Désigné par Rachid Benzine comme un des « nouveaux penseurs de l’Islam», Mohammad Arkoun était professeur émérite d’histoire de la pensée islamique à la Sorbonne (Paris-III) et directeur de la revue Arabica. Il faisait partie d’une mouvance d’érudits engagés depuis les années 60-70 à remettre en question la cristallisation de plusieurs types de discours (théologie, jurisprudence, exégèse…) de la […]
Author Archives: Red Lips High Heels
Causes of Divorce: Stop Blaming it on Women!
I am a Lebanese woman living in hell since I divorced. “Social hell” if I can label it this way… Lebanese society is of course diverse, still, its perception of divorced women is archaic and sexist. Women are usually blamed for a failed marriage: “she could have prevented it”, “she did not sacrifice enough”, “how […]
Rabia Al-Adawiyya,Iraqi Sufi and Poet: on Women's Spiritual Experience
Women’s spiritual experience has been suppressed through much of modern history – considering the historical credence given to the masculine perspective of the divine over the earthier, fleshy, relationship-centered perspective of the feminine – and is only now been recovered in its full richness: Julian of Norwich, England, the Ashanti women of Ghana, Lady Kasa of Japan, […]
My Journey with Plastic Surgery is Over!
I began this journey with physical embellishment in my early 20s with Rhinoplasty or the nose job. In my 30s: breast augmentation, liposuction and eyelid lifts. In my 40s, a vaginal wall repair surgery after delivering two babies. My husband wasn’t happy with a wider vagina. Is he happy today? Not at all… What have […]
Sex Trafficking in Lebanon
Sex trafficking is considered to be part of human trafficking or modern-day slavery. Up to 27 million people are living in slavery around the world: women and men, girls and boys, and their stories remind us of the kind of inhumane treatment we are capable of as human beings. In 2012, Lebanon was among the […]
Manipulation: How to Spot it and What to Do about it?
Who can honestly say that he-she never manipulated someone else in his-her life and/or has never been manipulated? Etymologically, manipulation (from ‘manipulation’ in French and ultimately from ‘manipulus’ in Latin) refer to: treating or operating with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means (but this is not the content i am pointing […]
Mémoire et Identité au Liban : de l’Exclusion à la Médiation
Vivant depuis 1999 entre le Liban et le Canada, je fais partie de la génération des enfants de la guerre du Liban en sa période la plus sanglante, étant née et ayant grandi dans son cadre. La mémoire chargée de souffrances et d’une quête incessante de survie, je cherche constamment un sens au tumulte de […]
Lebanese Women in Politics: between Actual and Muted Participation
Throughout history, women have often considered themselves as living in a male oriented society. Thus so, we find that most innovators in practically all fields happen to be men. Be it arts in its liberal or conventional forms, music, economy, religion ,science or philosophy, even war, men have always been the primary movers and shakers, […]
Women's Brains versus Men's Brains?
Biological deterministic approaches teach us about the differences between a woman’s brain and a man’s brain. However, new extensive researches in Neuroscience prove that major differences exist between individuals’ brains. “Brain plasticity” is the key concept to explore. It refers to the capacity of the nervous system to change its structure and, its function over a lifetime, […]
The Sultan's Harem (Harim el Sultan)
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 […]