You definitely heard of the new Turkish soap opera “Harim el Sultan” (The Sultan’s Harem). The series is inspired from real historical events, and focuses specifically on the harem, scattered with danger, hatred, and a constant competitiveness to the sultan’s heart. The Sultan’s Harem has gained wide success and popularity across the Arab world, but […]
Monthly Archives: December 2012
"داميتي" ضحية مِثْلُها كثيرات
لا نريد تعازيكم. لا نريد تعاطفكم الزائف. نطالب بتحركٍ فوريًّ لتشديد القوانين ضد العنف الجنسيّ”. هذا ما كُتِبَ على اللافتات التي حملها المتظاهرون في الهند احتجاجًا على حادثة الاغتصاب الجماعيّ التي تعرّضت لها فتاة هنديّة في حافلة عامة. في التفاصيل أنّ الفتاة الهنديّة، وهي طالبة جامعيّة تدرس العلاج الفيزيائي في إحدى جامعات نيودلهي، كانت قد استقلّت […]
Hideous Sexism – Pranks on National Television
DISCLAIMER: This article is not an attack on anybody in particular. This is a mere presentation of an opinion drawn after hearing about a prank. a�?Jerks in masks try to grab girls in the nighta�?. This is the way a friend of mine described a prank that was aired on national television. I searched for […]
What about Women Athletes?
I do not dance ballet. I do not knit or crochet. I do not wear red lipstick, nor high heels. I lift weights, heavy that is… During the day, you probably would find me running around my 3 boys, taking care of my husband, making sure that my house is clean, with food on the […]
Womanhood in Western Asia: A Journey to the Past
“In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world” (Nicholas D. Kristof, in Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide). In […]
What is Being a Woman in the Lebanese Society?
More often than not, when people speak of inequality of the sexes in Lebanon, they speak of women’s inferior salaries, of women’s inability to pass on the Lebanese nationality to their children, of women’s minor representation in the parliament…They discuss big titles; eye-catching ones. I won’t. I haven’t experienced those situations yet and shall wait […]
Nouns, Adjectives, Definitions and Expectations
This is not an opinion. This is a simple inquiry about the situation in Lebanon. Herea��s how I see things to take place: We have men who objectify women. We have women who do the same to fellow women. Then, we have men who insult and attack women. And, in contrast, we have women who […]
For Her & For Him
Ita��s cute when brands do a a�?For Hima�? and a�?For Hera�? ideas. This, though, becomes the focus of everybody around the holidays, any holiday, and could easily get out of line. In the traffic jam of Mount Lebanon and Beirut, drivers listen to music and look out their window. Ads all over the highway promote […]
What do I mean by Equality between Men and Women?
There are many challenges to be faced and overcome when living in Lebanon, including trying to answer questions that are not asked anymore in other societies, such as: ‘Is Feminism a movement of angry Lesbian women wanting to destroy men’s supremacy?’ or ‘Why are you fighting for equality? And what is equality anyways?’, ‘Isn’t it […]
The Lilith Myth and the Male Fear of Dominant/Equal Women
Following an interesting post by one of Red Lips High Heels authors, Night Shadow, I found a quite interesting analysis of the ‘Lilith Myth’, comparing it to the stories of Adam and Eve, and linking it to a patriarchal husband, a weak submissive wife, and a vindictive dominating ex-wife, while portraying the Male Fear of […]