I thought of it a while ago while reading fairy tales to my five year old daughter. Wolves, witches, monsters, princes and princesses living happily ever after, having 10 kids and more… I found myself twisting theses stories in order to be closer to our reality and context: 21st century C.E., Lebanon (Western Asia). Old […]
Author Archives: Red Lips High Heels
Women Living and Doing Dialogue
Defining Dialogue: The word Dialogue or Dialog comes from a Greek word: ‘dhialogos’ = dhia (through) and logos (word, speech): flowing-through meaning (not a monologue), or the word that is ‘heard’ (respected, taken into consideration, and leading to change/transformation). [quote style=”boxed”]“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”[/quote] Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese Monk, Activist […]
Etre Académicienne en Sciences Humaines au Liban: un Défi en Soi
Dans un pays – alias le Liban – où l’être humain est dispensable, où la compétence, le sens critique et la créativité sont remplacés par la ‘poche pleine’ et les services rendus aux ‘zaims’ (pseudo-leaders) ou par les zaims, que dire du regard posé sur les académiciens, notamment en sciences humaines et domaines afférents? Croyez-moi, […]
قدسية الجسد
يمكن تحديد عدة محاور للدراسة والمناقشة: وجود تنوع هائل في تحديد مصطلحات الجسد والقدسية في العالم وفي لبنان. تعدد مواقع السلطة في كيفية إستخدام الجسد في لبنان، وجود سلوكيات ومفاهيم وممارسات رائجة أصبحت طبيعية: الجسد مسودة ومشروع لمدى الحياة (مفهوم فرداني/ مفهوم قبلي)؛ الجراحة التجميلية/ الحمية الغذائية والأعراض النفسية والجسدية تناقض في الرسائل الإجتماعية الذي […]
De la Télévision et du Sexisme : le Cas de la Série Made in Lebanon ‘Ruby’
Une majorité de femmes libanaises a suivi religieusement pendant plusieurs semaines cette année la série télévisée ‘Ruby’ ou l’histoire d’une jeune femme issue d’un milieu défavorisé qui use de ses charmes et mensonges pour fuir la précarité. Voulant comprendre l’étrange attirance qu’exerce ce feuilleton Made in Lebanon, je me suis penchée sur quelques épisodes et […]
Family Honor and Women: an Unfinished Business
By Dr. PAMELA CHRABIEH and MARIANNE BADINE In many societies, family honor related to virginity became an outdated issue. However, in most Western Asian and North African cultures for example, horrific realities prevail. “Honor murders” occur in cities and villages, in poor neighborhoods and upper social classes. These murders are based on the belief that […]
About the Current Situations of Women in the Middle East
I have been following closely the “Uprising of Women in the Arab World” Facebook Campaign. 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 Religious circle of knowledge production, I can assure my […]
Une Guerre contre les Femmes au Moyen-Orient?
Selon une croyance répandue, l’humanité est passée d’un état de sauvagerie où les hommes des cavernes traînaient les femmes par les cheveux à une civilisation où ils leur ouvrent galamment les portes. Or, la réalité n’est pas faite de blanc ou noir, mais de zones grises… Je m’inspire ici du fameux ouvrage de Marylin French […]
The Revolution of Mentalities and the Appropriation of the Female body
Sustainable revolutions in the Middle East, and especially in the Arab World, begin with a revolution of mentalities, and the latter is based on many pillars, including the re-appropriation of the Female body. A body being in most cases oppressed, utilized, objectified, mutilated, excessively covered or uncovered… both for individual gratification and political/economical ends. Such violence […]
Marriage Laws in the Middle East
This article presents an introductory overview to the marriage legal system as it pertains to Women’s rights in the Middle East, especially in countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, where family law is based on interpretations of religious laws and a patriarchal system. Beyond being different, religious legal regimes concerning personal status […]