On February 28th, 12pm, students in Dr. Pamela Chrabieh’s “Religions of the World” course at the American University in Dubai had the opportunity to watch the documentary “Turoq” and meet its directors, Sarah Hassan and Leen Al Faysal. Sarah and Leen are former students of Dr. Chrabieh. Sarah is journalist and producer with CNN International […]
Author Archives: Red Lips High Heels
مدخَل
تدخلني فأدخلك، تركد في أمعائي فأحبُكَ وتُغضبني. كولترِيْن يداعب تنهداتنا فأسقط عليكَ، تقَع فيَّ، وأناديك ريثما يعود إليك دفءُ سوائلي. أنتشلكَ من تراب ضلعَيَ فتنحلّ وتذوب بين ذراعَي على نغم شموع ميعادي، دمٌ يسري في لعابنا، تلعقه عينايَ قبل لسانِك المجنونِ. تغمرني فأصبح نوراً يلفُّكَ. تناديك مشقّاتُ الأيّام، فلا تسمع تدحرج […]
Addiction to Words
It falls on our shoulders to start writing and speaking truths that we have come to know and understand about our region. Even though we live miles apart, our hearts still beat the same song and our longing for peace is always present. Words can divide. They build walls of judgment and misconceptions. They imprison […]
The Me I Am
The Me is a mere stereotype, an ideological battleground, a fracture along party lines, an emotionally-laden symbol of the nation, a mother who needs protection against the outside enemy, a coup d’Etat. The me is the background urging, praising and supporting. The Me is a dichotomy, a binary system, purity-impurity, honor-dishonor, a perfect-broken vase, bda3a […]
Eyes of the Future
I took a seat nonchalantly and rested the Arabic traditional instrument, the qanun, on my legs. Like every rehearsal and performance attended, I was focused, music ready, mind and spirit in reverence of the music to be created. Between the sound cables and baby Jesus in the manger, I looked up from the corner to […]
Silenced
As a Muslim Arab girl, growing up in an Arab society, I’ve often felt like I was silenced or not welcome to be talking in my community. When I was growing up, my parents were supportive and encouraged me to always speak my mind but later on in life, the more people I met the […]
My ‘Go Home!’ Movie Review
‘Go Home’ by Lebanese director Jihane Chouaib is a powerful statement about the difficulty that many members of the Lebanese diaspora face when they go back to their homeland, with a particular focus on war memory, post-traumatic syndrome disorders and identity crisis. I watched the movie two days ago at the Dubai Film Festival and […]
Keset Hayaty El Gdeeda (My New Life Story)
I took 3 different photographs of my sister in which she resembles 3 different women. I made sure all 3 pictures are exactly the same, in terms of makeup and lighting, and focused on dark makeup on her eyes and eyebrows, for a deeper intensity. The first picture depicts my sister with her long flowy […]
Women’s Rights should be Prioritized and Addressed
In an era where robots are sense-perceptive, mobile phones have 3D touch capabilities, and cars can drive with little human interference, it disappoints me to see how little opportunities to grow or be identified as an equal the MENA*[1] region has presented for women. As an Arab woman, I myself have seen the struggles women […]
Fairness Creams Expose the Ugly Truth
You’re flipping through channels on TV and you find yourself watching a commercial where a woman is at a job interview. She does not get the job. Two weeks later, after using a whitening cream that made her six shades lighter, she goes back for the same interview. This time, she gets the job. The […]