Today is international women’s day. It’s 4 in the morning and I can’t sleep. Ironic. I was born at 4 o’clock in the morning. I was born a girl. If I only knew then what I was going to go through in my life, I would have wished myself not to be born at all. […]
Category Archives: Women’s Roles and Situations
Lebanon vs Sweden…Who wins?
A girl growing up trying to fit in but fails miserably, lost between two cultures… I was born in a land of war, killing and bombing. I remember all the windows we had to change because the glass broke when the bombs fell outside like rain. Many of our neighbors soon stopped changing the glass […]
Contemporary Feminisms in Lebanon: Lights in the Tunnel
Though many commentators have warned that the Arab Spring has turned into a winter, and despite the fact that many countries in the Southwestern Asian region have for the last decades witnessed continuous wars, political turmoil, economic crises, as well as the rise of extremism and the dissemination of sectarianism, the reality, in my opinion, […]
I was born a girl…
I was born a girl… “Born a girl” means being judged by my family and relatives for who enters or not “the place” – a “place” where my entire family’s value and honor lay, i.e. “between my legs”. “Between my legs” is my father’s honor, my sisters’, my uncles’, yeah everyone in my ‘tribe’. The […]
Let's End Violence Against Women!
Although women enjoyed sometimes important roles in ancient cultures such as the Mesopotamian, Egyptian and Greek, most women in the past and the present of Southwestern Asia and North Africa live in oppressive environments. Women are usually considered as tools of pleasure – tools to be thrown away when they ‘expire’. They have their roles […]
Why are women’s roles limited in Southwestern Asia?
There are multiple causes that limit women’s roles in Southwestern Asia i.e. the Middle East. The first one has to do with the historical legacy as society equated physical strength to general ability, thus relegated women to a lower status than men. This has resulted in the objectification of women in many parts of Southwestern […]
The Middle Eastern Woman's Handbook
You heralded bad news to your family the minute your mom found out she was pregnant with a girl. You could’ve been buried alive at birth. Be grateful. You must get married, you must get married, you must get married, you must- you must! The family’s entire honor is between your legs. Keep them closed. […]
Wonder Women
As a female, growing up in Saudi has had a huge impact on my lifestyle, perceptions and way of thinking. Although I am not originally from Saudi, living there my whole life has affected me enormously in different aspects of my life such as the way I speak and dress up. Moreover, as the Middle […]
Nazret Mogtama3 نظرة مجتمع
I’m a 20 year old Muslim Egyptian girl who was born and raised in Dubai. However, I visit my home country every year (…). In my family, I’m the only girl who is not wearing a Hijab and I get judged for that – ‘a girl who doesn’t fulfill her religious duties’. It used to […]
لا تفعلي هذا
لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبون المرآة…القوية لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبونا المرآة…الذكية لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبون االمرآة…المتحررة لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبون االمرآة…المفكرة لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبونا المرآة…الرومانسية لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبونا المرآة…الحالمة لا تفعلي هذا فالرجال لا يحبون االمرآة…المتكلمة. اذا سألت معظم الفتيات عن أكثر […]