Red Lips High Heels – Page 20 – Gender in the Middle East

A Girl’s Honor

I wanted to talk about women’s right to give their nationality to their husbands and children in Lebanon, but i changed my mind while watching a TV episode of “Ahmar bl khatt el Aarid” (LBC) about “virginity and marriage”. I was shocked when i heard of the miserable ideas and actions of different individuals who were hosted, from Christian and Muslim backgrounds in Lebanon and the MENA region.

We live in a conservative society that discriminates women. This is what i learned from this TV show, from the observation of my environment, and from what i have been taught since my childhood: “you can’t act like a boy, you can’t go there alone without your brother, all girls have one future – to be a housekeeper, mother and wife -, you should always be careful while dealing with boys, don’t let anyone get close to your ‘honor’…”.

As girls, we (most of us) grow up with a prohibition regarding sexual relations before marriage. We do not receive proper sexual education (family and-or school); but we are taught to fear sexuality and biological/emotional needs.

In certain contexts, women aren’t allowed to move freely, are punished when exposing bits of their bodies, are deprived of education, can’t drive a car,… When women are raped, they are often severely punished – victims become guilty of the crime!! Even losing one’s virginity following rape is considered a crime of losing one’s honor and the family’s.

Technically, our “honor” is related to the hymen, a thin membrane that partially covers the opening of the vagina, that can be lost following a trauma, while riding a horse or cycling, or that simply does not exist. So how many girls have been killed based on the ignorance of those facts? And how many girls have taken the wrong decisions in their life based on the fear of losing their physical virginity? Moreover, how many girls have been raped by their husbands (and-or a third party) to test their virginity?

What are the meanings of virginity and honor when hymenoplasty is practiced? What is the meaning of being a woman, a human being, when a free responsible sexual life is replaced by oppression and unhealthy practices? What can we say about women who prefer having an artificial hymen over saying the truth and be proud of themselves? What can we say about men who still want ‘virgin girls’ to be married to while they certainly aren’t (double standards) ? What can we say about families and societies built in large parts on hypocrisy, lies and fear? How could women obtain their fundamental rights if there are those – women and men – who are still attached to a membrane?

As I see it, tackling the sensitive subject of honor, linked to women’s bodies and sexuality, is a crucial task in our continuous struggle for equality and justice in our country and the MENA region.

Feminism and ad-Dajjal (the Anti-Christ)!

A quite shocking theory by Islamic scholar Imran Nazar Hosein concerning the relation between feminism and ad-Dajjal (the Anti-Christ)!!

For those who are not familiar with Ad-Dajjal: an evil figure in Islamic eschatology. He is to appear pretending to be the Messiah at a time before the Day of Judgment, comparable to the figures of the Antichrist and Armilus in Christian and Jewish eschatology. In a Hadith narrated by Imran ibn Hussain, Prophet Muhammad said, ‘Since the birth of Adam till the advent of Qiyamah (Judgement Day) there is no fitnah (tribulation) much greater than that of Dajjal.’

“He is sent by Allah as a trial to people. Dajjal will claim godhood and Allah will allow supernatural acts to occur at his hands, such as bringing back to life those he kills, causing the sky to rain by his command, and the earth to produce vegetation by his command. He will have with him what resembles Paradise and Hell. The one he claims is Paradise is in reality Hell, and the one he claims is Hell is in reality Paradise. He will also have two rivers flowing with him. All of these things will be made to happen for him by the Power and Will of Allah. Whoever follows him will disbelieve and be misfortunate and remorseful. Whoever disbelieves him is the true Believer whom Allah has granted success to be of the felicitous. May Allah make us of those who are granted the success of felicity (…). Then Allah will make him incapable of these supernatural events, so that he is not able to kill anyone, and his command is no longer executed. Then Prophet Jesus (upon him be peace) will kill him” (Source: Sheikh Amjad Rasheed)

According to scholar Hosein, ad-Dajjal hasn’t appeared as a human being just as yet. He is present in the world as a godless corrupted system, that includes “Feminist brainwashing”. “The feminists want to be like men. They want to have the freedom to dress like men and behave like men so they can have the freedom to do whatever men do. But that is against how God almighty created the male and female (…)”. In ‘The Truth about Feminism and Women’s Liberation’, Hosein’s Quranic interpretation is clearly explained in his following words: “The Qur’an teaches analogically that as day and night are functionally different yet interdependent, so too are the male and female. The ominous warning is that if this were ever to be changed, if the ‘night’ were to attempt to become ‘day’ and the sacred order of gender were to be overturned, as in the modern feminist revolution, then the anarchy and disintegration of society that would ensue would be equivalent of cosmic mayhem”. The ‘natural order’ is: women should be obedient to their husbands or male guardians; there was never a woman prophet and there will never be; all leaders should be men; angels can’t be given female names; for a male child two animals must be sacrificed, but a female child requires only one; the best row in congregational prayer for men is the first, and the worse (for women) is the last; etc. For Hosein: the day must remain a ‘day’, the night as ‘night’; Islam seeks to preserve this harmony of gender relations, but women would be deceived by ad-Dajjal – by something that would turn their world upside down… Women already dress like men, and people are committing sexual intercourse in public like donkeys (following Prophet Muhammad’s prophecy, again, according to Hosein).

Let me reassure scholar Hosein and others who follow and believe his theory:

1) There is not ONE feminism, but many. In fact, the diversity of theories and practices is impressive, and it does not seem to be possible to state principles, doctrines and methods common to them all. One can speak from within one feminism and, from there, note some of the dimensions along which various feminisms differ from each other.

2) There are feminists who wear pants, or skirts and dresses, and even the hijab. There are feminists who are feminine (and femininity has many meanings). There are heterosexual feminists, transgender, lesbians, bisexual, etc.

3) Following in the footsteps of women’s rights pioneers a century ago in the Middle East, today’s feminisms include Muslim women activists who see an Islamic framework as a legitimate terrain for advocating women’s rights, and who believe Muslim men have arrogated to themselves the task of interpreting the Qur’an and Hadith and of defining the position of women (refer to the work of Fatima Mernissi and Rifat Hassan, as well as Leila Ahmed, Yvonne Haddad, Mai Yamani, Parvin Paidar, Afsaneh Najmabadi…). Read also http://www.redlipshighheels.com/muslim-women-reformers-inspiring-voices-against-oppression/

4) Feminisms aren’t about public sexual orgies.

5) Most feminisms are about struggling for women’s rights, but also for humans’ rights… For justice, equality, partnership and mutual responsibility in both the private and public spheres.

6) Feminisms aren’t the product of modernity, nor what is perceived as ‘the Western world’. The struggle for women’s rights existed in ancient cultures and civilizations, including Egypt, Canaan, Persia, Mesopotamia, and the Arabic Peninsula (refer to my upcoming book, to be published by Dar el Machreq, Beirut).

7) Could this link between Dajjal and Feminism be influenced by the Myth of Lilith – enforcing the idea of many men’s fear of seductive/dominating/intelligent/’speaking’ women ? Read more: http://www.redlipshighheels.com/the-lilith-myth-and-the-male-fear-of-dominantequal-women/

Hosein’s theory – and many others – reminds us that although women are the majority of the world’s religious practitioners, they have been underrepresented as religious studies scholars. Malestream discourses on religion have tended to operate with essentialist notions of gender, seeing gender identity as determined by nature, either of a physical of metaphysical order. The result is that male scholars’ representations of women and of gender hierarchy within religious traditions have been represented as both ‘true and neutral’. Women who challenge dominant notions of their gender construction within religion, are caught – they are labeled ‘lacking objectivity’ or even ‘kafirat’, ‘witches’, and… ‘Dejjal’s disciples’.

Last but not least, attention should be paid to gender bias in theorizing religious phenomena, and secular feminists should not dismiss the study of those phenomena, given the influence of religion as a determinative cultural, social and political factor in the Middle East.

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Image source: www.jrdkirk.com

Tatiana

Should I tell her that she reminds me of the Vladimirka ?!

How odd, how awful !! Of all the paintings, of all the portraits, couldn’t I find a more joyful one ? Or even a portrait to make the “similarity”, the “resemblance” more natural, more credible, more human ?!!
Couldn’t I find but the Vladimirka ?!
Au temps des tsars, C’etait la route qui reliait Moscou a Vladimir; c’etait la route de la Siberie, de la déportation, de l’exil.. You take it only once ! For Levitan, those open, grey white skies, those wide horizons are not signs of hope, but roads of despair !!
The 1st time I saw Tatiana, she struck me in a strong, very strong, but very odd way: Attraction !
Not sexual, not romantic..but an immense attraction nonetheless, I don’t know how to describe it precisely, it is like the feeling you have, almost sure of, that she is the kind of person who understands everything about life, that whatever is on your mind, whatever worries you, you can tell her and it is ok…she understands and all burdens would be lifted…almost like an impersonated anima, Jung would not have found a better incarnation !!
You see ?! How can you tell a person this ?! Any person ? He/she would think you are not just weird, odd, out of your mind, insane..she would be sure you are out-rightly mad… especially if you believe it truly and at the same time, you know that no human can be like that !
So I just took photos..as usual..more than usual…
Time passed and I almost forgot about Tatiana..
Then she came tonight !
That “awe” lessened a bit, but that sense of wonder persisted unabated…what is this in her that attracts me so much ? Ok, she is a very beautiful lady..but she is not the most beautiful of them all !
There is something in her that I decided is a major factor in my attraction: she is mature !! A very rare “commodity” these days..
Am I moonstruck, dumbstruck ?? May be, but not in love…!! In the regular meaning of it..
My mind is working on overdrive and I have to talk to this one and to that other one..and to focus on the evening…when in the background I heard Ignacio Carillo singing Lacrimas Negras…I love this song too much, but this time, I wanted it to stop right away, I can’t concentrate anymore…i can’t at all !

Tú me quieres dejar,
yo no me quiero ir,
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir.
– Too much !! –
Ya no quiero llorar,
ya no quiero sufrir,
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir.
…Then, it dawned on me…it is the same feeling when i 1st looked at Levitan’s Vladimirka !!
Now I understand Proust, when to express a feeling, he talked about a painting too..perhaps sometimes, that’s the only way..words are too mediocrely inefficient !
…But not the desolation in the Vladimirka, not at all; but the beauty in it, the serenity, the wisdom..the patience, the hope. The hope that life is still full of endless possibilities !!
Tatiana, I know you would understand..i am sure..even if all of this is the product of a wild, unrestrained imagination..

Chantell

La mer m’ouvre ses voies impossibles qu’encerclent tes yeux.
Ses ressacs crachent la nuit des temps que ton Absolu érige en désir,
Ses profondeurs grondent la vie utérine de tes abîmes miroitant le monde,
Ses marins tracent les hyperboles que tes dimensions rejettent dans les coques sémites.
Tu brûles les voiles de la chaleur grisâtre des nuits idiotes des émirs,
Tu lèches le rouge des seins que tu tailles dans la cendre épuisée de tes braises inépuisables,
Tu recraches les feus sentinelles des chambres maculées de mariages insensés où le féminin s’étire,
Tu fais des portes des passages où le nombre s’abîme dans les torsions des muscles qui s’ouvrent en dires du gémir.
Tu enfermes le mal dans des tours où résonnent les susurrements qui déchirent les menhirs,
Tu fouettes le vent du blanc de tes baisers que l’hiver appelle en martyrs du bien,
Tu enlèves les marées pour en faire les épouses du cours de tes histoires répétées et reprises,
Tu t’avères malin génie des veines où les chaleurs secouent les murs esseulés des vergers enchaînés.
A l’aube tu t’annonces couleur des jours éclaboussés d’échardes, de coloris et de pistils,
A l’aube le jour attend chaque jour le renouveau de la rosée
Que lâchent tes doigts,
Attisant les feux naissants.

Celebrating Red Lips High Heels’ first anniversary!

In this perspective, I founded the Red Lips High Heels’ online movement in October 2012, gathering a group of individuals from various ethnic, religious, cultural, economic and political backgrounds, established in the region and especially in Lebanon, but also in diaspora. Academicians, lawyers, psychologists, artists, educators, employees of the private and public sectors, business women and housewives, students… Women and men, of different sexual identities, all engaged for the same cause, that of improving the situations/roles/rights of human beings in Lebanon and the Middle Eastern region, and especially women.

Red Lips High Heels’ blog and Facebook page are ‘spaces’ where individuals engage in writing, reading and commenting on content from their various feminist and human rights perspectives and with a diversity of feminist and human rights commitments. The movement’s objectives are:

– Awareness and Empowerment.

– Deconstructing taboos, prejudices and stereotypes.

– Fighting against fear.

– Building and disseminating an applied knowledge – based on experiences, practices, personal stories, and on scientific and academic studies –; and a culture of equal partnership between diverse identities which emanates from the context and responds to it.

– Creating a platform of intercultural, inter-ethnic, inter-gender, transnational and glocal (global and local) dialogue, sharing and debate.

Red Lips is a symbol of vibrancy, self-acceptance, transformation, courage, self-possession, self-assurance, prowess and assertion. Even the act of applying red lipstick is empowering. It draws people’s attention to the mouth, and subsequently, the voice that comes out of it, a long-oppressed voice which rings loud and clear as it questions ideology and culture, patriarchal beliefs and practices, and demands the social and political rights women lack in Middle Eastern countries.

As for high heels, true they embody leisure, sophistication and sexuality. However, in this case, they represent the power that lies in femininity, in humanity; the power based on an authoritatively autonomous walk, a straighter standing stance against fear and taboos, a refusal of being subjugated to others, a search for balance between the looks and the brain, the public and the private, and a better management of one’s life in grey zones.

Individuals part of the ‘Red Lips High Heels’ movement, authors of many articles, do not necessarily physically wear red lipstick and high heels. Diversity of feminisms and human rights’ approaches is our motto. However, the unusual significance of ‘red lips’ and ‘high heels’ used here is a common point within this diversity. A kind of ‘unthinkable’ versus the ‘thinkable’, which invites all to ‘unlearn’ traditional knowledge about women and human relations in Lebanon and the Middle East and their relations to their environment and build alternative knowledge. (p.s. what stands within the enclosure is usually seen as “thinkable”; what falls outside is the “unthinkable”).

I cannot deny the progress achieved since the beginning of the 20^th century with the local initiatives of the first feminist movements, neither the contribution of present-day individuals and organizations. Still, Lebanon is considered to be at the bottom of many worldwide rankings in human rights, and women’s rights in particular (refer to Human Rights Watch and Global Gender Gap reports). Sexism, discrimination and oppression are found in private and public spheres. Feminists must counter beliefs that women are incapable (physically, intellectually and emotionally) of certain kinds of work, of leadership, and are not worthy of equal political and social rights. Patriarchal societies, such as the Lebanese, enshrine the assumptions that heads of state must be male and male voices rightfully dominate society. Even when the governing idea is that women and men occupy complementary but equal positions, patriarchal assumptions construct the female position as necessary but subordinate. A sexual division of labor and consequent social division into public and private spheres acquire justification from patriarchal beliefs that it is right and proper for men to command and women to obey.

True we need new laws, but we also need: family education and national education on Human Rights; women economic and political empowerment in cities and rural areas; passage from a culture of violence to a culture of peace; re-interpretation of many religious laws concerning Lebanese personal status; reform of our social-political system (sectarianism); struggle against corruption and the practice of zaba’iniya (wasta system)…

We definitely need a change of mentalities… In other words, we do not need to just give and receive a fish or to learn and teach how to fish, but to revolutionize the entire fishing industry.

Thank you, authors, readers, activists, for your continuous support. On this Red Lips High Heels’ first anniversary, I can only wish us all to keep on taking the bull by the horns, and on developing the necessary confidence to pursue our goals.

Let's talk about Sexual Harassment !

A (by Lebanese mena��s standards) sexy woman got on the bus today as I was heading home from work. Ia��m sure all day long a�?sexya�? women use public transportation to get to their desired destination. But, we dona��t really notice things unless theya��re in our face, happening right in front of us. Well, some of us notice, and others are the actors in the play.

Back to the story… Whata��s every mana��s perfect woman? High heels; check. Long black hair; check. Dressed in a way that accentuates her silhouette; check. This woman obviously met the criteria for a lot of men, because she definitely managed to turn heads. It was as if there was a different creature among us, maybe some kind of alien that we rarely get in contact with. Since the bus was a bit crowded, all the men fixed their seating positions, perhaps as an invitation for her to sit next to them? I had taken the entire seat, putting my head back and resting after a stressful day at work. She asked me if she could sit next to me, so I adjusted my position to give her room. Two minutes had barely passed as she turned to me and asked me how much she had to pay the bus. The two men sitting in front of me turned around and answered her before I got the chance to open my mouth. I repeated the answer…

This is a little story that makes me think of the world and how it works. Beautiful versus ugly, mainly. Everybody pays attention to hot and sexy women. People almost bend over backwards to do them favors. Whata��s the price though? Being harassed? Being marginalized? Being objectified? How many times have we heard men say a�?she had it cominga�? when they refer to a survivor of rape, because, well, she dresses in a revealing manner? How many times have we heard men refer to a�?sexya�� women as whores and express that they will a�?disciplinea�� them for speaking up and being more than a pretty doll? How many times have we heard young guys call girls sluts because they socialize with, in their opinion what is, too many guys?

If a beautiful woman applies for a job, she gets harassed and asked for sexual favors. So, she turns the job down, and goes on another interview. And the cycle continues. So, she settles and accepts one of these jobs. During the first couple of months the mood seems acceptable; the boss greets her with a smile. A little time passes and he starts to get physically closer, invading her personal space. And time passes again and we find him to be the clown of the office, making jokes that obviously make her uncomfortable. She tries to put limits for him, he turns it all to a joke and how can anyone really reply to the following: a�?walaw Ia��m kidding! Cana��t you handle a joke?a�?. With his behavior, the boss has now become the model to follow for all the men at work. And everybody thinks they are entitled to the same sense of humor their boss has, and in consequence to the same line of action or as he would like to put it, jokes.

Rape is not the only thing that counts as sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is defined as Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive work environment. Leta��s remember that!

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Image source:A�saynotoviolence.org

Pourquoi les femmes se font toujours avoir?

Voici le titre d’un ouvrage que j’ai lu dernièrement, dont l’auteur est Yves Deloison, journaliste et blogueur français, un homme féministe que bien de nos co-citoyens machos et misogynes jugeraient “manquant de testostérone et de testicules”.

Pourquoi les femmes se font toujours avoir? Je ne suis ni chaude ni froide à la vue de ce titre. Je tente de déconstruire les généralisations. ‘Les’ femmes? Non… Une partie des femmes. ‘Se font toujours avoir?’… Non plus. Il y a ces femmes, en dépit des obstacles, qui luttent, qui refusent, qui élèvent leur voix, qui n’acceptent pas d’être victimes (ni d’être vues en tant que victimes) … Des femmes qui trouvent un sens à leur vie, qui le partagent avec d’autres, qui apprennent à s’aimer et s’apprécier, qu’elles soient femmes au foyer, carriéristes, ou jonglant entre la maison et le boulot. Des femmes qui recherchent un certain équilibre, au niveau personnel/familial, et collectif.

Toutefois, la question que pose Deloison est pertinente, une vérité qui dérange, un tabou qui mériterait d’être levé. En effet, en dépit des contre-exemples, le paradigme suivant s’impose: les contextes mettant les femmes en situation d’infériorité sont légion, surtout dans nos contrées du sud-ouest asiatique, où Patriarcats, identités religieuses/confessionnelles conservatrices, guerres, crises socio-économiques, dictatures et discriminations sont de rigueur. La répartition ancestrale des places attribuées aux hommes et aux femmes n’évolue pas, ou évolue très lentement. Moins de 3% de femmes au Parlement Libanais? Aucune femme ministre? Moins de 20% de femmes dans le marché du travail? Des salaires moins élevés de 40%? L’autorité de l’homme qui prime sur celle de la femme dans la plupart des foyers?

Nous ne portons pas seules, individuellement, la responsabilité de cette situation. Certes, des sociétés entières devraient revoir leur modes de fonctionnement. Toutefois, toute pensée/action individuelle contribue au changement, à la modification du cours des choses. Il suffit d’y croire et d’avoir la volonté. Olympe de Gouges déclarait en 1791: “O femmes, femmes […], quelles que soient les barrières que l’on vous oppose, il est en notre pouvoir de les franchir. Vous n’avez qu’à le vouloir!”.

L’ordre établi ne peut être remis en cause en attendant que les hirondelles passent… Au Liban, celles-ci ne passent pas, ou le font rarement. Il va falloir les faire passer, de gré ou de force, sans pour autant frôler le burn-out. Sortir du carcan de la victime, ne pas ‘se faire avoir’, n’est pas de se jeter dans l’autre extrême qui est de devenir “super héroïne”. Il s’agit de prendre conscience de la situation dans laquelle nous nous trouvons, d’en repérer les raisons, et de réagir… Penser, repenser, décortiquer, déconstruire, construire,… AGIR… au plus vite et dans tous les domaines, seules et ensemble, entre femmes, avec les hommes, et autres… Agir pour faire bouger les mentalités avant d’oeuvrer pour de nouveaux projets de lois.

Ne pas ‘se laisser avoir’ veut dire à mon avis d’en finir avec la posture de victime, et aussi celle de l’héroïne qui voudrait assumer toutes les charges mais n’en tirer que bien maigre bénéfice. C’est d’être à contre-courant, devenir paria, et oser propager des vérités alternatives à LA VERITE ABSOLUE qui maintient les hommes et les femmes dans des rôles prédéterminés.

Qui gagnerait à ce que les femmes ne se fassent ‘pas avoir’? Les femmes en premier lieu évidemment. Mais les hommes aussi. Tout le monde trouve son compte dans le changement des mentalités – sauf ceux qui le trouvent déjà dans la situation actuelle – le chaos, la corruption, les inégalités et la décadence. Toute le monde (enfin presque) trouve son compte en se libérant du carcan des préjugés et en devenant maître/maîtresse de son destin!

ONE

Let me kiss everything that says skin,
Everything that says you
Every pore where I find myself!
Let me smell myself from within!
Let me be your flesh!
There are mirrors inside
That tell of me,
They are shattered by tears
And rebuilt for hate and desire.
There are books always afloat:
Empty books,
Shipwrecks
And No-One.
Let me hold them
Till they turn to blood,
Till I become you.
On the bed of leaves
We are wormwood
For the plinths of life.
Fingers linger
Wanting our opaline colour.
Eyes along the airless distance –
Reflections in a pond
Beyond the skin.
Starting with the whiplash that gave our names,
Let us measure the courses
Of the echoing din
That built our cocoons!
Under the stinging screens of Paradise
I shall scream the times
In nothings of you,
On the forest needles
Where I pine for your veils.

October is set on the calendar as a�?Domestic Violence Awareness Montha�?

How truly public is domestic violence in Lebanon? We hear stories about women abused in their homes, we might even know a couple but we are forced to feel that there is nothing we can do about it. Our hands are tied when the law is against common sense.A�

A friend of mine, while on public transportation on his way to work, saw a man hitting a woman on the side of the Jounieh highway. The men got off the bus to try and calm the situation. The abuser said that the woman is his wife, and everybody a�?minded their own businessa�?.A� This is the reality of the situation here. If a man wants to hit his wife and you interfere, you will most probably get beaten up as well. A�A�

There are reports of 5 women dying of domestic violence since July. How many more have died in the same way but without it being reported? And what can we say about cases that have put away on a dusty shelf? And if death is not the result, does that mean that the abuse is minimal and trivial?

What are the actual numbers?

We are talking about a country that doesna��t even have a precise number for its population. Regardless, domestic violence is a sensitive issue. A lot of women wouldna��t admit to it out of fear of being more abused. Fear alone is a key element here. Wea��ve seen a couple of ads that encourage women to speak out, and discourage men to act out. Have they been useful? How can we know the actual gravity of the situation if we dona��t have past and present stats?

There have been campaigns, there have been protests, yet we still wait for a real law to protect all women from abuse, domestic and otherwise.

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A�References and Sources:

http://www.beirut.com/l/28691

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/192406

http://www.assafir.com/Article.aspx?EditionId=2580&ChannelId=62352&ArticleId=166&Author=O?O?O?U�+O?U�U?U�#.Uk63NtJ9HaJ

http://newspaper.annahar.com/article/68944-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%87-%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%AC%D9%87-%D8%A3%D9%8A%D8%B6%D8%A7

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Useful resources: Kafa a�� Enough Violence and Exploitation in Lebanon

A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� A�A� Abaad a�� Resource Center for Gender Equality

A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A�A� A�A� (and every woman that has been a survivor of domestic violence)

About Books, Movies and Youth…

Dr. Pamela Chrabieh argues that there is a link between our young generationa��s attitude and reading (The Age of Neo-Illiteracy is a must read!). Ia��d like to take it a step further even…A�

How many young university students like to watch movies? I would say a big number. Thata��s positive. But what is the number of students that like to watch educational/cultural films or documentaries? Sadly, that number is as low as that of book readers. We have a bunch of movies that are released on a yearly basis, some are perfect for fun nights and some need us to think and decode the message they hold. Nothing in this world can work alone, a mixture of everything can never be as harmful as eliminating an entire category is.A�

Personally, I dona��t like commercial movies. I like to scratch my brain when I watch something. So, when Ia��m in my group of friends and we discuss movies, we talk about directors and not cast members. Directors are for films what authors are for books. Each director has his significant traits, special marks that identify him throughout the film. And so do authors. We care more than just about the actors; we care about the story, the plot and how everything plays out. We care about the background information, we care about where it goes, and we definitely care about what the point of the movie is. Some movies dona��t have big budgets, some actors volunteer; some directors even have actors on a waiting list to be included in their work of art. And then we have documentaries; and any documentary is educational. Have it be about cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, sex and chaos; ita��s all knowledge.

Studies have shown that some people are better in tune with their audiovisual senses than with reading. Some people understand more if they see something rather than hear it, some people need to see images to maintain the information, etc.

So do you prefer movies? Or do you prefer books? Because today, either one is a good start to try and get the young generation back on the right track. So now the question becomes, is the young generation interested in the deeper things in life?

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Image source:A�www.tasteofcinema.com