Lebanon is not a Democratic country!

According to the quotaproject.org, Lebanon has one of the lowest political representation rates for women on a global scale, and especially in decision making positions and high ranking political positions. 3.1% of women in the Lebanese Parliament… Can anyone dare saying that Lebanon is a democratic country, when a large part of its population – […]

Feminist and Peace Activist

A student of mine, studying Theology, future clerk, asked me a while ago: ‘‘Why, a woman ‘like you’ (describing me as ‘young trendy secular woman’), not attached to any religious function, is interested in religions, cultures, philosophy, politics, etc. in a country like Lebanon where the production of knowledge – if it exists – on […]

I am a Heel Wearer and my Footwear is Feminist !!

One of the questions many women ask me when they look at me or when they read ‘Red Lips High Heels’ is: how can you say you are feminist when you wear red lipstick and high heels? Strange how I have to defend my feminism within a movement fighting for women’s rights. True we do […]

I am sick and tired of conforming!

I am sick and tired of being an exploited objectified woman and citizen. I am Lebanese and in my society, beauty standards changed in the last 10-15 years. We were busy with war until the early 1990s, not paying attention to physical characteristics. When we stopped killing each other with weapons, we started a devastating competition, […]

Who’s afraid of Aliaa el Mahdy?

October 2011: a young nineteen-year-old Egyptian woman blogs a naked picture of herself. What could have been but a mundane act in the west was about to stir a passionate debate around feminism religion and nudity in the Arab world. Two years later, after having been harassed, threatened and kidnapped in her home country, Aliaa […]

Presumed Incompetent! It can be tiring being a Woman in Academia!

This is one of the latest books I have been reading: Presumed Incompetent. The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia (Edited by Gabriella Gutiérrez y Muhs, Yolanda Flores Niemann, Carmen G. González, Angela P. Harris). Highly interesting work, especially for my case as a university professor having to deal with sexism while […]

…لكلّ امرأة ألف تحية

استيقظتْ ذلك الصباح، نظرت إلى أنوثتها المتعبة في المرآة، وأهدتها ابتسامة…إنّه صباح الثامن من آذار، هو يومها: اليوم العالميّ للمرأة إنّ الاحتفال بهذه المناسبة جاء على إثر عقد أول مؤتمر للاتحاد النسائي الديمقراطي والذي عُقد في باريس عام 1945. وكان أول احتفال عالمي بيوم المرأة رغم أن بعض الباحثين يرجح أن اليوم العالمي للمرأة كان […]

Women in the Middle East/ Western Asia: the Fight for Equality Continues!

I have been following closely the diverse campaigns on Facebook and other online platforms such as the “Uprising of Women in the Arab World”. Somehow, most testimonies reflect my concerns. As a Western Asian woman, but also as a university professor, researcher, author, artist and activist, in one of the most Patriarchal institutions i.e. the […]

Do Women have a Fragile Sense of Self-esteem?

I was captivated by your quote Dr. Pamela Chrabieh on Red Lips High Heels’ Facebook Page concerning the fragility versus antifragility dynamics, and their relation to gender issues. I strongly believe that both man and woman can be fragile and antifragile, depending on every situation and their environment and the support they get, and their […]

A Community with a Common Vision and One Heart!

Living in a world that has achieved a certain level of equality and acceptance between gender, race, and religion, I can’t stop myself from pondering about the long journey that lies ahead in the old world. To think that in the span of a hundred years, so many beliefs and preset prejudices were torn, broken, […]