt have lost their essence to become a mere image and a fake appearance of equal opportunities between males and females. Take education as an example.. How many girls get their college degrees and then never join the workforce? How many female students apply for graduate studies? How many females are interested in research? Education for females is still looked upon as an extra.. a luxury.. a means to have a better chance in marriage. I'm sorry to say that a lot of money is being wasted on educating females in Egypt. </div><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">4- Currently, women themselves are the biggest obstacle in our way to development. A large percentage of them is not only a burden on Egypt's economy, but also a major hindering factor that prevents society from moving forward. <strong>We must face it</strong>.. <span style="color:#cc0000;">Those women have moved from being merely self-destructive into becoming weapons of mass destruction.</span> Therefore, helping them to improve their conditions is no more a humanitarian mission.. Forget the big talk about humanity and values and all this charity.. We need to help them in order to stop our country from going downhill. We're talking about protecting our existence and saving generations to come. </div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">5- Women's health in Egypt is a major issue. As EFC has pointed <a href="http://fantasia4ever.blogspot.com/2008/01/for-love-of-gameand-so-much-more.html">earlier</a>, women are the ones responsible for the wellbeing of their families.. So, these self-hating women who refuse to look after themselves are also risking the wellbeing of their families. Billions are being wasted on medical care for women who are only being careless about their health and general hygiene. Obesity is a growing epidemic threatening the human resources of this country. Women suffer from many diseases because of their ignorance and their dissatisfaction with their lives. They suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, malnutrition, bacterial and fungal infections, late discovery of cancers (esp. breast cancer and endometrial cancer), bone and joint disorders, ...etc. Psychological illnesses are very common among women.. from depression to serious conditions like hysteria and schizophrenia. Of course poverty contributes a lot to this problem.. but the self-destructive element can not be overlooked.</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify">6-If you talk to an average Egyptian girl for 10 mins, you will discover that she thinks of herself as an excess.. an intruder into a man's world. She views herself as a second class citizen and she defends the patriarchal excuses given to justify this humiliating existence and absence of equality.. What a disgrace! Girls actually think that they are doing humanity a "huge favor" by accepting this kind of reality. Yeah.. and they believe that is their gate to heaven too! Acceptance and submissiveness is our women's number one virtue nowadays. Hurray!</div><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><strong>If we continue to deceive ourselves by saying that our job is simply to continue what our ancestors have started decades ago then there is no hope. The situation is dangerous, and the writing is on the wall.. All we gotta do is read it, no matter how shocking it is. <span style="color:#cc0000;">We gotta start a women's liberation movement from scratch</span>. We gotta convince girls that they are not inferiors, that they are full humans, that they have a role to play on the social scene... bla bla bla. I know it sounds like ABC.. But, do we have a choice? </strong></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-63272928069110170842008-03-08T21:29:00.000-08:002008-04-30T18:33:57.716-07:00V-day.... stop the violence (part 2)The interesting thing about our society is that it mixes between emotional and physical abuse. As if all the emotional abuse was not enough! Men are encouraged to beat their wives. Religious authorities tell men it is okay to beat their wives, just not on the face. Then they say "hit her with a toothpick"!.. which makes no sense at all. What does poking someone with a toothpick do?? And if it doesn't do anything, why is it encouraged? So a punch in the stomach is okay? A kick to the leg? A punch in the shoulders? Hitting with a big wooden stick on her back is fine??<br /><p></p><br /><br /><a href="http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/3507/2958245380032236501S500x500Q85.jpg"><img style="width: 312px; height: 425px;" src="http://docs.google.com/File?id=dd476ttz_1dd3x7kd3" name="graphics1" align="bottom" border="0" /></a> <br /><br /><p class="western" dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="left"><br />These won't leave visible bruises, so technically they are allowed..... But why do religious figures keep repeating that men need to hit women?? Why not look at religion a little differently? Even if beating is in religion, and religious figures translate it into very mild hitting with a toothpick, "<i>sewak,</i>" why encourage it?? It was never a religious order. If a man does not hit his wife, he will not go to hell. Why not say that its purpose is just to let the wife know you are angry and you cannot take it anymore... so dont hit your wife or abuse her, just communicate your unhappiness, no need to be violent.<br /><br /><a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Newsweek/Photos/mag/040503_Issue/040424_saudiwoman_horiz.hlarge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Newsweek/Photos/mag/040503_Issue/040424_saudiwoman_horiz.hlarge.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><p class="western" dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0.17in;" align="left"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;">They all see how society currently thinks... so maybe it isnt a good idea now to tell men, go hit your wives... because the result is injury, humiliation, abuse, and breaking a relationship which can never be fixed. Maybe in this day and age, religious authorities need to come out and say no to violence all together... dont allow just a little violence... ban it completely. Is it okay to hit a colleague who disagrees with you at work?? If it isnt, then can you communicate your displeasure without using physical force?? If you can do it at work, I guarantee you can do it at home!! Now we all know that God is fair, and he would in no way mandate abusing human beings, so it would be reasonable if religious figures, seeing the kind of abuse happening today, actually forbid men from using force with women they share a life with.<br /><br /><br />The problem with physical abuse is that it not only encompasses beating women, but it also involves other forms of abuse, such as female genital mutilation (FGM) , otherwise called female circumcision. </span></p><p class="western" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0.19in;" align="left"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><a href="http://www.afrol.com/images/maps/fgm_map.gif"><img src="http://docs.google.com/File?id=dd476ttz_2fpjwq5fc" name="graphics2" align="bottom" border="0" height="319" width="333" /></a></span><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;">As you can see , the incidence of FGM in Egypt is one of the highest in the world. Female circumcision is in no way related to religion. It is an ancient African tradition, designed to subdue women and deprive them of sexual pleasure, so women will not be tempted to cheat. In short it is the easy way out for males who do not care how much they damage a woman physically and emotionally, as long as their pride in front of other men is intact, to be comfortable knowing they can rest easy at night, and abuse their wives, without worrying that their wives will look for other men to provide them with the love and compassion they are lacking in their lives.. This kind of primitive culture involves a life threatening procedure by which parents cause damage to their own daughters' self esteem. so be it!.. infections septicemia, urinary tract infections and ultimate death are a mear smidgen in comparison to their super inflated ego. Add to all of that the psychological trauma and humiliation the poor girls suffer in full view of their families and friends... They are even taught that this is the norm, and that when they are older they need to enforce the same form of savagry onto younger girls without batting an eye lash since this is the way things are, and no one can ever change them.<br /><br />It amazes me how this ideology exists in Egypt to this very day. The fact that it was adapted at one point of time is incomprehensible, since Egypt had a well known civilization that should not have been influenced by lesser civilizations. The fact that it still exists does not make any sense.. and the most astounding fact is that they actually attribute this abuse to God, stating it is mandated by him. It is just unacceptable how every time there is a way to oppress women that men would like to use, they just blame it on God and state that it is God's order, thus preventing women from fighting back. The statistics for FGM are frightening. 97% of Egyptian women have undergone the procedure. Mainly in Rural areas, but the practice is a little less common in larger cities. Demographic and health surveys have been conducted by USAID , and their results showed that there is no doctrinal basis for this practice in either Islam or Christianity. Although high officials in both the Muslim and Christian religious establishments have voiced opposition to the practice, it is still supported by some local religious authorities. Moreover, many Egyptians believe that this is an important part of maintaining female chastity, which is part of the religious tradition. </span></p><p class="western" dir="ltr" style="margin-top: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0.19in;" align="left"><span style="font-family:Georgia,serif;"><br />The historical roots of the practice date back thousands of years. According to the 1995 DHS findings, the most commonly given reason (58 percent) for supporting the practice was the belief that this was a "good tradition." Almost three-quarters of Egyptian women felt that husbands would prefer their wives to undergo the procedure. More than one-third cited cleanliness as a reason, while a smaller number saw it as a way to prevent promiscuity before marriage and unfaithfulness within the marriage.<br />The 2000 DHS also found that the majority of women think this practice should continue, though there was some decline in support for the practice (75 percent of women surveyed in 2000 versus 82 percent in 1995). There is spreading recognition of the many potential adverse health consequences of the practice, which has resulted in increasing resort to doctors rather than traditional birth attendants (TBAs) to perform the procedure.<br />One of the main factors behind the persistence of the practice is its social significance for females. In communities where it is practiced, a woman achieves recognition mainly through marriage and child bearing and many families refuse to accept as a marriage partner, a woman who has not undergone the procedure.<br /><a href="http://missionviejo.de/pics/genital/04.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://missionviejo.de/pics/genital/04.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />So you can see that women who promote this practice do so because they believe it will please men, and they are more likely to get married, which to them holds more significance than any trauma a young girl may suffer. On the positive side, In 2007 after many many deaths of young innocent girls, the Egyptian government finally stepped up and banned FGM for good....banning it unless it was medically necessary was the most absurd law in the world... it is like saying we ban cutting a girls arm, unless the doctor feels that it is medically necessary, then parents would get their girls to see the doctor, so we can decide if we should cut off all of her arm or half of it... but with the new law, I finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. There is even a very nice ad campaign to go along with it.<br /><br /><object height="350" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xr9Co4I43FY"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xr9Co4I43FY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="400" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Id2DLqQcEWE&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Id2DLqQcEWE&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br />On a lighter note, fighting violence against women is a world wide phenomenon. A show called "The Vagina Monologues" celebrated it's 10th anniversary this February 14th.... V-Day!! It promotes women identifying with themselves and their bodies, and being comfortable with who they are, the way God made them. It promotes healthy sexuality, and women not fearing men, and not mutilating their bodies to please men. This show has been translated into many languages, including arabic.An arabic version played for some time in Lebanon, of course with some modifications to suit Arabic culture. I especially like the following segment, because it opposes everything patriarchal cultures resemble... In our culture they try to shame women about their periods... they tell them they are not clean, they cannot perform certain jobs, they accuse them of being crazy or irrational, so unable to function in life... in short they make women feel bad for something that is natural and healthy and in no way shameful. This segment is the complete opposite!! Enjoy!<br /><br /><object height="350" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IySk2HaYzDY"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IySk2HaYzDY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="400"></embed></object>Egyptian Feminist Chichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12927651472484414243noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-12149913665009020422008-03-08T19:17:00.000-08:002008-03-07T19:25:08.962-08:00Celebrating International Women's Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_d8PPdPIAF3agYVguyAShPahYwCdb9ztiTwG7ijiVJG_0YJCDOshZ80YrUi8sAUb1qBtaj4RNwleDyo2y1TSN69LUHXc_bSIex_e_A5rdQEXQB-8YL8v729axW5k37uNWkBT-4aZ0m1f/s1600-h/womenday.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_d8PPdPIAF3agYVguyAShPahYwCdb9ztiTwG7ijiVJG_0YJCDOshZ80YrUi8sAUb1qBtaj4RNwleDyo2y1TSN69LUHXc_bSIex_e_A5rdQEXQB-8YL8v729axW5k37uNWkBT-4aZ0m1f/s400/womenday.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175206089890687826" border="0" /></a><br />It is 8 March.. which means that today we celebrate the International Women's Day. We'd like to wish all women all the best, and we invite men to celebrate this day with women in their families.<br /><br />HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY!Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3979841962529989545.post-15450725666579251612008-02-28T17:56:00.000-08:002008-02-28T19:41:55.436-08:00Egyptian Men.. Wutz Up with You?<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9QT38_j6p-cwXUNLrO7QZQ5yMFImqSNnkBWGP497nmKxaZjK_e2y7RrFcHyCetk7UGcAFNMp9aS3sbAZ-k8ntrK2IIf8wMfFWMv7CTHiLk4elgmk8d0sUuJ25a4FRLv_HYQuAddkAY02/s1600-h/ALeqM5gs1QAE0aRruvGQRscM05BNWjn3iA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172239444009091218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9QT38_j6p-cwXUNLrO7QZQ5yMFImqSNnkBWGP497nmKxaZjK_e2y7RrFcHyCetk7UGcAFNMp9aS3sbAZ-k8ntrK2IIf8wMfFWMv7CTHiLk4elgmk8d0sUuJ25a4FRLv_HYQuAddkAY02/s400/ALeqM5gs1QAE0aRruvGQRscM05BNWjn3iA.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Egypt men say 'I don't' to woman marriage registrar</span></strong><br /></span><br /><a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCvtjxFOEfQ_BQSBM-Xzmt38DgDQ"><span style="font-size:85%;">CAIRO (AFP)</span> </a>— <span style="color:#336666;">The appointment this week of Egypt's first woman able to conduct Muslim marriages has sparked controversy in the religious country, particularly from men who see their status being challenged.<br /><br />Amal Soliman, 32, is the first woman in the Middle East and possibly the Muslim world to be authorised to perform wedding ceremonies and sign marriage and divorce contracts.<br />Straddling the worlds of bureaucracy and religion -- two pillars of Egyptian society -- the graduate in civil and criminal law said she is "more qualified" than her colleagues to perform the function of "maazun".<br /><br />Justice Minister Mamduh Mari stressed that Soliman's nomination depended on her abilities rather than on her gender, but it has raised eyebrows and anger on the streets in the male-dominated Arab country.<br /><br />"<strong>I completely reject the idea</strong>," Mahmud Ali, a bearded 40-year-old, told AFP in Cairo. "<strong>There must be religious texts forbidding this...</strong> there are also obstacles on a social level, she would always take the woman's side."<br /><br />"This idea won't spread, it's a one-off and it won't last."<br />Ahmed Abdel Rehim declared simply: "A woman cannot do this job. I<strong> would never have a female maazun at my wedding.</strong>"<br /><br />But officials, eager to portray an image of equality, welcomed the decision.<br />"I'm not shocked at all, it's a purely legal job, reading Koranic verses and conducting a marriage," said Ali Saman, former head of Al-Azhar University's religious dialogue committee.<br />"A maazun is a judicial assistant, a notary... so it's a job that women can do."<br /><br />In 2005, US-based Amina Wadud sparked controversy in the Muslim world, including in Egypt, when she led prayers in New York, with some clerics saying it went against Islamic doctrine.<br />"A female imam (who leads prayers in a mosque) is different, that's to be debated by specialists but a female maazun who signs and officialises a marriage certificate there's no problem," he said.<br /><br />"<strong>There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a maazun</strong>," said Al-Azhar's deputy director Sheikh Fawzi Zafzaf. "<strong>But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Koranic verses and that will affect her job, so for this reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman maazun</strong>."<br /><br />Women's rights in Egypt have a long and occasionally rocky history. Egyptian women were allowed to vote and stand for office in 1956. But they are notable in their absence from Egyptian courtrooms, even those dealing with family law. A first group of 30 women judges was authorised to practice in March 2007.<br /><br />"Islam guarantees women's rights,</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">whatever is said about the inferiority of women is a lie</span><span style="color:#336666;">," said Zafzaf.<br /><br />"Why not support women?" said Shawkiya Rawash, in her 50s. "If she can be an example to follow, if she manages to do her job well, why not? I'm in favour."<br /></span>.................................................................................<br /><br /><br />And I'm in favor too, Shawkiya. Thank you so much. But, you know what? Egyptian men seem to have got issues with this..<br /><br />Now, let's speak seriously, please guys. What's up with you, men? Huh?<br /><br />Al-Azhar seems to me to be so messed up on this subject. And unfortunately, I've been one miserable victim who watched this issue being debated live on Egyptian TV. Gotta tell you.. I just felt SICK of all the biased trash I heard.<br /><br />I've talked about this before in my comment on EFC's first post here. And I told her about Al-Azhar's unjustified objection to the court sentence in this case back then. This woman, Amal Soliman, has earned her basic rights through a long needless battle with the justice system. And even after that, the judge was reluctant, and he insisted that an official approval by the Fatwa Committee of Al-Azhar is a must for Amal to get her legal rights in holding her job.<br /><br />I saw Amal Soliman on TV.. She is such a decent woman, and she has got all what it takes to have this job. She holds a masters degree in law, and her work experience has enabled her to beat 10 male candidates in order to become maazun. Moreover, she faced lots of unjustifiable complications, and was deprived of her right to start practicing her new job. But she didn't give up. She fought for her right. She filed a lawsuit against her employers, and got a court sentence in her favor. So.. Why the hell had Al-Azhar's committee denied her permission to get that job, and why the hell did they suddenly change their minds?<br /><br />And please allow me to ask, WHAT THE HELL is Al-Azhar's deputy director saying?!!<br /><br />I'm sorry. With all my respect to Al-Azhar and its men.. But this man doesn't seem to make any sense in his speech. And I am sorry to repeat his meaningless and contradictory statements down here.<br /><br />He said, "There are no religious texts banning a Muslim woman from being a maazun."<br />Right.. Then why did Al-Azhar reject Mrs. Soliman's request the first time? And how can they forbid what God Himself has not forbidden? How can anyone dare to ban something, on religious basis, although God has never banned it?<br /><br />OK.. Let's assume that they realized they were mistaken. Now, check out what Sheikh Zafzaf says right after: "But when a woman is menstruating she must not enter a mosque or read Koranic verses and that will affect her job, so for this reason we say it is not advisable to have a woman maazun."<br /><br />Wait a minute! Did I just read this again? I really wish this is just a bad dream.. But did this man actually say <strong>"it is not advisable to have a woman maazun"?</strong> Come on! Are we kidding here or what?<br /><br />Or.. Are we playing some kind of a very old game that men are never tired of playing? They give you something by one hand, and take it by the other.<br /><br />Zafzaf, haven't you learned in Al-Azhar that lying is <strong>haram</strong>? I mean, this is a lesson we learn in 1st primary.. Yet, in your case, I assume that lying is not a good thing to do at all, since you are Al-Azhar's deputy director! Who are you speaking to please now? God or society?.. Or the beduin patriarchal society, to be more specific?<br /><br />Zafzaf, you know that the maazun's job has got nothing to do with the mosque. And you know that the prayers said at the wedding are part of the cermony, not the legal process of writing and officiating the marriage certificate. Thus, you are misleading people - on purpose - to make them believe that this woman will actually hold the hands of the groom and the bride's father under a white handkerchief to recite the usual lines said at the wedding ceremony. Isn't this a lie Zafzaf? Aren't you twisting facts A LOT here? Isn't this a very bad and cheap con job?<br /><br />And then you dare say, "whatever is said about the inferiority of women is a lie"!!.. Man, you've just said that this woman's period will affect her job!<br /><br />Now, this is a double lie. You've discriminated against this woman, and all other women who would want to have the same job.. You've told people <strong>not to hire this woman</strong> for their weddings, for God's sake! And then you go ahead saying "the inferiority of women is a lie"?! That's way too much.. Seriously.<br /><br />Zafzaf.. I'm sorry, but you don't belong to a respectable religious institution like Al-Azhar. You rather belong with some male chauvinistic movement . You are a disgrace to the position you hold, really. You deform Islam to satisfy your male buddies.<br /><br /><strong>Thumbs down Azhar!.. Both thumbs down!..</strong> And I will tell all my family and friends to hire this woman for their weddings. Shame on you men.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">* I'd like to thank Raaasa for inspiring this post and providing the AFP link</span></div>Fantasiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08461909070546227094noreply@blogger.com18