Sawt al Niswa | صوت النسوة - women's rights

Collective Push of the Elephant

hiba — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Nasawiya

Sometimes it takes a collective of feminists to spot the patriarchal elephant in the room (and to show it to the door).

Battling patriarchy is difficult, particularly when you try to do it alone. If anything was learned from the Jan 14 March, solidarity is both empowering and inspiring. Change will only come if we work together to identify problems and construct positive solutions.

On Thursday 19 January 2012, Nasawiya member Sarah Abou Raad posted an image. It was of the ‘Parental Consent Sheet’ for the Beit el-Taibat (women’s dorms) at the University of Balamand. On this form the parent’s were asked what ‘level of freedom they would like to grant their daughter’. The options were ‘Full Freedom’, ‘Partial Freedom’, or ‘No Freedom’. Outraged, Sarah posted an image of the form with the caption ‘That’s how education is supposed to free our minds!! Im indignant!! I cant believe it!!’

Roughly an hour later, another Nasawiya member, Christine Lindner, saw Sarah’s post. Being an Assistant Professor at the University of Balamand, Christine was immediately frustrated by the image that she saw. During the past few months, Christine, with the help of many dedicated students, has helped start the debate about gender discrimination on campus. Farah from the Adventures of Salwa led a great discussion, while the student newspaper covered a number of important topics related to sexual harassment. Christine met with the Dean of Students to revise sexual harassment policies and felt a general interest for change. However, this form, it is language of ‘no freedom’ for female students was a huge step in the wrong direction.

An interesting exchange took place between Sarah and Christine that night, over the implications of the application and its wording. As a result, Christine sent an email to the Dean of Student Affairs asking questions about the application, which she posted to the Nasawiya wall. Other members posted responses to the image’s comment thread. Some mentioned that similar forms are used at dorms for other universities. This needs to be researched further and pursued for change.

Christine met with the Dean of Student Affairs and the university counselor on Monday 23 January 2012. Both positively received the complaint, stating that it was only when Christine had identified the strong language of the form that they realized how counterproductive it was to their goals of empowering the students. As such, a replacement form was created emphasizing not the disempowerment of the female students, but the level of supervision that the university would play, upon the request of the parents (many of whom live abroad). It was also agreed that this form would be signed by the parents of students resident at both the women’s and men’s dorms. The updated version can be found at

http://www.balamand.edu.lb/english/OSA.asp?id=2705&fid=160

So while this does not mark the erasure of patriarchy at the University of Balamand, it does mark a small victory, while illuminating a few important lessons:

Firstly, a variety of tactics are needed to bring down patriarchal systems. At times, large protest marches are needed. In other times, it is a stern email from a member of faculty asking questions about a problematic practice. Others, it is the threat of images going viral on the internet. Sometimes, all three. Patriarchy and social injustice manifest themselves in all facets of life. We need to keep all tools ready, harnessing the appropriate tool for the specific situation and specific audience.

Secondly, identifying and challenging patriarchy is a collective effort. Sarah’s posting of the image prompted Christine to write the letter, which illuminated the problem to the Dean, so that the form was changed and the discriminatory practice equalized. This is the collective at work. This is its strength. This is why it works. We cannot stand alone, for the elephant is too big sometimes to even see, let alone push out the door. And if one project fails, we are there to catch each other, provide an umbrella when it rains, or a tissue for the tears. This is the strength of the collective and this is why it will succeed.

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Me and a Gun #Jan14

hiba — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Laurel Harig

In Tori Amos’ autobiographical song about surviving rape (“Me and a Gun” from her first album, Little Earthquakes, 1992), Tori talks abouther choice to wear a “slinky red thing,” and how women's susceptibility to rape is commonly perceived to have something to do with the way they dress or the places they frequent. Funny how, in the tragic story of the rape and murder of Miriam Ashkar in November, no one asked what she was wearing. Was it because, in this case, the perpetrator– a Syrian worker, all too neatly fit the sectarian demonization bill and so no further inquiry was necessary? Or, was it because she was on her way to pray in church in the early evening, her status as a “good girl” thus confirmed? What would the media have said if she were walking alone late at night, or from her boyfriend’s house? Some might have tried to shift the blame from her killer to Miriam herself, as if a woman could ever prepare for rape, or prevent it, or cause it to happen. What if Miriam were divorced or even, married? Then, the crime would pass from her own body to the honor of her husband. This is the Lebanon we live in today. It is a land where only virgins can be raped.

There is an old German saying that a woman’s place is “kinder, kuche, kirche.” (Children, kitchen, church.) It is not hard to see that this mentality is still alive and well in Lebanon. So, how is it that a woman is not safe from harm in any of these three places? (Neither when a child, at home, or on her way to church?) I am currently working on a paper on women’s role in religion in the pre-modern world. When you study history and scripture, you see that patriarchal attitudes towards women are never part of “history” or “tradition,” rather they are political tools that are deployed against women depending on political goals at the time. An example of this would be how American woman were asked to join the workforce during the 1940′s during the patriotic days of WWII only to be sent back to their homes in the 1950′s to breed the next generation of citizens to replace those killed in the war. This is similar to the status of Algerian women after the revolution who were asked to return to their kitchens after playing a vital role in the resistance rather than take up posts in a new post-colonial government. This is not all bad. If patriarchal attitudes are historical products of a time and place, this means that they can also be undone by direct political action. What if, in the spirit of Lysistrata, all wives of Lebanese politicians refused to have sex with their husbands until the new laws were passed? Nadine Labaki’s new film tries to make this point, although I doubt that Russian prostitutes are the answer.

It is to women, all of them, who suffer sexual harassment, abuse, domestic violence, rape and murder that our actions on January 14th should be dedicated, so that we don’t forget the terrible urgency of what we are doing. Lebanon currently has some of the most archaic rape laws in the world. We need new laws to create a safer world for all women residing in Lebanon, whether they are citizens, foreign domestic workers or visitors. And after the laws, we need the courage to enforce them and watch society change.

Tori Amos Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKzCxi2yf5s
Lysistrata story:

http://drama.eserver.org/plays/classical/aristophanes/lysistrata.txt

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On Why We Are Demonstrating

hiba — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Paola Daher

I read an infuriating article today, a blog post that was so patronizing it made me feel sick to the stomach. The writer referred to our action as “delusional” and while he deemed our struggle as “righteous”, he did not see it going anywhere for the moment. But Behold! For his was kind enough to provide us with an alternative solution, with other priorities and other actions.

The author’s intention was probably not to minimize our struggle, or be patronizing or anything: he probably did not notice that his sickly sweet rhetoric merely felt like a paternalistic pat on the head, like someone telling you you’re cute but naïve. Like someone not really believing you had serious reasons to be angry and to demonstrate.

Which got me to think: what are we fighting for? Why are we demonstrating?

First and foremost, there’s of course the issue of rights. We are demonstrating because the state has duties towards us, obligations it has signed on in an International Convention (CEDAW), voluntarily binding itself to respect, protect and fulfill them, rights that we can see are not being respected, protected and fulfilled. Hence, by making ourselves heard we are simply putting into action our democratic rights. We are neither demonstrating because we are spoilt brats, nor because we don’t have anything else to do or because we are delusional naïve nymphs living in Lala land. Rather, our carefully thought-out collective action is our weapon to put our government in front of its obligations. Its obligations is our rights, and it is our responsibility to demand them, to claim them, for the shameful rape laws are not going to be cancelled by themselves; and neither is the Violence Against Women Bill ever going to materialize and be adopted out of thin air. We demonstrate because the numbers 478, 488 and 489 (criminal code provisions imposing higher sanctions on women found guilty of adultery than on men) 503, 504 and 522 (laws pertaining to rape) cannot be read without a shudder. We demonstrate because of the large Violence Against Women Bill-shaped gaping hole within the Lebanese legislative apparel. We demonstrate because religious authorities are playing deaf and blind to that very simple fact: there are women in Lebanon, and we are not walking wombs. Rather, we are human beings who saw evil, heard evil and witnessed you speak your evil.

So we’re taking to the streets, armed with an international Convention, armed with laws and principles and a whole set of values that we think are worth sharing. Several people and bloggers seem to think that we’re ahead of the game, that before obtaining a change in the laws we need to establish a civil state in Lebanon then we’ll be able to see what we can do about women’s rights. It’s the same old song: women are selfish for demanding what is theirs, they should wait until the whole system changes until we can tackle women’s rights. To which I answer 1) Women Won’t Wait 2) why not think of changes in laws with regards to women as an opening door to a wider change in the system? Advocating for women’s rights is advocating for a more egalitarian society, it doesn’t mean favouring one injustice over another. The way I see it, turning Lebanon into a civil state will take longer than adopting the Violence Against Women law: what are we supposed to do until we reach that point? Sit around and pray?

The demonstration however even goes beyond obtaining our rights. It has become a question of reclaiming our very streets, each corner of our city until we find that we can walk around without fear or of uneasiness because of stares, glares, insults, offensive comments or unwanted physical contacts that is just plain sexual abuse. We’re demonstrating now because our cup is full: we’re tired of unlit zawarib where even the less sporty of us turns into a sprint champion until we reach our cars, we’re tired of feeling as if we’d like our breasts to be invisible, we’re tired to be harassed just because we are women. By pounding the streets of Beirut we’re making a strong statement to those who would like to see us off them, tucked away in our homes that sometimes are more dangerous that battlegrounds, as if under house arrests: look at us, we’re women and human, we want our dignity and safety.

We’re demonstrating because this way we get to say our stories, with our words, our chants, our actions, with no self-appointed authority (religious or otherwise) telling us we’re asking too much, too soon, too aggressively.

Our bodies are ours, and no one but us gets to dictate what we should do with it or whom and when we decide to give it to. Our voice are ours too, and no one but us dictates when and how we should use it.

So on Saturday the 14^th, I will pick up my banner and I will shout for my rights until my voice gets hoarse. But I promise that if you see us on the streets, and still have questions, then I will use it to talk to you.

And maybe then, you’ll walk with me too.

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يوميات عاهرة قذرة جدا

hiba — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

سارة اميلين ابو غزال

إستيقظت رلى باكراً من نومها وكانت الساعة تشير الى السابعة الا ربع، غير انها فضلت النهوض والمباشرة في نهارها الحافل بالاعمال المنزلية، كما وإن اليوم أيضاً يصادف عيد ميلاد صديقتها العزيزة “لبنى” والتي ستبلغ الثلاثين عاما . حركت “رُلى” النسكافة جيدا كما تحب، ووضعت ركوة القهوة العربية مع فنجان أبيها المفضل وتوجهت الى غرفة الجلوس، حيث وضعت الصينية من يدها، واتجهت بعدها الى غرفة نوم والدها كي توقظه، فهو في اغلب الاحيان يقوم بإيقاظها وكوب النسكافة جاهز في يده.

إحتست القهوة مع والدها واستمعا بصمت الى فيروز تغني، ومن ثم نشرة الاخبار الصباحية ومن بعدها برنامج عالم الصباح وكالعادة، انتظرت بفارغ الصبر فقرة “كارمن والابراج” كي تعلم ما يخبئ لها القدر اليوم من مفاجأت، وكالعادة لم تبخل عليها كارمن بالعلومات الهامة والاساسية المتعلقة ببرج الدلو، فهو ورغم انه برج هوائي ولا يتمتع بحسن الصيت كما الابراج الأخرى، غير أن له جاذبية وسحر خاص ، وحذرتها كارمن (وجميع نساء ابراج الدلو) من أن “فينوس” كوكب الحب في صفّها اليوم. ودّعت والدها عند الباب والذي كان مسرعاً للذهاب الى عمله، وذكرته بأن يجلب معه عشاء جاهزا من السوبرماركت لأخوتها كونها وكما اتفقت معه قبلاً، ذاهبة لحضور حفل عيد ميلاد “لبنى” عند المساء.

أُعجبت “لبنى” بفستان “رلى” البسيط والانيق في نفس الوقت، وقامت بإطفاء الشموع التي تبدو على رقم ٣٠ وهي تتمنى ان ترتبط بوائل في القرب العاجل وأن يستطيع أن يحصل على الوظيفة التي يستحق، وقامت صديقاتها وفي مقدمتهن “رلى” في تقديم الهدايا لها، والتصفيق والرقص على وقع الاغاني التي تُحب. كان “سامر” ايضاً حبيب “رلى” السابق في الحفل، والذي لم يعرف أحد سبب فشل قصتهما، وحُرّص “لبنى” و”رلى” على تجنبه رغم انه صديق لأخ “لبنى”، وقد بدى على وجه “رلى” الذعر عندما حاول ان يرقص معها وقامت “لبنى” في التدخل للحول دون ذلك. لم تدري “رلى” ما حصل بالتحديد، غير ان حفل عيد ميلاد “لبنى” تحول الى حفل عراك بإمتياز، وقام اخ “لبنى” بطرد “سامر” من الحفل والإعتذار من “رُلى” والتى كانت في حالة نفسية يرثى لها.

كان أبو “رلى” في انتظارها عندما أوصلتها “لبنى” الى البيت وكانت علامات القلق بادية على وجه. وبعد ما أقفل باب المنزل، سئلها عن سبب تأخرها، فقامت رلى بإخباره عن ما جرى خلال الحفل، فقام بضربها بشكل مبرح وهو يشتم فيها وبكل جنسها: “عاهرة بنت كلب يا عاهرة!”.

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How About We Listen to Sex Workers, For Once?

Azadeh Faramarziha — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:45:03 +0000

Sawt al Niswa

Paola Daher

When I first listened to Morgane Merteuil, general secretary of the Syndicat du Travail Sexuel (STRASS) (French Union of Sex Work) commenting on the new project of law currently being examined in France to criminalize sex workers’ clients, I had to admit I was intrigued.

There she was, strongly condemning the prospective law, and she used an argument that stuck with me: We would like people to stop thinking of us as victims, as persons to be pitied, we are sex workers and our rights deserve to be respected. The current law in France makes prostitution legal but doesn’t regulate it, leaving sex workers with no adapted and appropriate legal protection to speak of, while pimping and soliciting are forbidden, leaving street sex workers in a great state of vulnerability. Merteuil based her statement on human rights, and more precisely, on the Declaration on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe, a document signed by more than 200 sex workers and like-minded organisations. The declaration underlines the WHO and UNAIDS statements that criminalizing sex workers only drives the activity underground, allowing all kinds of violence and harmful practices on sex workers, preventing public health policies (especially with regards to HIV and AIDS prevention and STIs) to be correctly implemented. The message of the declaration is two fold: first, that sex workers are citizens and as such should be treated as equally before the law as the rest of the population, which is currently not the case, and that sex work is work and that as such, it should be regulated by labour laws.

The debate is being fiercely held in Europe as some feminist groups and anti-trafficking organisations support the abolitionist stance, stating that a body is not a good that can be sold, while other feminists and public health associations answer back that abolitionists make a confusion between trafficking and pimping networks and non forced prostitution, stating that their bodies is their own and that they should be allowed to do whatever they please with it.

Outside of the ownership of the body debate and whether it can be sold or not, the question that nagged me was the point of trafficked women forced into prostitution. Looking at it superficially, and when I heard Merteuil’s statement, I instinctively thought: very well for women who go freely into prostitution, but I bet the woman tricked into sex work will be glad her clients are prosecuted. Such a trail of thought lasted for just about long enough until I looked into the issue a little deeper and that discrepancies in the law and its application emerged. Indeed, foreign sex workers arrested for soliciting do not benefit from the same procedure as French ones or people holding a residency card, and the issue of their trials often results in them being re-conducted to their home country, where the vicious circle of trafficking can start all over again, or the result can even be a pure and simple interdiction to be on French territory. The same goes for several European countries such as Sweden. Besides, in France, a trafficked sex worker can only be seen as a survivor of trafficking if she cooperates with the police and denounces her pimp, which is basically conditioning a right to an informing system, something that might be very dangerous to do, pimps often threatening sex workers to attack and beat and rape them and their families back home. Sweden, one the first countries to criminalize sex workers clients, boasts that street based sex work has now decreased in half and that the country is not a destination for trafficked sex workers anymore: first of all, I’d like to know the percentage of clandestine sex work now taking place in the country, and I’m just wondering how exactly shifting the problem to another destination actually solves it.

People who freely go into prostitution and their claims are often dismissed because they’re seen as a privileged minority with no sense of the terrible realities trafficked sex workers have to face. However, such a statement is only made to silence their voices and is yet another product of a moralistic and judgmental stance. Rather, solidarity with trafficked women is high on their agenda, as exemplified by article 5 of the Declaration on the Rights of Sex Workers in Europe that stipulates at point 11 that ‘Measures should be taken to provide appropriate assistance and protection to victims of trafficking, forced labour & slavery like practices with full respect for the protection of their human rights. Provision of residency permits should be provided to ensure effective access to justice and legal remedies, including compensation, irrespective of their willingness to collaborate with law enforcement. Trafficked persons must not be returned to situations in countries that will lead to their re-trafficking or result in other harms’.

Protecting trafficked women from forced sex doesn’t reside in criminalizing clients or sex workers: if the primaries concerned, sex workers, tell us so, then it’s probably time we listen to them. Besides, criminalizing and preventing and outlawing will only worsen the already high rate of violence and murder sex workers have to face by making the whole industry go underground, allowing organised crime to take over. The issue of smuggling human beings under false pretence and trafficking is a global, systemic one: to efficiently tackle it, economic systems and policies have to be rethought, non-discriminatory policies, laws and procedures have to be put in place in all relevant countries to ensure an appropriate response respectful of each person’s human rights and broad campaigns have to be made available for victims to know where to safely seek help if they need it.

After all, I don’t know why I even pondered on the populist nature of the abolitionist law: I should have known, me the Lebanese whose country doesn’t have a proper legal regime regulating sex work, thus allowing horrific folders of rows and rows of women abused by their pimping networks for the sex tourist to choose from, these folders only the tip of the underground abusive sex industry iceberg.

Resources:

http://samichaiban.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/entre-sexe-et-argent-la-prostitution-un-veritable-fleau-au-liban-dossier-liban-lorient-le-jour/

http://www.travaildusexe.com/?q=abolitionnisme-racisme

http://www.strass-syndicat.org/declaration.pdf

http://site.strass-syndicat.org/nos-droits/

http://fr.euronews.net/2010/07/02/trafic-humain-et-prostitution-140-000-victimes-en-europe/

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A Real Room of Her Own

Lamia Moghnie — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:52:01 +0000

Sarah Hijazi

People find it strange for a woman to want to live by herself. Unless she’s getting married or going to a university that is really far from home, people don’t see any reason why she should move out from her parents’ house. It doesn’t really matter whether she has the means to have her own apartment or not, because as long as she is single, then she “belongs” to her parents—more precisely to her father.

You might hear some people saying: “A woman living at her parents’ house is a privilege. Do you want us to be like the West and to throw our women out at the age of eighteen? How can you be complaining that her parents want to take care of her and pamper her? ” Well I’m not. Parents should, moderately, take care of their children and pamper them. However, when these children become adults, they ought to take care of themselves. Some help is always welcomed of course. But by help I don’t mean give them money and fix them a curfew or invade every little space they have.

Girls are brought up to believe that they shouldn’t ask for their privacy. Why would a girl need to have her own space? Girls like to gossip with their friends, watch their mom cook and clean the house so they can dream to become great housewives later on. However, they don’t need a room of their own and if they do, they don’t need to lock it. Generally, it is only when a family has a boy that they think to move to a bigger house. Girls like to sit in the “sob7iyeh” and listen to the latest news of the neighborhood. It’s not like they need a place to be alone and think, read or write.

You may think that when a woman graduates everything changes. You may think that at a certain age, people will respect her privacy. Well think again: if she decides to stay single, she will have to stay under her father’s “wings”. However, if she chooses to live alone, she will be perceived as a rebel at best, but most likely as a slut. Maybe it is a question of trust. Maybe people don’t trust women, they are afraid to “give” them their freedom. Maybe it is because they believe that women will misuse their freedom, because of their super-sensuality and naivety. Or is it because they are scared that after all these years of submissiveness, women will burst their protective bubble and DARE to be independent? Or maybe, just maybe, it is because they know that if all women had their own space, and if they were free to live their own little lives, they won’t rush into an early marriage. Parents love to have their daughters under their “wings”, but they like it more when they are no longer their responsibility, when they are under their husbands’ “wings”. Hence, letting their daughter have their own apartment, without being in control of who is “entering” and leaving her life is a big risk for her (or their) future plans, or what the society planned for her. After all, when Virginia Woolf once said: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write,” she was only trying to destroy families and brainwash women into wanting more than what they can handle, right?!

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عن وضع العاملات يلي جايين من القمر

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:25:00 +0000

Farah Salka فرح سلكا

كتير منحكي عن وضع النساء بلبنان وكتير مهم انو نحنا وعم نحكي عن وضع النساء بلبنان، انو ما ننسى العاملات الاجنبيات وما ننسى انو هني عم عيشو بعد قمع وذل واستعباد بعد اسوء بميت مرة من يلي نحنا عم نعيشوا ويلي نحنا عم نواجهو وكتير مهم إنو نعرف انو هني نساء متلنا ومش فئة جندرية جاية من القمر. اذا بدنا نحكي عن وضع العاملات الاجنبيات بلبنان عن شو ممكن نحكي؟

عن ايام العطلة؟

سمعي مني، يا بتخليها بالبيت يا بتخسريها… نحنا منعطيها عطلة بس تضل بالبيت… اكيد الاحد ما بتشتغل بس بتروح معنا على غذاء العايلة وبتهتم بالطفل.” على ال 150 دولار يللي بيطلعولها – اذا طلعولها، بآخر الشهر؟ في عالم بتشتري احذية رياضة ب 150$ وعالم بتعيش وبتموت وبتشتغل كل النهار والاسبوع والشهر والسنة وبتاخذ نفس الشي. ايه، وبعيشو بنفس البيت.
عن ساعات العمل الغير محدودة؟
قانون العمل اللبناني يللي بطبيعة الحال ما بيشمل العاملات الاجنبيات يحدد ساعات العمل ب8. العاملات الاجنبيات بيشتغلوا وبيعيشوا في نفس البيت مع رب العمل تبعهن. ما حدا بيعمل مراقبة وزيارات لهذه النساء حتى يشوف وضعهن ومطالبهن وطبيعة شغلهن. فبالتالي، اذا رب العمل قلها تشتغل 8 هو 18 ساعة (او اكثر)، ما حدا حيوقف بوجهه وما حدا حيوقف وراءها. العاملات اللاجنبيات موجودين ببيوتنا متل الروبوت. ما في وصف وظيفي محدد ولا ساعات عمل محددة ولا ساعات راحة محددة.
عن المكاتب يللي فاتحة تجارة بشر؟ يستوردوا ويبادلوا كأنهن بضاعة. مكاتب بتضرب وبتحبس وبتربي العاملات وما في دولة تراقب او تربي المكاتب يللي بدها تربية؟
على وزارة العمل يللي وزيرها كل ما حدا خبره عن العنصرية المتفشية واوضاع العاملات بينكر وبيستنكر وبينجرح وبيتهمنا بتخريب صيت لبنان؟
عن التحرش الجنسي والاغتصاب يللي بيصيروا وما بتعرف المرأة شو تعمل ومع مين تحكي وكيف تخرج من هيدا الوضع؟ وشو بيكون وضعها اذا قررت تترك (مش تهرب متل ما عادة يقال) من هيدا البيت كونه ما في قانون يحميها؟ وضعها القانوني انو شي ما تفل من هيدا المكان يللي يشكل خطر على حياتها، بهذه اللحظة يصبح وجودها غير قانوني، كونه:
اولاً، جواز سفرها موجود مع رب العمل.
ثانياً، وجودها القانوني في لبنان مرتبط رسمياً باسم رب العمل.
وثالثاً، في معظم الحالات، رب العمل بيرفع شكوى انو هربت من عندي وسرقت 2000$ وصيغة ولازم تنحبس، واكيد كلمة رب العمل اللبناني مقدسة امام كلمة عاملة اجنبية سوداء وفقيرة.
اذا بدنا نحكي عن وضع العاملات الاجنبيات فينا نحكي كتير ولو قد ما حكينا ما منوفي حقهن…
العاملات الاجنبيات عم يموتوا في لبنان الواحدة ورا الثانية. يا بيرجعوا على بلدهن مكسرين ومش مدفوع معاشاتهن… يا بيرجعوا منتحرين او مكسرين او مقتولين. الاسبوع يللي مضى، في عاملة من اثيوبية وقعت عن الطابق السابع لما الشرطة اجتاحت بيتها وبيت اصدقائها الساعة 4:30 صباحاً لأنه ما معهن اوراق. في نفس الاسبوع توفيت عاملة نيبالية لما شنقت حالها في غرفة ربة عملها.
في هرميات انواع العمل، شغل هذه النساء من اصعب الاشغال ولكن عم ينَظر الى شغلهن بطريقة دونية جداً كون “شغل نسوان” بيُعتبر شغل سخيف والنسوان اصلاً لازم يشتغلوا بلا مصاري.

وفي عقلية سائدة وقت بيفكروا حالهن الناس احسن من غيرهن اذا بيعاملوا البنت متل بنتن او حدا من العائلة. وهون بالذات تكمن المشكلة. كأنو ما حدا عم يعامل او عامل هذه المرأة بطريقة منيحة. العمل الذي تقدمه هذه النساء هو مهني وله شروطه وتفاصيله وسعره. لما نصير نقول ان هذه العاملة بنتي و اختي ورفيقتي، عم يخرج هيدا الشي عن نطاقه الاساسي وعم يدخل عليه كتير احاسيس، صادقة او مفتعلة، لا تفيد العاملة ولا رب العمل.

لازم يجي نهار نستوعب ان هذه العاملة ما بدها لا شفقتنا ولا حنيتنا ولا من يحزنون. بدها عدالة وحقوق وواجبات واضحة جداً. بدها تشتغل ساعات عمل محددة وتعمل كل ما يحق لها بوقت فراغها. بدها مفتاح البيت مثلها مثل اي حدا ساكن في هذا البيت. وبدها مجتمع بأكمله ينظر لها بدون عنصرية، ينظر لها كشخص مش كديكور بيت.

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Sawt al' Niswa

Section:

Opinions

Category:

Migrant workers

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مقياس حرية المجتمع هو حرية المرأة: ما حصل لنساء مصر في الثامن من اذار

Lamia Moghnie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:55:00 +0000

Sally Ali

فى ميدان التحرير أسقطنا نظام مبارك، و تعلمنا كل ما هو إيجابي في مناهضة الديكتاتورية والقمع، لذلك قررت الكثيرات من الناشطات النسويات فى مصر أن يسقطن التمييز والتخلّف، والثقافة المتعفنة التى ما زالت تفرق بين الرجل و المرأة و تعتبر كل قضية تدافع عن المرأة نكتة تستحق الوقوع من الضحك عند سماعها…

اجتمعنا نساءً و رجالاً فى ميدان التحرير فى اليوم العالمى للمرأة ،متحمسين ومتحمسات كالعادة، أعمارنا متفاوتة بين أساتذة جامعة و كاتبات إعلامين وإعلاميات وطلاب وطالبات .ونظمنا شعاراتنا والبهجة تملأ قلوبنا بالرغم من قلة عددنا الذى لم يتخطى مائتى متظاهر/متظاهرة فى بداية الوقفة. كانت شعاراتنا “عندى أب و أم، عايزة رئيس او رئيسة“، “صاحب بالين كداب و جوز أربعة منافق” و غيرها. كان هدفنا الأساسى هو “مشاركة المرأة فى المستقبل الدستورى و القانونى و السياسى لمصر“..

كنت أحمل لافتة مكتوب عليها “مقياس حرية المجتمع هو حرية المرأة“ عندما فاجأتنى سيدة أربعينية و هى تقول “أنتم عايزين تخربوها أكتر،هي الرجالة عارفة تمسك عشان النسوان تمسك!!!”،هكذا قالت تلك السيدة و ذهبت وتركتنى ألعن هذا المجتمع الذى زرع بذرة الجهل فى عقلها. لاحظ أصدقائى غضبى وهم كانوا يشاركونني فيه لتعرضهم إلى مواقف مشابهة ، كنا بدأنا نغنى “كورال” بمطالبنا، و كان عددنا في تضاعف،

ولكن لم يتركنا المتعفنين لنهنأ. لا نعرف من أين أتى هذا الشيخ الذى أخذ يسبّنا و يكفّرنا،أخذ يردد و حوله مجموعة من الرجال ” أنتم كفرة، دة ربنا قال صوت المرأة عورة،و أنتم فرحانين قوى بنفسكم و نازلين تتظاهروا“، تكفل أحدنا بالرد بالمنطق و نفى أن ما يقوله لا علاقة له بالدين،و كنا نعلم تماماً أن النقاش مع شخص سلفى لن يؤتى بنتيجة،فأكملنا الهتاف بمطالبنا، و تلك اللحظة كانت بداية أسوأ ساعة مرت فى حياتى، حيث تخلل داخلنا الكثير من البلطجية و أدوا دورهم من التحرش الجنسى و قطع اللافتات، تعرضنا إلى التحرش الجنسى فى مظاهرة أحد مطالبها هو قوانين صارمة ضد التحرش!!

بينما كان تقف مجموعة من الرجال يتخللهم الكثير من السلفيين والمتشددين دينياً ينعتوننا بأقذر الشتائم، و يرددون “باطل،اطلعوا برا،روحوا على المطبخ” و بين تبجحهم و ثقافتهم الدنيئة كانوا يرددون ” الشعب يريد إسقاط النسوان“!!

أحد هؤلاء الرجال كان ذو لحية قبيحة ، اعترض طريق فتاة قائلاً “كمان مسيحية و مرة! بتطالبى بإيه يا ******”! تعاملت معة الفتاة بشجاعة حتى تدخل صديق عندما بدأ هذا الرجل بالتبجح وقال بلغة منحدرة جداً إنه يريد أن يمارس معها الجنس و إنه يستطيع أن يعرّيها هنا فى الميدان!

هذ الرجل هو نتاج مجتمع متعفن، حكم أنها مسيحية فقط لعدم ارتدائها الحجاب،و عبّر عن وجهة نظره بأنّ المرأة لا مكان لها إلاّ السرير…

و الغريب جداً أنّ هؤلاء الرجال يعتقدون أنّ هذا حقهم و يبررونه بالدين، لا أعرف كيف أمنت عقلية بهذا العته!!

هكذا تعرضنا إلى التحرش،الضرب،السب فى يوم المرأة العالمي،حتى أصدقاءنا الرجال تعرضوا إلى السب بأنهم ليسوا رجالاً..

الرجال الذين شاركونا هم أفضل شباب فى مصر،شباب تمكنوا من التحرر من تقاليد المجتمع و القيود العقلية و النفسية التي يزرعها أهالينا داخلنا!

حدث فى طهران،فى مظاهرة ضد الحجاب، 8 مارس 1979 ،شىء مشابه لما حدث لنا فى 8 مارس 2011…شىء محبط إلى أقصى درجة أن نرى هذا يحدث فى مصر بعد ثلاثين عاماً من حدوثه فى إيران.

فى صباح 8 مارس، كنت أكتب مقالاً لأحتفل بهذا اليوم المميز و كنت أريد أن أتممه بنماذج ومواقف مبهجة من مظاهرة المرأة، ولكن هذا ما حدث فلم أستطع أن أعود إلى تلك الحالة من البهجة…

Publisher:

Sawt al' Niswa

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Opinions

Category:

Egyptian Revolution

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Who Needs Women’s Rights Anyways?

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:15:00 +0000

Sarah Hijazi

Almost everytime you talk to a Lebanese man about women’s rights, the typical response is: “Women’s right in Lebanon? It’s men who should be asking for their rights nowadays!”

It was my impression that most women find that level of analysis fairly insulting. So two days ago, I wandered around AUB’s campus to hear what female students think about their rights as women in Lebanon.

Apparently, we, the Lebanese people, are very liberal and open-minded. We are the Switzerland of the Middle East. Our country is a free country where everybody is treated equally and with respect. So, what do we have to say about the fact that one migrant worker is found dead every week? Unfortunately for them, they are not Lebanese.

Moreover, I was told, Lebanese women have all the rights they need. What about the law that prevents women from giving their nationality to their husband and kids? We don’t need it because who would want to marry a NON-Lebanese anyway? (ewww)

Indeed, women are very equal to men in Lebanon. For example, in engineering classes, the female students are often ignored. “When my classmates look at me, I can see their eyes asking: ‘What is she doing here? Shouldn’t she be in a Biology or Nutrition class?’” says Rania Feghali, a 19 year-old girl majoring in computer engineering at AUB. “Every time the professor asks a question, he doesn’t expect us girls to answer,” added Samira, 21.

It is said that women have no limits in our country, except that they don’t know how to drive, and they certainly shouldn’t walk in the streets alone at night. Amani Fakih, a 20 year-old studying nursing at AUB, is tired – surprisingly? – of all the judgments and limitations women endure everyday. “When I told my friends I wanted a motorcycle, they started laughing at me and told me that women must learn how to drive a car before starting to think about buying a motorcycle.” She continued, frustrated, “I’m sick of men offering to park my car for me!”

Moreover, I was so excited to hear, women should not complain about being verbally harassed on the streets every day. It is a merely new type of flirting and, as such, they should enjoy it. “Women like it, it increases their self confidence,” claims Fatima, a 21 years-old chemistry major at AUB. “Anyway, toltish is in the men’s blood. They can’t control it and it’s not harming anybody,” she adds, clearly concluding this from her chemistry and biology classes, I’m guessing. Zeina Haidar, who had to end her internship because of the verbal abuse leveled at her every day, must strongly agree with Fatima.

At first, I was gratified to hear that women are denied the same job opportunities as men in Lebanon, until Rawan Hakawati, also a Chemistry major in AUB, explained to me all the reasons for this discrimination. “This is due to the fact that women physically and biologically are different from men. Consequently, a woman should not be aiming for the same jobs as men. Personally, I wouldn’t trust a female doctor and I wouldn’t want to see women in the army!” She turns her head and looks at her friend who is a premedical student. “Don’t worry, you can work with kids or something.” Her friend, like myself, felt immediately better.

Women, I was told again and again, are treated with respect and admiration in our country. Nothing stands between them and their ambitions except, of course, if their ambitions don’t include getting married or taking care of their kids and their husband.

Finally, I found Yara Kfouri, 19 years old and majoring in English Linguistics, who tells it like it is: “We live in a patriarchal society, where everything is controlled by men. Women can’t have custody over their children in case they want to divorce. Honor killing is still legal while it should be banned completely. We need to make some real changes here. We claim to be an educated society, everyone is highly educated and yet we have such a backwards way of life!”

Yara is right; we are an extremely educated society: 18 out 20 women I interviewed had not heard of the nationality law and didn’t know that toltish is a type of sexual harassment.

But yes, we are very educated when it comes to fashion, to the latest plastic surgeries that can be done, to where to go out at night and what cars to drive. However, we don’t consider it crucial to know about our rights, our laws and the difference between stereotypes and facts.

In other words, Lebanese women are equal in all that matters. We shouldn’t be bothered by all these little things. Having less political power, money and rights shouldn’t worry us. It’s not disturbing for a lot of Lebanese men, so why should it disturb us – right?

Publisher:

Sawt al' Niswa

Section:

Opinions

Category:

Activism

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Issues at hand, but where’s the government?

hiba — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Sawt Al Niswa

Maggie Abou Khadra

It is no secret that the Lebanese people are awaiting the formation of the new government. Yes, one again. Governments in this country, lately, tend to last a year or so. It’s become a national hobby to “await the new government.” The politicians keep yo-yoing between deadlocks, resignation and formation. It’s a closed loop. Every two years, we experience the same roundabouts of events.

Meanwhile, the dust is building up on the shelves. Laws are rotting away while we are waiting for a functioning government and parliament to deal with “serious issues.” Their bickering over a ministerial seat is drowning the country. Current issues have been put aside. Laws that should have been voted on and applied by now, have been set aside.

It is a shame that antiquated laws are deemed worthy to run this country. Almost nothing, or at best very little, has actually been done in the last few years. This stalemate has frozen progress on issues such as domestic violence, children’s right and women’s rights, among others. There are many bills which were proposed, even approved by the council of ministers, but not voted on. It is almost a year since the ban on public smoking should have been in effect; a law that should have been voted on and put into application in May 2010. At the same time, the perpetuators of honor crimes are still treated gently by the judiciary. The penal code is both discriminatory and at times retrograde. Some laws should be revised, and others should simply be replaced.

The new government, whenever it appears, has much to work on, New acts granting the children of non-Lebanese fathers some rights, such as the prolonging of their residency permit from three to five years and the right to work in Lebanon, are expected to become law. The bill on the right of Lebanese women to grant their children the citizenship will also be discussed. The application of the law against domestic violence must also be a priority. And more work is still needed to provide legal protection to the rights of foreign domestic workers.

The list of laws, decree and bills pertaining to social issue is a long one. The current statutes provide far too little protection to far too many people. Change, at least, is imminent, if not the formation of the new government.

Publisher:

Sawt al' Niswa

Section:

Opinions

Category:

Gender-Based Violence

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