Sawt al Niswa | صوت النسوة - Women's rights

Incompetent or Stranger?

Azadeh Faramarziha — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 05:43:06 +0000

Azadeh Faramarziha

This year on the occasion of the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, feminists in Iran published a book (underground for sure!) in which they tackled the issue of Women’s Right in Child Custody from different perspectives, from legislative shortcomings to social restrictions and personal experiences. The title of the book Women’s Right in Child Custody in Iran, might make it seem like a 1000 pages book full of terms, definitions and explanations from the constitution, jurisprudence and Sharia. But in fact it is not! The thin-less-than-100-pages book is much more informal. It is mainly a book of stories: simple stories of women who have simply become mothers and have been simply living their lives until the day that the words divorce or death brought the “law” into their lives. Many of them did not have any idea how hard this law could be, and how harshly it would treat them, as if they are incompetent, or strangers to their families.

I briefly told about my story in one article of the book. Or better said: my mother’s story. A very simple story that is one of the biggest reasons why I am a feminist! In order to write that short article I had to go back in time, and to review memories I prefer to forget.

Ok. I lost my father at the age of 6. He was very young and his death was a complete shock. As a single mom, my mother found herself the only one responsible for her three children. But this was the issue: responsible for what? According to Iranian laws of custody in the case of death, custody would be granted to the mother only if the paternal grandfather and paternal uncle(s) are dead, or they refused to take custody. This was exactly our case. There was no grandfather and my uncles (after a consultative meeting) decided that there is no one more capable than a mother to take the custody of her children (as if there is a doubt about it ya3ne!).

But this is not the whole story. Here we just talked about “custody” not “guardianship”. Custody (Hadana) by definition means care of a child. It is associated with raising the child, such as feeding, clothing, bathing, etc. Whereas the guardianship (Waliya or Damm) is about supervision and making big decisions related to the child’s access to rights of citizens, including financial issues, health conditions, accommodations and traveling. The guardianship belongs to the father, paternal grandfather, uncle(s) or in case none of them are available, the guardianship of a child belongs to a governmental organization called “The Organization of Custody.” This organization works under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice and actually takes the role of a father as a main guardian of a child.

All of these explanations simply mean that my mother was responsible for our well- being, but she had no right to manage our inheritance (whatever it was), or to ask for a passport for us, or even to give her consent in case of surgery or other serious medical procedures.

Years passed and when I was 15 or 16, “we” decided to change our house. It was then that I actually understood the role of the “organization” in our life. Our sort-of-big apartment in west of Tehran was my parents’ biggest achievement. They worked hard together in order to buy it, and had invested all of their savings, in addition to a mortgage and loan, on it. My father barely lived for 3 years in this house. But it carried his sweet memory, and after many years, my mother convinced herself to let this memory go in order to buy another apartment and save a little bit money for our future. But apparently she was not the one to decide. The organization was the big boss. I remember they sent someone to our house, to measure it, estimate its value and order my mother about what house she should buy to live in. And what was my mother’s role? To search for a house that fits the criteria and satisfies the boss.

As I was writing the article, I realized that I could not remember all the details, especially from the first years when I was kid. So I gave us my mom a call to ask about the details. She answered my questions, and at the end she said: “Halla2 our situation was not that bad!” Aside from her permanent optimism that always finds the bright side of everything, this is actually true. Compared to many other women, our story with the Organization of Custody was one of the easiest. No medical crisis happened to us for which we had to wait for their permission; no traveling outside the country in which we had to wait in line for a signature. They did not pay any monthly salary to us which they blocked it each time they thought it is for the interest of kids (!). My uncles were good too and did not question my mother’s mothering every chance they got; and my mother never remarried and thus never lost the custody of her children. But we saw all of these injustices happening to other women in the rooms and corridors of the organization. Women were all the same there no matter how old they were, how educated they were, what kind of jobs they had. In that organization, women are only women who should be under supervision to ensure that they do not make wrong decisions for their children.

The Organization of Custody is meant to be an institution to “support” single mothers and their underage children. In theory, the presence of such organization is essential. But in practice, the only thing that it is doing is humiliating women constantly by ignoring them, ordering them around, making decisions for them and treating them like some incapable desperate creatures. To support means to stand beside someone and not over her/his head. Support means empowering someone and not making her/him vulnerable. Which part of such humiliation can be translated to support?

A few days after the publication of the book in Tehran, I read in the news about Rula Amin, the Al-Jazeera journalist who was detained for refusing to hand over the custody of her 5-year-old daughter in Jordan. I was thinking to myself: why am I surrounded by the issue of custody these days? But this is actually the point of writing this piece.

No matter who we are, no matter in which part of the region we are living, we are facing the same issues in child custody. My mother’s story could be another woman’s story in Kuwait; while Rula Amin’s story could be another woman’s experiences in Iraq. My childhood memory could be another girl’s memory here in Lebanon (whether she is Sunni, Shiite or Christian) while Rula’s daughter can be someone else’s daughter in Saudi Arabia. There is one law which is ruling us and our mothers and it will rule our daughters if we do not change it. This is a vast common ground for feminists in the region which could (and maybe should) connect them together in order to direct their efforts toward a united cause. Here there is no “cultural” difference! Here is just the law which, on one hand encourages women to stay home (or go back home), be good mothers and promises them the “heaven” under their feet, and on the other hand does not recognize them as the guardians of their children. A child belongs to his father and the mother is only a nurturing machine who fulfills the child’s basic needs for a limited period of time. And even this right is always under threat. Discrimination is like a knife always hanging over women’s heads: one step out of the “line” and you will lose the custody of your child.

Our story with the organization ended simply when my sister, my brother and I turned 18. In a testimonial, the organization officially announced that it does not have any responsibility towards us anymore. I remember when we went out of the organization for the last time, my mother sighed in relief. She was finally free.

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شو بردَا ع بيت اهلا؟

deema kaedbey — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

By Yara Mansour

نسرين خليل

خلال زيارة لإحدى المراكز الاجتماعيّه ، ضمن دوام عملي، تفاجئت أول وصلتي بإحدى الموظفات، الممرّضة المسؤولة عن المركز، عم تبكي و تنتحب!!!

هيدي لي عم تناولا كلينكس وهيدي لي عم تراضيا، ومن الحديث فهمت إنو خطيبة خيّا بالمستشفى والعرس بعد شهر.

قلت بقلبي: أف هل أدّ بتحبا؟! وسألتا نشالله مش شي خطير؟

قال بعد ما طلعت نتيجة الفحوصات، بس إمّها معا مرض مزمن sclerose en plaqu، بركي طلع معها هي كمان !!

ورجعت تشهق بالبكي : يا دلّي عحظ خيي المعتّر ، وبعد شوي مسحت دموعا وقالت: كتّر خير الله إنو بعد ما تزوجو ،إذا فعلاً طلع مظبوط إحساسي وعندا هل مرض،،

لو بيّن بعد الجازه، مصيبة

شو بردّا ع بيت أهلا؟

هلأ صحيح القرار صعب بس بدو الواحد يحكّم عقلو .

وصل التمييز والعنف ضد النساء ، إنو نحاسب صبية على مرض يمكن مصابي فيه و نخربط مشروع حياة. بيخطر ع بالي سؤال : لو خيا هوي للّي كان مريض أو عندو مشكله معيّنة، ما كانت قتلت حالا هي وإمّا وعمّتها والعيله كلا تيلقولو شي بنت حلال ، ست بيت ، يزوجو ياها وتخدمو بأخرتو؟؟

وسؤال تاني : بركي هي بيوم من الايام مرضت، بتقبل ع حالا زوجا يردا ع بيت أهلا ويحرما من ولدا؟

بزمن وصل العنف والتمييز ل أقصى درجة بمجتمعنا، بزمن نساء عم تناضل كل يوم ل تاخد حقوقا، بزمن لازم تتحد في النساء وتتضامن مع بعضا، بتلاقي إنو في نساء ذكوريين أكتر من الرجال.

أجيال عم تتربى ع هل أفكار، وبدي احلم بوطن في مساواة؟ بصير فكر بستراتيجيّة عمل لنشر التوعية : من وين لازم بلّش؟

- بالمدارس،فكرة منيحة، بس بالمقابل في كتب القراءة ما بتفرجي الام إلّا بالمطبخ مع الوزرة ع خصرا وهي لي بتطبخ وبتكنس.

-بالامهات؟ كيف بوصلن؟وسائل الإعلان والبرامج، والله فكرة عظيمه، بس كيف؟ إذا كل الإعلانات بتشيّئ المرأة وبتنمّط دورها بمجتمعنا.

وإذا البرامج بتكون للتنكيت ع المرا لي بيضربا زوجا، أو مقدمين هالبرامج كلن ع شكل مالك مكتبي وصلت معن البلاهة والسّخافه يستقبلو مجرم شوّه مرتو لأن الأكلة ما عجبتو والتاني كسرلا اجرا لأن بدا تروح تزور أهلا.

لتفكير بتعّب بس ضروري, و الحلم اوقات كتير صعب يتحقّق بس اجمل شي انو الانسان يحلم

ف ايه رحّ ضلّ احلم بوطن المساواة.

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Sawt It LOUD

Maya El Ammar — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:30:25 +0000

Sonya Knox

So we’ve been trying to figure out why, after our brief choose-your-own-adventure in the Arab Spring, everything’s gone so quiet in Lebanon.

Don’t get us wrong, it’s summertime, we know. And there’s the beach and the bronzage and the choub and the 3ja’ and the village and the challayat and everyone’s cousin’s brother’s family is back visiting… it just gets busy. And, we know, the same thing happens every year. So just because this spring saw demonstrations in every Arab capital and almost every city, and just because this spring the demonstrations here were – ostensibly – about something more than just follow-the-zu3ma, doesn’t then mean that the issues, the concerns, the demands that were raised will be addressed.

It must just be that no one cares anymore, because clearly none of the demands were met. There’s a new government, but sectarianism remains solvent. The minimum wage wasn’t raised, schools, hospitals, services weren’t improved, civil marriage isn’t allowed, and women – well, women are even more marginalized than ever. Not in the government, not passing on their nationality to their kids, not earning equal salaries, not in positions of decision-making and, apparently, according to Lebanon’s finest coalition of religious figures, not deserving of state protection from domestic violence. It’s good to know that, when it comes to denying women our rights, the sects are all united.

It ought to be enough to make you really, really pissed-off; angry enough to throw something, or set something on fire, or even – gasp! – demonstrate!

While the five-stars are fully booked and the festivals are making bank and all of Hamra seems intent on a path of self-mutilation whereby each newly redundant bar tries its best to further lower the age demographic, we sit here, silent, sated by the sun, stunned by the reality that no one – not even us – really cares.

But not Sawt. Fighting the summertime torpor and the ennui of the revolution unrealized and, (most of the time), the urge to just lie in the sun and get a fabulous tan, Sawt is out and about and IN YOUR FACE.

Because a woman should be safe walking alone in Beirut after 9pm; because a woman should be safe in her own home; because if she’s not, she should have the legal protection of the state support her decision to leave; because the law still privileges men in adultery cases; because women are denied the tax breaks given to male heads of household; because no newspapers are run by women; because almost no university deans are women; because no government ministers are women; because only 0.3% of parliamentarians are women; because women still earn $0.33 cents on every dollar paid to a man; because only 46% of all women (and only 17% of extremely poor women) have any type of health insurance at all… for these and so, so many more injustices, Sawt is here – Sawt it OUT and Sawt it LOUD!

But we can’t do it alone. You have thoughts and opinions and feelings and analyses. You have stories to tell and we want to share them. You have perspectives and we want to show them, insights that we want to broadcast, and a voice that ought to be heard. Sawt is here – where are you?

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the return of the warriors

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حكومة El Men’s Club

Lamia Moghnie — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:00:00 +0000

ليوم اعلن المدير العام لمجلس الوزراء اللبناني سهيل بوجي تشكيل حكومة جديدة برئاسة نجيب ميقاتي.

وبما أنه “الدنيا أحلى برجالها”، ارتأى ميقاتي أن تُشكّل حكومة لبنان بنسائه ورجاله، من دون أي تمثيل نسائي. ماذا يعني غياب الوجه النسائي عن حكومة ميقاتي “صاحب المشروع الانقاذي”؟

يعني أن في وقت الأزمات، حدّد “رجل الوفاق والاعتدال” أولويّاته في سبيل تشكيل حكومة وفق مكامن القوى في نسيجنا الاجتماعي.

بناءً عليه، تقسّمت هذه الحكومة طائفيًا (ماروني وأرمني وشيعي وسني وروم أورثودكي ودرزي وكاثوليك). فضمّت 30 وزيرًا، 19 منهم من قوى الثامن من اذار، اضافة الى 11 وزيرًا مقربا من كل من رئيس الجمهورية وميقاتي ووليد جنبلاط. وذلك بعد رفض قوى 14 آذار المشاركة في هذه الحكومة (وطبعًا ذلك ليس احتجاجًا على عدم مشاركة المرأة!)

اعتبر ميقاتي أن المواطنة اللبنانية، التي لا يحق لها منح جنسيتها لأولادها وزوجها، والملزمة بقوانين أحوال شخصية ظالمةً ومبيحةً للعنف، لا تشكّل جزءًا أساسيًا من النسيج السياسي اللبناني.

دار ميقاتي 5 أشهر لتشكيل حكومة تمثّل الطوائف اللبنانية. غير أن حكومة “الانقاذ الوطني” لا وقت لها للفزلكات الشكلية.

ففي مجتمع ممأسس ذكوريًا، وبلا كوتة نسائية، لا حق تشريعي للمرأة اللبنانية. ولا حق لها في المشاركة بصياغة سياساتٍ حكوميةٍ وفي تنفيذ هذه السياسات. رجال الدولة دوما كانوا يتكرّمون على بعض النساء بالمناصب السياسية، ليزدن ربما لمسة “أنثوية” على الجلسة.

لكن في وقت “اللأزمات” نجمع المواد الأولية فقط. والمواد الأولية الآن هي ما نحتاج له لتدور العجلة السياسية: أي نواب الطوائف لا النساء أو العلمانيين والعلمانيات. كل ما نلناه حتى الآن كان فزلكات شكلية وفتات حقوقية لحفظ ماء الوجه.

هذا النظام الذكوري الطائفي، لن يتخلى عن مكامن قوّته بالتي هي أحسن. ولا يهم إن كان قد صدّق لبنان على اتفاقية القضاء على جميع أشكال التمييز ضد المرأة. وحسنًا فعل ميقاتي بفضح اساسات النظام اللبناني، فضحها أمام نسائها قبل رجالها.

أي وقاحة كانت في مشاركة هيئات نسائية ممثلة عن الاحزاب اللبنانية في مسيرة اقارار قانون حماية النساء من العنف الأسري في 29 أيار 2011. سار معنا ممثلون عن الكتائب والتيار الوطني الحر والقوات(ستريدا جعجع) والحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي وتيار المستقبل وحركة أمل. ربما على نساء الاحزاب ان تدركن انهن فزلكات شكلية أيضًا، لتثرن.

اليوم (١٤ حزيران ٢٠١١) – عند الساعة العاشرة أمام رياض الصلح- نكمل تظاهراتنا لاقرار قانون حماية النساء من العنف الأسري. أسنرى الى جانبنا الوجوه النسائية الطائفية المهمّشة المهانة ذاتها؟ الى وقتها، ها هي الحكومة الجديدة تلعب دور الوَليّ على “الوليّة” اللبنانية.

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الحكومة، لبنان، ذكورية

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On living in Lebanon and not looking Lebanese or “clearly” European.

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:39:02 +0000

Lioba Hirsch

So… last week, I was with my friend from Bangladesh, having returned from a walk together back into the shelter’s living room. A woman I had never seen before, who was staying there, looked at us and smiled. I extended my hand and said, “Hi, how are you, I’m Lioba.”

“Oh, that’s perfect”, was her reply, and she smiled even more. “I’m the Psychoanalyst. Great that you’re here. We’ll be able to work a bit with your friend and you can translate for me.” She went off to get her bag.

Little parenthesis here, who said that Psychoanalysts are more intelligent than other people? No one. Why did I think it was the case? Good question, but the woman was about to teach me a lesson.

“I’m sorry”, I replied, but I don’t speak Bangla” (“Nor do I look Bangladeshi or Ethiopian, you stupid person”, said the uncensored Lioba in my head). She starred at me with consternation. “But, I thought that you were from Bangladesh!” she said clearly irritated.

“I know that’s what you thought, I wonder what put this idea in your head”, said the Lioba in my head. But on the outside, I behaved myself and just smiled. “No, sorry, I don’t,” was my short reply.

“Oh”, she was clearly disappointed. In order to keep her calm and convince herself that her world order was not imploding, but that some things were still like they ought to be, her next question was “So, tell me, where in Hamra do you work?”

Now, living in Lebanon and not looking Lebanese or clearly European, leads necessarily to one developing a certain kind of paranoia. And I don’t mean the traditional Middle Eastern conspiracy theories, no. I mean the Was-that-person-just-racist-or-just-normally-friendly. When one is surrounded by either Lebanese or American friends, it is very often difficult to make them understand why I just did not perceive her question as part of the small talk. You shall see why.

I smiled and said, ready to destroy that world order that she had intended to maintain through that question:”I don’t work. I’m a student.” “OOOOH”, her surprise was dancing around the room. “OOH”, she repeated, “At AUB?” I nodded. “Ok, then”, she breathed in. So did I. I realized at some point during my stay here that it annoyed me to be compared to Ethiopians (most of the time) or people from Bangladesh (sometimes), or Nepalese (once).

I usually formulate all sorts of nice, cute answers in my head, ready-made to yell at the next racist person. But most of the time I just smile.

Not because I don’t want to argue. No, I just think that sometimes it is pedagogically way more valuable to take one step at a time. We wouldn’t want to overload her, would we?

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This is Your State, Your (In)justice. Rebel Against It.

deema kaedbey — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:00:00 +0000

By Farfahine, Cairo 2011

Dima Karam

It feels inappropriate to write about this. Somehow, not quite right to make yet another plea, to use words for an issue that should not even be discussed anymore. Least of all in discussion about a right that is as “right” as they come, as basic and uncompromising as they can possibly be. An automatic right, like the reflex to breathe when one is given life. Or when one looks for an identity. An issue that shouldn’t warrant one single debate more, with no words added.

For that is the magic of justice, it is inherent, an instinctual sense inseparable from dignity, visceral, by which all of us can understand each other, and the struggle of the common man.

Or, here, woman.

In a discussion with friends recently, someone was surprised to learn that a man who has relinquished his Lebanese citizenship, thrown it away, decided he did not want it anymore, determined that he would rather be without it… this man could get it back if he changed his mind, with a few exceptions.

How does that work in a country where having a Lebanese mother does not grant you any right to claim Lebanese origins, be they only biological, if not also cultural, historical, emotional? Where a foreign woman enjoys more rights than a Lebanese one just by virtue of marriage to a Lebanese man? (Where wedding a Lebanese man gains you and your kin Lebanese citizenship, while a Lebanese woman cannot pass on her nationality to a foreign spouse, nor to her kids.)

And so I ask myself, why bother to write again.

Why are we still asking this same question, and not raising it also in anger, refusing to accept it. What is it exactly that still stands between us and the ability to mobilize in bigger numbers in the face of an injustice so blatant and degrading that it ultimately negates its own and treats as alien half of the human beings breathing under its sky.

None of the arguments advanced in response to the nationality question by those with the power to change the status quo are convincing.

There is the supposed idea that granting citizenship to the children of a Lebanese mother would invariably threaten the delicate balance of ethnicities and religions living in these narrow borders – an argument which is not only racist, but also a backhand excuse, which tries to play on sectarian fears and fear of the other to abort the issue. It serves only to further prove the fear and genuine disregard the state shows to its citizens, all of them.

Of all the attempts at mobilizing and re-working the laws that associations and NGOs put forward, not one of them has come close to getting at least some kind of compromise by those with the executive power to change this law. Granting a 3-year residency permit for children of a Lebanese mother – viewed as illegal at the age of 18 and forced to leave the country then, doesn’t count. It is feigning generosity, like handing a beggar few pieces of change, a postponement for flashing the exit sign.

This sick concoction was born from the loins of a Lebanese legal system inherited from French colonialism, modeled after the French 3rd republic civil code. In essence, it is a Napoleonic code from the 18th century, where married French women were legally accorded the status of a minor¹. The past 300 years have failed to leave any imprint of progress, it seems. Instead, the Lebanese nationality laws epitomize archaism combined with sectarianism and patriarchy, creating a potent, toxic combination to entrench gender bias.

Know this: The State you were born in, the country of your mothers and fathers, is a country that engages in continuous and relentless efforts to undermine any change to this prejudiced law. A country where, in 2010, the Ministry of Justice filed an appeal against a landmark court decision allowing a Lebanese mother to pass on her nationality to her children, born of a foreign father who passed away.

This is your state, your justice. Rebel against it.

So I ask myself, why bother writing about it? Why bother, when all the voices in this small broken country that is incapable of caring for itself should have already come together to ask a million questions about this – and should have found an answer long ago.

In this time of revolts, when repressed freedoms and rights the system has disavowed are all coming ashore, shouldn’t a fundamental injustice be rectified? Isn’t it now or never? Shouldn’t the right to the nationality have a revolt, a demonstration of its own, with the streets taken and the squares filled with rebellious clamor against this openly derogatory gender discrimination?

It’s the answer we did not find. It’s all about timing, about coordination, a harmony in composition, like in a melody. The answer is not yet found, because the demand has not been voiced by a unified chorus. And if the notes are dispersed and the tune off beat, then all the voices will be lost and, just like a sinking ship,

we will all drown together.

McKee, Megan. Lebanon: Women, citizenship and nationality rights. March, 2010. University of Pittsburgh School of Law. http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/dateline/2010/03/lebanon-womens-citizenship-a...

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Suha Beshara : Critical Thoughts

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 09:01:00 +0000

Sara Emiline AbuGhazal

Souha Bechara attempted to assassinate Antoine Lahad of the South Lebanon army. He unfortunately survived the assassination, and currently resides in Zionist state of Israel in exile. Suha survived the Khiam prison, an Auschwitz like detention center formally used by the Israel Defense Force and its collaborators to torture and kill Lebanese and Arab freedom fighters. She was released in 1998 due to a large international campaign demanding her freedom.

Suha Beshara represents a political identity committed to justice and freedom, an identity that would be marginalized by the fighting sectarian warlords in 80’s and the 90’s. Suha’s existence in such a political context might be an asset to understanding the hegemonic nature of the national discourse on the issues of freedom and emancipation.

Suha was chosen to lead the operation due to many factors: first, because of her ability to perform such a highly delicate operation, and second for the fact that she was a woman, hence in a traditional context she aroused less suspicions if any at all. This idea suggests that the “mind” /”man” behind the operation have thought about women and statuses. The “mind” must have thought about the invisibility of women in such a male dominated field, freedom-fighting that is, and saw the possibility of taking advantage of such a situation to the benefit of the greater struggle. Yet the choice of taking advantage of a mischief in the social mentality for a political action against occupation/oppression, and in the same ridicule women’s demands of emancipation and equality to a women’s committee with in the structure or the institution of the party/movement without understanding how inherently essential the deconstruction of the inequality/mischief is speaks in volumes.

Suha Bshara represents the idea of women longing for freedom and their capability to liberate the land and the people. Yesterday’s talk that came with in the activities of the Israeliaparthiadweek.org/Beirut at the American University of Beirut was sincere and strong. She focused on the situation of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon; it was evident for her that supporting “Palestine” in Lebanon should start with supporting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to gain access to civil rights. This intersection should be highly considered by activists and human right’s advocates supporting the Palestinian struggle.

Our heroine openly and critically discussed the Palestinian situation in Lebanon, the institutionalization of the political movement in Lebanon and the rest of the Arab countries, the need to make use of existing technologies to connect with one another, and the need for the Lebanese leftist groups to continue their actions to support Palestinians without being intimidated by the aggressive oppression of the Lebanese regime ( namely the police’s reaction to the demonstration taking place in front of the Egyptian embassy). Courageously, she made a point long forgotten: she elaborated on how Palestinian women have carried half of the struggle and with their input the resiliency of the Palestinian camps was increased.

As much as the talk was refreshing to the ears and jolting to the mind, it remains vital that Suha Bshara should consider contributing from a gender perspective, so she sets the example we look for in our Arab heroines.

Its remains essential that Suha Beshara joins the voices of those who are working for the struggle, not only to remove the oppression of the regimes and their occupants, but also to remove the oppression of the patriarchal system and values over our contributions, history and bodies as women. Her voice is essential to object to any movement that expects women to work with their fellow brothers in fighting the structure of an oppression but not to fight the oppressions system of values.

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Reflections on the logic of things, Lebanese style.

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 08:45:00 +0000

Claudine Farah/ كلودين فرح

I always wonder how it was decided that women were lesser citizens than men. Did men think that women were doing most of the job in procreation so they decided to be part of the process by making the child their own, legally and socially, as a way to create more balance? And how were women convinced by it? And what about this conflicting idea that sex is taboo and sexual drive is a vulgar instinct but everything in human society is basically decided based on sex, procreation and gender, even things that have nothing to do with genitalia? The good thing about this is that most of the world seems to have noticed that the laws were too misogynistic, and attempted to change them, at least the laws that blatantly deprive women of their basic human rights.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case in Lebanon. Adding insult to injury is the fact that women themselves don’t see anything wrong with our laws! To them, “It’s the law” or “It is how it is” are far more logical replies than my crazy, illogical “Why do I have my father’s name? Why do I have to give up my roots to get married? Why do I hardly have any rights over my own children?” So, it’s more logical that whenever a woman gets married, she has to be deleted from her family’s records and be registered with her husband’s family, in a place she might have never heard of, has never belonged to…

Why is it more complicated to keep her original family records unchanged? Why is it more confusing if the child was registered in either or both his/her parents’ name? Why is it more difficult to give the child either or both of his/her parents’ nationalities?

As for the ridiculous reply of “It’s the law of nature,” or “God’s will,” am I biologically more my father’s than my mother’s? How is that calculated? If it was God’s design to give women less rights over their offspring, then why do they do most of the job, physically and socially, during pregnancy and throughout the child’s life?

How can a married Lebanese woman consider herself free and independent if the laws stipulate that she give up all her history and past and follow her husband’s?

What frustrates me even more is how women can study those outrageous misogynistic laws and still have any respect for themselves. Simply put, it’s beyond me how we have women lawyers and judges in Lebanon. How did they succeed academically and how did they advance in their careers, knowing full well that the laws they accept, abide by and apply consider them a lesser species, just because they were born with vaginas and not for any other reason whatsoever?!

Of all the Lebanese self-loathing women, I despise these self-proclaimed free, career women; those lawyers, judges, politicians who never even saw anything wrong with those outdated, defunct laws which are still applied in this day and age. I despise all those “independent, strong” women who claim to have gained freedom because they now get to be “productive” by working outside the house on top of their usual household slavery and they pride themselves on managing to strike a balance between being a good housewife and a successful businesswoman. Did family men ever have to strike any such balance?

To be honest, I also despise any woman who actually gets married under these current Lebanese laws. However, I can understand, up to a point, how people can sometimes be blinded by their society’s normalization of abnormal situations, not know their rights, and not understand what they’re getting themselves into. What I can’t accept and respect are those submissive, spineless women in power who know full well what the Lebanese laws say and not only do they accept them and apply them, they keep reinforcing them!

When I read the ruling in Samira Soueidan’s case, I felt as if my own hopes in Lebanon were shattered. I can only imagine how that persistent, strong woman must have felt after all that effort and pain just to demand a very simple, logical human right that she shouldn’t be struggling for in the first place!

When I read that the ruling judge was a woman, I thought it was a joke. How was a woman capable of pronouncing such a verdict? I wonder what she was thinking delivering it. I can’t give her any excuse whatsoever.

If she said, “It’s the law, there’s nothing I can do about it,” I’d have said: “Bull! Either change it or resign – that would be more decent, actually, and far more effective.” If she was one of those women who believe the ridiculous sectarian argument, which is brandished whenever they have no logical explanation to their absurd restrictions and rules, then I wonder how she became a judge in the first place.

So, a woman giving her Lebanese nationality to her kids from a foreign husband would disrupt the “impeccable” balance between the different religious sects. But a Lebanese man giving his Lebanese nationality to his kids from a foreign wife is OK? Why wouldn’t he cause imbalance? Who’s to say that I’d follow or believe in my father’s religion or sect anyway? And what does religion have to do with women’s equality, with a mother’s basic rights? Who’s the mathematical genius who made all those calculations to decide that Lebanese women marry more men from the X unwanted sect while Lebanese men marry more women of the Y wanted sect? What imbalance are women creating but not men and based on what scientific proof or study?

The truly logical step would be for both men and women to have the legal capacity to decide which religion, family and nationality their children would inherit. Nobody should be forcibly uprooted from their family’s registry and nobody should have to struggle to give their children what ought to be theirs legally. But then again, if this very simple logic were applied, that sectarian delusion would be completely exposed as the bizarre Lebanese oddity that it is, one which makes no sense at all. It would probably be the end of the world as we know it. God forbid Lebanon becomes a secular State, where the legal system guarantees equal human rights for all its citizens of whatever gender, color, religion, sect, orientation…

It’s such an ideal dream to many, but one which would upset the tribal, sectarian, patriarchal “harmony,” thanks to which the Lebanese people have been basking in a “heavenly peace” and “stability” ever since the country’s independence.

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ليش في مشكلة بنايلة التويني: تحليل سيكونسوي

Lamia Moghnie — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 07:33:12 +0000

image from www.al-akhbar.com

Farah Salka فرح سلكا

ايلة هي بنت ثورة الأرز وما أدراك ما ثورة الأرز. أكتر ثورة شوفنيية و”كلاس” مارقة على المنطقة، ثورة بتددعي وبتحكي بكل القيم الحقوقية والديموقراطية والمتحضرة بس هي فعليا بعيدة كل البعد عن هيدي الكلمات الكبيره، هي نفسها هيدي الثورة يلي يمكن تكون تسببت بمقتل عشرات العمال السوريين المعترين، بس عن دون قصد أكيد

نايلة هي عضوة بالمجلس النيابي اللبناني حالياً بس ما شفنا منها شي .يمكن لأنها وصلت لمحل ما هي اليوم مش عن جدارة وكاريزما وقوة معينه بل لأنها للأسف متلها متل بقية النسوان في هذا البرلمان المبجل العظيم وصلت من ورا ماضي أبوها الشهيد. نايلة زغتورة ومهضومه وقريبة على القلب فتخيلنا إنو معقول تكون بتفرق شوي عن يلي معها وقبلها، للأسف ما طلع هيدا الشي صح و تبرهن العكس، فكرناها صبيه من عمرنا فمعقول يكون عندها ولع أو حماس أو إندفاع على التغيير على صعيد الشباب واحتياجاتهم/ن كونها شابة، وعلى صعيد النساء والمليون حق يلي أكلتو الدولة عليهن وطلع لا هيدا ولا هيدا بهموها. لحديد هلأ ما مبين إنو هي بتفرق واحد بالمئة عن السيستم يلي نحن عم بنحاربو لا بل هي منو وفي.

نايلة متزوجه “صحافي” من أشطر الصحافية عندنا بلبنان. بياخد أكثر المواضيع الحساسة و بسخفها بدل ما يوصلها للعالم ويوعيهم عليها، بعامل العالم المستضعفين بهيدا المجتمع وبحطهم قدام المشاهدين و كأنون فئران مختبر. نايلة ما كتير بتفرق عن نايلة التانية بالبرلمان يلي كمان شاء القدر إنو توصل من ورا زوجها وشاء القدر إنو تورث ابنها المنصب قبل أن تتنحى، نايلة (الثانية) يلي بتمثل الذكورية أكثر من أي ذكر موجود بل بارلمن يلي بتجمع بونبون هي وعم تتسامر مع صولانج بدل ما تكون عم تعمل شي مفيد للبشرية مقابل الملايين يللي عمبتكبها عليها الشعب الجوعان.

نايلة ما بتتعاطى بشؤون المرأة، فما بالكم بالشؤون النسوية، القوة السياسيه يللي عندها ياها كلياً معزوله عن القوى السياسية يللي نحنا كنسويات بدنا تُستعمل بهيك منصب .ايمتى حكيت نايلة بحق المرا باعطاء الجنسية؟بالعنف الأسري ؟بالتحرش الجنسي؟ بحقوق الأجنبيات يللي عم “تتفركش” عن البلكون وتموت كل يوم والتاني؟

ايمتى؟ شو موقفها من مئات الصراعات يللي عم بتعيشا النسوان كل يوم بسبب غياب قوانين وعدم تطبيق القوانين الموجودة ؟

في أنواع عنصرية مزعجة أكتر من غيرها، متل العنصرية اللاذعة والمستشرية بعقلية بعض الناس وأحسن مثال هو نايلة تويني النائب(ة) بمجلس النواب اللبناني.

نايلة ما بتفهم امور معقدة، حتى الامور يللي مش معقدة وبسيطة كتير متل انو هيدي الشريحة من البشر يللي اسما فلسطينية هنِي عالم عندن حقوق جوهرية غصب عن راس كل لبناني عنصري.

متل انو هايدول الفلسطينية منُن قاعدين بلبنان على راحة الحياة في ونظافة بحرو وهضامة شعبه، قاعدين هون لأنو ما عندهن خيار تاني، متل انو هايدول الفلسطينية منُن ناعمنين بحياة كريمة او حقوق متلتلة متل ما هي متخيلة او حدا مخبرها بالغلط، متل ما انو البلدان العربية التانية يللي فيها فلسطينية وبتعاملهم مليون مرة اشرف واكرم من السيستيم اللبناني(يللي هي بنظرها مكرمهم اكتر من اللزوم) ويلي حاكم عليهم بالحرمان من ابسط حقوقهن.

انو اذا الشي الوحيد يللي قادر يعمله الفلسطيني هون هو انو يحكي وما حدا يسمعلو، ما بيعني انو الشعب اللبناني ونايلة لازم تحملهن جميلة وتقلهن هيدا الشي “بيكفي واسكتوا عن كل شي تاني مانعينكم عنه”، انو للواحدة تكون بتدافع عن حقوق الانسان بدا تكون عم بتدافع وتشوف القمع على صعيد كل العالم، مواطنين او مقيمين، مش بس على صعيد العرق اللبناني السامي وكل حدا تاني عمرو ما ينعطى حقوق.

وفكرة انو الاغلاط يللي صارت بالحرب الاهلية ما بتنلام بس على الاطراف الفلسطينية بس على كل الاطراف بشكل متساوي، وبغض النظر، هايدة الشي ما فينا نعميللو بروجيكشن (اسقاط) على ال500،000 فلسطيني يللي مهجرين هو،نايلة عم تكون عنصرية، عن قصد او جهل، بس عنصرية وللعضم. وعم تخلق من وراها، عن قصد او غيره، ارطة ناس عنصرية عالعمى متلها لاحقينها وعم يقرؤلها ويزقفولها، وبالنهاية اذا ما بتعرف عن موضوع معين كفاية ما ضروري تكتب عنه هالقد.

ما ضروري تخلفي وتعيدي عبارات وجمل غيرك قالوها قبل، تفاهات واكاذيب ومغالطات شو عرَفك اصلاً! بحياتك دعستي بمخيم؟ حكيتي مع ام فلسطينية صارلها 40 سنة هون؟ ولَا فلسطيني بوحدة من مدارس الاونروا؟ ولاَ العمو يللي فل من عكا لهون على رجليه وبعدو ناطر يرجع؟ ولَامع ناس مشردين تلات مرات ورا بعضهن من نهر البارد.

المشكلة بنايلة انو العالم مش شايفين انو في مشكلة واثنين وثلاثة فيها.

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Women's rights

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عنصرية، حقوق العمال، حقوق المرأة

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Don't Buy Me a Flower

deema kaedbey — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:00:00 +0000

سارة اميلين ابو غزال

The service driver seemed unbothered by the outrageous traffic jam. The heat was unbearable and the car’s engine had been humming impatiently. In that afternoon everything seemed in a desperate need to cool down.

He was fiddling with the radio station, passing through them quickly; the more stagnant the traffic was, the faster he changed stations. Finally, He found what he was looking for, and there it was: Elissa’s voice came out of the speakers clear and obvious. Happy with his achievement, the service driver- a man in his 20’s- turned to me while I sat in back sea and explained his choice:

-“hey el ghneyeh lal demowazel, aked bet7ebe Elissa, makel el banet be7bo el romans”*

I nodded and kept pretending that I was busy sending an sms(not), avoiding the chance to follow up on the conversation.

That afternoon and onwards, I’ve been trying to find the root of all these stereotypes. How did women settle for such statements about them? And are they careless about the misrepresentations and inaccuracies they suggest?

I keep wondering if there is a book somewhere whose existence I’m unaware of. A book that explains all of these matters to me, for example why are women more in touch with their feelings than men, why is our brain’s capacity limited to clothing and functionalities; and what is the exact description of the hysteria that occurs when a women- goddess forbid- breaks a nail; why are women so attached to their finger nails? Why are all blond girls stupid? Why is having a drink at the bar an invitation for sex? Why should I expect flowers? Why should I love flowers? Why does calling myself a feminist make me a “men hater”? Why are all lesbians ugly? Why are beautiful girls silly? Why should I care about beauty? Why should I panic if I gained weight?

I know that these stereotypes add a flavor to our conversations. They ridicule the slightest suggestions that women (present in the conversation or not) are serious, and lead a life that goes beyond the stereotype they are stuck in. These stereotypes dismiss that fact that they (women) might have other interests rather than to please one’s judgment of her sex and gender roles.

She might actually be crying not because “silly girl, kteer sensitive” that she might actually be hurt by whatever action had happened or words she’d heard.

I know these stereotypes have been there, always; they are reflections of roles expected to be played out thoroughly, and if they are not, it’s not a problem, the non conforming women have their own stereotypes too.

I really do wonder about where did this women and flowers association came from? Flowers are diverse just like women, I like that, but then flowers get picked based on the desired aesthetic of the “picker”, they get stuck in vases, are admired, get abandoned, they die and the time comes to consume new ones. Is that where it all come from? Aesthetics, admiration, abandonment and death?

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Sawt al' Niswa

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Story

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Women's rights

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