tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56151685966324603392024-03-14T04:50:18.915-04:00بالعافية - Bil3afyaStarting a conversation between the Maghreb and the Gulf.Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-32902157597422969172013-10-29T12:56:00.002-04:002013-10-29T12:56:49.802-04:00The Politics of Kissing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5x0oKat_7QI/Um_om2toETI/AAAAAAAAALM/C18lZ2sLLRw/s1600/teenage-moroccan-couple-arrested-for-kissing-in-facebook-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5x0oKat_7QI/Um_om2toETI/AAAAAAAAALM/C18lZ2sLLRw/s320/teenage-moroccan-couple-arrested-for-kissing-in-facebook-photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image that landed the teenagers from Nador in jail.]</td></tr>
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During the beginning of this month, two teenagers from the
northern city of Nador were <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/10/morocco-teenagers-arrested-for-facebook-kiss-201310420420832936.html">arrested</a>
for uploading an image of them kissing one another. The two teenagers and a
male friend, presumably the one who took the picture, face charges of “public
indecency.” After they were held in a juvenile detention center, the teenagers’
trial was postponed on 12 October 2013 until 22 November. The defense attorney <a href="http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/newsbriefs/general/2013/10/14/newsbrief-04">cited</a>
the pursuit of “an inquiry into the social circumstances of the teenagers” as
the reason for the trial’s delay. In reaction to the arrest of these teenagers,
a solidarity campaign entitled <a href="http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201310071934-0023091">#FreeBoussa</a>
was launched on social media. The campaign included images of couples kissing
one another and calls for a sit-in, which ended up <a href="http://www.france24.com/en/20131013-morocco-protest-stage-kiss-in-support-arrested-teens-picture-facebook-kissing-islam">taking
place</a> in Rabat on 12 October 2013.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Multiple layers embedded in this case and the reaction that
followed merits a deeper reading. Firstly, the arrest of these teenagers was,
first and foremost, a grave violation of their right of expression. With the
public prosecution citing laws relating to “public indecency,” it demonstrates the
role of the state in policing social norms and defining morals along
conservative lines. Secondly, the state’s role as the “social” police is
bolstered by its socioeconomic policies that have marginalized the Rif region,
where the arrest of these teenagers took place (specifically the city of
Nador). The relationship between the state and the inhabitants of the Rif
region, more so than the rest of Morocco, has been rife with a history of
violence, oppression, and deprivation—policies that emerged from under the
reign of Mohammed V, were strengthened under Hassan II, and solidified under
Mohammed VI. Thirdly, the solidarity campaign that grew in response to the
arrest of these teenagers has succeeded in gaining wider media attention and drawing
more scrutiny to the case. To the extent that it has it has acted as a societal
disruption, such as the public kiss-in that took place in Rabat, aspects of the
campaign uncritically embrace liberal views on individual freedoms. Such an
approach, which fails to address the fact that the arrest of these teenagers is
beyond the simple act of kissing, opens the window for more state oppression.</div>
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There is a familiar scene from the movie, <i>Marock</i>, directed by Laila Marrakechi.
The movie opens up with a scene of a young Moroccan couple kissing each other
in a car outside a nightclub. They are then interrupted by a police officer
asking the couple if they “think they are in Sweden.” In an authoritarian state
such as Morocco’s, which inherited a legal system from its decades as a French
protectorate, patriarchal and religious values are embedded into its legal
system. As such, moral policing is gratuitous. The norms of public decency tend
to include variables of class, gender, and sexuality. What might be acceptable
for an upper class heterosexual male to do shifts when this act involves a female
and is on public display. These norms are not applied flatly or
indiscriminately. We can discern that these teenagers arrested for uploading
that image of them kissing triggered the state’s moral policing arm on multiple
levels: 1) they were young, 2) they come from one of the most economically
marginalized regions in the country, and 3) both the male and female subjects
appear to be equally and voluntarily engaged in this act. The state would like
to put forth an image that this is simply about it wanting to correct the
“indecent” behavior of young adolescents. However, considering the above
factors, it is evident that this is more about the state’s enforcement of a set
of social norms for a specific class and region.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nador, one of the major cities in the Rif region, has been a
host to an ongoing repressive history. For a brief period in the 1930s, the Rif
region declared independence and established itself as a republic, only to face
a fierce bombardment from the Spanish. The historical memory of this massacre
that took place under the blessing of Mohammed V has soured ties between
inhabitants of the Rif region and the centralized state authority in Rabat.
When Hassan II spearheaded a series of power and capital consolidation during
his reign, the Rif region was not only economically marginalized with a poor
infrastructure and the least amount of public and private investments, but
protests against these policies always faced a violent police repression. This
was especially evident during the 1980s bread riots, in which Hassan II
infamously referred to the Riffian population as “savages.” Such treatment
toward the dissenting Riffian population remained in practice under Mohammed
VI. During the beginning of the 20 February Movement protests, many of the
violent reports of police repression emerged from the Rif region, including a
number of deaths. This brutal force was uniquely and almost consistently
deployed in this region for the first year of protests that took place in
Morocco starting February 2011. This sort of contextualization is important to
consider in light of the arrest of these teenagers from Nador. The state’s
legal response to the teenagers’ act injected a level of politicization that
revives the relationship between the state and the inhabitants of this region—a
relationship that is tainted with the state’s (sometimes violent) invasion into
quotidian practices. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In response to the arrest of these teenagers, a kiss-in was
organized to express solidarity and raise awareness of their case. The first
kiss-in was organized in Paris, and the next one was planned for Rabat. Despite
a relatively minimal turnout, the kiss-in that took place in Rabat succeeded in
disrupting the public scene and media. On the one hand, the scene of kissing
couples in Morocco’s capital city certainly served the shock and awe that media
seek for headlines and soundbites. The kiss-in also drew a violent response
from a notorious pro-regime thug usually present at 20 February Movement
protests in front of Parliament. Footage from the kiss-in showed this violent
individual hurling objects at participants, while also pushing and shoving
others. In the midst of his violent rage, he can be heard yelling, “This is an
Islamic country, you sons of whores!” His actions carried on without any police
intervention. On the other hand, in interviews and articles citing the
participants and organizers of this kiss-in, the reaction seemed to be driven
by a desire to simply respond to the regime’s narrative: that this is just
about a kiss. This response takes the regime’s narrative at face value and
embraces the fact that the arrest of these teenagers was simply a “violation of
their freedoms.” The kiss-in also failed to arouse a general sympathy toward
the victims, but instead, polarized reactions that focused on the kiss-in
rather than the structural factors that led to the arrest of the teenagers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While the teenagers await their trial in November, media
scrutiny on the case has added another level of external morality from the
general public that ironically adheres to the regime’s own narrative: either
kissing in public is indecent, or it is not. Such a response upholds the
regime’s own methodological approach centered on determining what kinds of
public behavior are or are not appropriate, a framework that the kiss-in traps
itself in. Disregarding the nuances that shape the relationship between the
regime and the uneven manner in which it imposes certain policies and views
upon its subjects legitimizes the regime’s position as a “moralizing” force.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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By Samia</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-54024260358887896862013-07-08T18:04:00.000-04:002013-07-08T18:04:51.055-04:00The Question of State-Feminism in the Gulf<div style="text-align: justify;">
The question of how the Arab uprisings have and will affect the lives and rights of women in the region is particularly significant in the Arab Gulf states.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Women in this part of the region find themselves faced with two challenges: the efficiency of state-driven feminism on one side, and their struggle to push for their rights in the public arena on the other. Both the state and social forces often fail to prioritise women's rights with the result that women are compelled to negotiate their rights within these two spheres.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In Kuwait, educated women of the upper and middle classes have fought for decades for their rights to vote and to run in parliamentary elections. In 2005, they were granted those political rights despite opposition from Islamists. Throughout their struggle, those activists recognised the state as their supporter.</div>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Elitist rights activists in Kuwait continue to reproduce a stereotypical image of feminism as a struggle for the rights of certain women. Female politicians and activists, until the Arab uprisings, had not campaigned for the rights of Kuwaiti women married to foreign men. They failed to highlight issues of women who are not educated, do not have jobs or come from marginalised and underprivileged groups. They continue to view gender equality in terms of having more official posts and power sharing. They do not ask how society can support these women while being dependent on the state.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
* Continue reading here: <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/women-in-the-gulf-must-work-to-win-their-own-rights#full">The National</a></div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-86423720494850032582013-07-04T21:12:00.000-04:002013-07-05T11:40:04.684-04:00Nabilla Benattia, the "French Kim Kardashian": Power Behind Popularity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was a simple expression:</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“Euh, allô! non, mais
allô, quoi. T'es une fille et t'as pas de shampooing? Allô. Allô! Je ne sais
pas, vous me recevez? T'es une fille, t'as pas de shampooing? C'est comme si je
dis: t'es une fille, t'as pas de cheveux.”</i></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<i>"Um, hello! No,
seriously, hello. You’re a girl and you don’t have shampoo? Hello. Hello! Can
you hear me? You’re a girl and you don’t have shampoo? It’s as if I say: you’re
a girl and you don’t have hair.”</i></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GN34GM_m5xc/UdYYq8ys4zI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/IQz4GH9SXxo/s400/tumblr_ml1fayvkFF1s5opcmo1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GN34GM_m5xc/UdYYq8ys4zI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/IQz4GH9SXxo/s400/tumblr_ml1fayvkFF1s5opcmo1_400.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Never mind her problematic assumption that the amount
of hair a person has determines their gender, or the now renowned phrase that
is splashed over French billboards and advertisements. Nabilla Benattia, a
popular French reality star, has even gone so far as to trademark the whole
phrase over its popularity. The perception of her character, which may or not
be scripted, along with her physical appearance, gender, and ethnicity
formulate a package that merit a critique of the nature of her popularity. Were
she not "exotic" looking (she is often referred to as the
"French Kim Kardashian"), with a name from the "bled," the
conditions of her popularity may have been different. Being a daughter of
an Algerian father, by default, she is subject to a set of
imposed norms that are framed by questions such as "What does an
Algerian woman look like?," "What does an Algerian woman act like?,"
"What does an Algerian woman believe?," and other rigid notions whose
scopes are limited to old binaries. These questions shape dominate perceptions,
as is evident through the highest searched terms in reference to Nabilla.</div>
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Reality Television
and (Mis)Representation<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The role of popular reality stars in the broader discourse
of identity and perception, and how power plays into the popularity of these
shows and characters is significant. Their popularity reflects widely held
beliefs among a general audience that spans several demographics and
generations. It becomes even more important to address their popularity when
these characters begin to hold a position in serious questions relating to
identity. The same discussions came up when reality shows like the Jersey Shore
and the Shahs of Sunset aired; both shows respectively stood in places of
serious discussions regarding Italian and Persian identities. When the stars
that emerge from these shows as popular celebrities begin to act as
representatives of a marginalized demographic, it becomes important to question
the conditions and context of both their popularity as well as reception. Take
for example Kim Kardashian, who Nabilla is often compared to, when she <a href="http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/17/221113.html">stated</a> on
Oprah that she was "proud" to "represent Middle Eastern women in
US society." Kim’s statement sparked a widespread
response that raised questions about who exactly is a
Middle Eastern woman in US society and whether Kim herself rightfully
falls into that demographic. Likewise, by default of her appearance, name, and
father’s ethnicity, Nabilla is tied to a community that faces marginalization
along multiple lines.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Power is a major factor that plays into the perception and
popularity of Nabilla in France. There are already sets of ideas associated
with her character in reality television given her nickname as the "French
Kim Kardashian." Those set of ideas are not simply related to her physical
appearance, which aside from the hair and skin tone, is really not that
similar. More specifically, those set of ideas relate to how Nabilla, like
Kim Kardashian, has used her body as a source of personal capital, which
in turn, prompts public interest. For example, Nabilla appears on the French
reality show, <i>Les Anges de la téléréalité 5</i>, in which each participant
chooses a "goal" to accomplish in the United States. Appointments and
meetings are then scheduled for them in order to bring them closer to their
careers or goals. Nabilla's career goal in the show is to be a "glamour
model." Her professional appointments are all centered on the public
display of her body in photo shoots and music videos. During the show,
participants are also given opportunities to meet popular American celebrities
who provide them with advice on "making it." It was no surprise
then that Kim Kardashian was one of the first celebrities the
participants encountered, and Nabilla's reaction to meeting Kim Kardashian
was even less surprising. During their encounter, Nabilla broke down in
tears and repeated how Kim Kardashian was "her role model" and
how she "wants to be just like her."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/eTO5-06w7Pk" width="460"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Footage from the episode when Nabilla met Kim Kardashian.</i><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pi9RiudP6Ws/UdYZUP49WOI/AAAAAAAAAKI/1KsxK5MfmpY/s400/tumblr_mnf48zbGcF1s96frho1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pi9RiudP6Ws/UdYZUP49WOI/AAAAAAAAAKI/1KsxK5MfmpY/s400/tumblr_mnf48zbGcF1s96frho1_400.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>A glimpse into Nabilla's reaction to meeting Kim Kardashian.</i></div>
<br /></div>
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Despite her Wikipedia page identifying her as a Swiss model,
the most popular search terms that come up when looking Nabilla up are
inquiries about her origins and religion. In multiple media appearances, she
has explained how she essentially has no relationship with her estranged
Algerian father, yet it is her "Algerian-ness" that is one of the
most commonly brought up topics. During an interview with French paper, <i><a href="http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2013/05/13/nabilla-gonflee_902606">Lib</a></i><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2013/05/13/nabilla-gonflee_902606" href="http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2013/05/13/nabilla-gonflee_902606" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px;">é</a></i><a href="http://www.liberation.fr/medias/2013/05/13/nabilla-gonflee_902606"><i>ration</i></a>, she addresses the relationship with her father and the
impact it had on her. She also speculates as to what her life would have been
had she been closer with her father. She, like so many others before her,
acknowledges the struggle in identity. She explains, "With a Muslim
father, a Christian mother, and a Jewish grand-mother, it was complicated.
Especially since all three are really into their own thing. On Friday, my
father eats couscous, there was no electricity at my grand-mother's, and my
mother goes to mass every Sunday." Her categorization of the three adheres
to dominant French perceptions and roles. The automatic association with a
Muslim being of Maghrebi descent, with the mention of eating couscous on Fridays,
reflects this perception. She further reinforces perceptions and roles as
defined by dominate narratives in France: "If I stayed with my father, I
have no idea where I'd be today. Making a tajine or even married?" Her
comments, while problematic, fit a set of ideas the multicultural discourse
shapes through notions of rigid identity. It would also serve well to question
the context in which her comments were made, whether they are simply a media
ploy for more attention or whether they are an indication of her detachment
from her Algerian identity embodied in a self-orientalization. And while she
raises points that have long been a topic of literature and knowledge
production in the francophone world, she brings these questions to the realm of
pop culture, where dissemination is far more widespread than in academia,
making these ideas more pervasive.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GWD7OM4XW0w/UdYY-lj_rCI/AAAAAAAAAKA/CnbUq_sPD6M/s400/tumblr_inline_mlx7tiGJC81qz4rgp.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GWD7OM4XW0w/UdYY-lj_rCI/AAAAAAAAAKA/CnbUq_sPD6M/s400/tumblr_inline_mlx7tiGJC81qz4rgp.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Nabilla and another one of her one-liners: "Honestly, I swagged myself out."</i></div>
</div>
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It is similar to the ideas that are behind the age-old
question: “Where are you from?” When the respondent replies with a “Here,”
there is a follow up question: “No, I mean, where are you really from?” The act
of inquiry projects definitions of what is or is not considered “being from
here,” wherever that may be. Moreover, the weight of privilege is usually
tilted in favor of the question’s poser. The ambiguity of Nabilla’s identity,
namely her “Algerian-ness” does not conform to dominant societal perceptions,
drawing further questioning as a basic Google search will demonstrate. When
searching her name in Google, the top results of terms already searched all pertain
to her origins, with one term inquiring about whether or not she is Moroccan.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jnZdYcZR_fg/UdYawDB4nTI/AAAAAAAAAKw/4aXrm1MzDIw/s486/Screen+Shot+2013-07-04+at+9.02.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jnZdYcZR_fg/UdYawDB4nTI/AAAAAAAAAKw/4aXrm1MzDIw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-04+at+9.02.16+PM.png" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>An example of the top search results when googling Nabilla.</i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is difficult to know where these questions are being searched the most,
however, it is an indication of how despite her detachment from her Algerian
identity, as well as her identification as a “Swiss model,” there is a desire
to question her identity even further. This desire could be rooted in an
inherent curiosity due to her racial ambiguity. This desire could also be
rooted in a marginalized Algerian, or more broadly speaking, a Maghrebi
community, based in France or Europe in general, seeking to recognize ethnic
ties with a heavily mediatized figure. That recognition can be two-fold: a
rejection or acceptance of that person’s ties to a certain community. There is
a sort of embedded nationalism that arises when a person of a marginalized
community gains notoriety in mainstream media. An example is the constant
evocation of French football star Zinedine Zidane’s Algerian heritage. His <a href="http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/blog/2006/12/13/feature-02">2006
visit</a> to Algeria illustrates that nationalism and how, in Zidane’s case,
became a political opportunity for the Algerian regime. Contrarily, if the
figure’s popularity is rooted in venues deemed problematic, there emerges a
sense of rejection and ridicule. Such was the case, for example, of Karima
El-Mahroug, the prostitute at the center of the scandal that engulfed former
Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. In nearly every report or article
detailing the scandal, Karima El-Mahroug was always identified as being
“Moroccan.” The rejection and disassociation among Moroccans was almost
immediate, with <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hB4ID2uGV8d4O3JH8gHOZkUP-zoA?docId=CNG.af49de8f8665f989c2942f4be97a9ed5.821">major
news agencies</a> even going to Karima’s hometown in Morocco to report on the
communal backlash. While Nabilla is neither a football star nor a prostitute at
the center of a political scandal, she wields a public presence that receives
widespread media coverage. And by virtue of her mixed background and the nature
of her popularity, the reception of her character is polarized, spanning from
adherents to detractors. The fact that her father is Algerian, her popularity
plays a role into the perception of what it means to be Algerian, whether or
not she self-identifies as such.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the same time, this desire to automatically tie her to a certain demographic is, in certain terms, a violation of her own agency. As she has previously mentioned, being raised with her Italian mother, her connection with "being Algerian" and "being Muslim" are minimal at best. Regardless of whether those desires to tie her to a demographic come from within the community or outside of it, central to that desire is a certain rigid representation that carries its own objectives. </div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<b>Objectification or
Appropriation?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nabilla's ideas of what an Algerian woman is, acts, and
believes merit their own critique. However, the main issue is how French media
uses her character and comments to impose a certain image. More
importantly, central to this image is the public display of her body, which has
been a source of forced objectification beyond her consent. The most recent
example of this is her <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2013/06/03/video-nabilla-canal-plus-chronique-stephane-de-groodt_n_3376775.html">appearance</a> on
Canal + with Belgian comedian, Stéphane De Groodt. During the initial minutes
of the show, De Groodt finds no qualms in fixating on her breasts, making
inappropriate puns about their appearance, while an uncomfortable Nabilla
shakes her head disapprovingly. Moreover, noting his privileged position as a
white male tilts the power dynamics considerably in this instance.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDWPqvsYWAc/UdYZksTeBcI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/I1W7v-xjsfY/s400/tumblr_mob2jxGphj1rymr5wo1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RDWPqvsYWAc/UdYZksTeBcI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/I1W7v-xjsfY/s400/tumblr_mob2jxGphj1rymr5wo1_400.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Double telephone this time. Allo.</i></div>
<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
The fixation on her body evokes a popular theme in
francophone Maghrebi literature: the female body as a host of identity
struggles. Few have covered this theme as extensively as Algerian francophone
novelist, Assia Djebar. Djebar's most popular works often placed a female
character as the central protagonist, pitting her against colonial hegemonic
forces and patriarchal norms. Djebar appropriates the orientalist obsession
with the female personage but counters that obsession with a focus on the
nuanced narratives of Algerian women--some of whom are real historical figures.
Specifically, Djebar's focus on the female body is a direct critique of both
imperialist narratives from abroad and patriarchal norms at home. One of the
best examples of how Djebar faces these powerful forces is in <i>La femme
sans sépulture</i>, where she characterizes herself as a journalist returning
to her hometown in Algeria in search of the remains of Algerian revolutionary,
Zoulikha Oudai. Central to the book's theme is bringing together the brutal
death and disappearance of Zoulikha's body with her existing memory that lives
on. The fixation on her body ends up being obsolete, as her remains are
never found. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a way, the public display of Nabilla's body involves the
confrontation of the same forces Djebar faces in her literature. One could
argue that Nabilla's pursuit of fame through the public display of her body is
an appropriation of society's fixation on the female form, especially in the
context of the power dynamics as a woman of Algerian descent gaining fame and notoriety
in France. Contrarily, the fixation on her physical appearance can also be seen
as sustaining the orientalist obsession with women from the colonized world.
Much literature has been produced examining the gender dynamics between the
colonizing power toward the colonized woman as an attempt to
"save" from seclusion and "empower" through pushing her
into the public sphere. Through this framework, Nabilla's popularity can be
interpreted as sustaining the status quo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLHbY1V4_a4/UdYZ2dfmu-I/AAAAAAAAAKY/qCPHLD36w-8/s400/tumblr_mlwu9pp9X81s3z408o1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MLHbY1V4_a4/UdYZ2dfmu-I/AAAAAAAAAKY/qCPHLD36w-8/s400/tumblr_mlwu9pp9X81s3z408o1_400.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Bah ouais.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Additionally, the media’s fixation on Nabilla’s body also
fits into a more general discourse in France that has centered on the bodies of
female Muslims. While I'm fully aware that Nabilla does not identify as Muslim, there is still a desire among general spectators to automatically tie her to being a Muslim by default of the aforementioned associations. Within this context, it is useful to bring up Maya Mikdashi's point that she <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/3208/waiting-for-alia">reminded</a>
us from a couple years ago: “The female body is […] a site of political control and
the regulation of patriarchal public morality.” The French government made it a
point that the policing of female Muslims’ body was a national priority when it
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1312016/Frances-Senate-bans-women-wearing-burka-public.html">banned</a>
the niqab in September 2010. Former president Nicolas Sarkozy crusaded on the
matter, referring to the niqab as a “walking coffin,” essentially reducing its
wearers to nonexistent corpses. The mainstream debate on both sides of the
argument simultaneously capitalized on the bodies of these women as well as
reducing them to tools for political gain. Because of the dominant perception
that ties Muslim women to Arab women and France’s colonial history in North
Africa and the Middle East, the nature of the debates that unfolded over this
matter revived an imperial hierarchy that placed the white European man above
the Muslim and/or Arab woman. And in order to legitimize the implementation of
this law, French lawmakers sought counsel from prominent Muslim men on the
matter, revealing the closeness in which the aforementioned imperial hierarchy
operates with “patriarchal morality” at the expense of Muslim women. Muslim
men, such as <a href="http://www.droitdesreligions.net/actualite/nouvelleactu/novembre_2009/003.htm">Dalil
Boubakeur</a>, the rector of the Paris Mosque, and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7053101/Paris-imam-backs-Frances-burqa-ban.html">Hassen
Chalghoumi</a>, an imam at a mosque in a Parisian suburb publicly expressed
support of the niqab ban. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nabilla has gained a certain notoriety that has transcended
French mainstream media and is present in francophone media in general. She
appears to attract an instant desire to critique, yet the critique is usually
centered on the superficiality of her character as a reality star. Nabilla,
like Kim Kardashian, has injected herself in discussions centered on identity.
And the demographic they have come to speak on behalf of in mainstream
media is a demographic that is increasingly marginalized by the same forces
that have made way for their respective popularities. Both Nabilla and Kim,
however, do not engage dominant narratives critically, and perhaps that
explains their popularity in mainstream media. Yet, at the same time, their
inclusion within the demographic should not be discounted. Kim Kardashian,
having an Armenian background and ties to a community that faced a brutal
genocide under the Ottomans, and Nabilla Benattia, having an Algerian
background that has also had to deal with a violent history as a result of
French colonialism, hold a place in pop culture. Their popularity offers an
opportunity to raise questions and draw critiques of identity, power, and
media, even if they are not the ones to initiate these discussions. The fact
that they have been able to penetrate the popular circles of mainstream media
in both their respective countries indicates there is a venue and potential
interest for having these discussions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
Or in other words:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N0d1il6IMlU/UdYaBpQRyyI/AAAAAAAAAKg/tNVRcTDudGs/s400/tumblr_mmmhwbZNoS1s3z408o1_400.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N0d1il6IMlU/UdYaBpQRyyI/AAAAAAAAAKg/tNVRcTDudGs/s400/tumblr_mmmhwbZNoS1s3z408o1_400.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-72953675998824559722013-06-17T18:31:00.000-04:002013-06-17T18:31:08.179-04:00The Gulf-Maghreb: Marginalizing Egypt and Empowering Militarism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AJyC0VM0uOI/Ub9P0p27zWI/AAAAAAAABKM/lrxW3JJnQH8/s1600/Gulf.+jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AJyC0VM0uOI/Ub9P0p27zWI/AAAAAAAABKM/lrxW3JJnQH8/s400/Gulf.+jpg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the illustration made by Gulf News for Sultan's column; <br />
notice out how Western-looking the Algerian dude is. yeah.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A week ago, UAE's commentator Sultan al-Qassemi wrote a <a href="http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/uae-s-algeria-outreach-means-more-than-just-business-1.1195786#.UbhHWY5yKrw.twitter">column </a>for <i>Gulf News</i> about the continuous cooperation between his country and Algeria. He illustrated several points in his article: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1) UAE is more invested in Algeria now for being in complete conflict with the Brotherhood ruling of Egypt<br />
2) Algeria's economy continues to grow </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
3) Algeria has the largest military budget in Africa </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
4) Algeria kicked the Islamists' asses. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
5) Algeria will be better soon if a [young man] gets elected <i>democratically</i>. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As some of you might have noticed, the column is bombarded with a problematic set of ideas, however, they tell us much about the Gulf's standing towards the Maghreb region. Following the Arab uprisings and the rapid changes the Arab world is going through (especially when it comes to the political power of Ikhwan, interior dissent, and foreign policies), Gulf regimes looked for the Maghreb region as their alternative answer considering the long history of the Western-backed military dictatorships of the Maghreb.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Replacing Egypt: Make Them Starve</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When Egyptians were protesting against Mubarak, the Saudi king was absolutely against the idea of Mubarak stepping down, and he speculated that other Arabs will be encouraged into politics and protests afterwards. The old dude was (fortunately) right. Other Gulf states (except for Qatar which explains its policies through <i>Al Jazeera</i>'s approaches) were hesitant and in fear for their buddy Mubarak. Nevertheless, they tried to put themselves together and step in the aftermath. They were not against the idea of giving loans and funds to Egypt up until (you guessed it right) Ikhwan came in power. Funding Egypt meant to fund Ikhwan, which meant to empower a regional movement of political Islam.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Does Egypt need that money? Unfortunately yes. The loose conditions that a country like Kuwait would put on such loans (which mostly Jordan wins) for Egypt are a much better option than the high interest rates imposed by Qatari loans or the terrible nightmare of the IMF. Already, Morsy has been going around asking for loans but no one is helping because of crises (Libya) or political stands (Gulf).<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Egypt is being punished for its political choices. If we assume hypothetically that Ikhwan get out of power, will the money come back to Egypt? It might come in good will from a country like Kuwait that is (thankfully) not interested in being a regional player but Saudi money and Qatari money will come in with hard conditions to fund certain groups or to demand restrictions over the popular political gains of the Egyptian peoples brought by the revolution.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify;">
In the UAE, there are Egyptians in jail accused of being Ikhwan. Egyptians around the Gulf are continuously harassed and now face more restrictions for being looked at as the fuel of revolts. Airports gave them a hard time throughout the year of 2011. Recently, the Egyptian community in the UAE tried to protect itself from UAE's sharp nails by releasing a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=608938309139076&set=a.177526718946906.37983.177371528962425&type=1&ref=nf">statement </a>denouncing Essam al-Erian's description of the UAE as "the land of devils." It is certainly ridiculous that a group would feel obliged to denounce the talk of a politician who is not even in an official post; this speaks volumes to how terrified those migrants feel in the Gulf.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bottom line, the Gulf countries are strangling Egypt, cracking down on Egyptian migrants, and now trying their best to use the Arab Spring to make Egypt as irrelevant as possible. In order to be an opponent of Saudi Arabia, Qatar will do its best to have the Ikhwan of Egypt in the driver's seat. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Binaries binaries binaries, motherfuckers not givin us a break. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>The Gulf as an Imperial Woman</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n33DtoM6Gqc/Ub9Vk9uX4CI/AAAAAAAABKc/it5vaCPcjvc/s1600/%D9%82%D9%81%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86+%D8%A7%D9%94%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n33DtoM6Gqc/Ub9Vk9uX4CI/AAAAAAAABKc/it5vaCPcjvc/s400/%D9%82%D9%81%D8%B7%D8%A7%D9%86+%D8%A7%D9%94%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85+6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wearing a Moroccan caftan and lifting the Moroccan flag. Nationalist crack. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I did not watch this shit called "Arab Idol" but I surely realize how it is keeping some millions busy at their homes. The UAE star Ahlam (who is by the way a nationalized Bahraini) is back to TV and press because of this TV show after having sucked so bad from one album to another. Her statements continue to blow my mind (we actually wrote a quick <a href="http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/2013/05/arab-idol-and-policing-identities.html">post </a>on this) and recently she became one of <a href="http://dostor.org/%D8%AB%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%81%D9%86/%D9%81%D9%86/208914-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%85%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A">the first</a> Gulf stars to sing in the partially state-funded Mawazine Music Festival of Morocco (which has been <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC4QtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-pVw7CrcIG0&ei=0Um_UfbRMbi-4AP5zYHoAg&usg=AFQjCNETjDSGnd3coaZmDw8UHhdDM6cO0Q&sig2=Iat9BRCiXkYrWwg6dJ_IHQ">protested </a>as a state-practice of corruption.)<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It should be understood that this invitation was not innocent. Recently, Moroccan press has been <a href="http://www.alkhaleej.ae/portal/89848b11-52c5-4572-9915-79b918313831.aspx">ass-kissing</a> Fatima Bint Mubarak (wife of UAE's ex-president and mother of crown prince Mohammed Bin Zayd) for building a hospital for cancer treatment, of course named after her (that's why it was built in the first place!)<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just the way privileged middle-class Khaliji women and those of the high class are used to brighten the image of the Gulf against criticism over gender policies, women are being used in some cases to deploy the new Gulf policy towards the Maghreb; your hot exoticized women come to serve masculine fantasies, and our women act on our behalf as missionaries and "cultural representatives."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Conferences are Evil!</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Check those two conferences jointly organized between the Gulf and Maghreb IN THE PAST FOUR WEEKS ALONE:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- The <a href="http://www.alsharq.net.sa/2013/05/31/852780">Third Meet-Up </a>for Gulf-Morocco investment in Tangier. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <a href="http://magharebia.com/en_GB/articles/awi/reportage/2013/05/24/reportage-01">Doha Security Symposium</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Qatar can really win the name of "capital of conferences." Smartly, all those looking for money to make conferences are welcomed in Qatar. It is a way to monitor discussions and to maintain political visibility. Those conferences are not innocent and should be questioned. Unfortunately many of the so called activists and journalists would not think twice before jumping on a plane to Doha.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
That aside, the Arab leaders, as good students of US war propaganda, are using Islamists as if they are the only political player. Regimes want everyone to think this is between them and Islamists. Then, with all the stereotypical imagination of Islamists, it becomes easy to expand on militarism. What Sultan mentioned about Algeria should be taken seriously. In that example, UAE will one day like to use the Algerian militarist experience for political oppression if needed. It doesn't matter that a civil war happened in Algeria, that corruption, oppression, and poverty drive thousands of Algerians running from their country, that this powerful militarism is backed by a terrified West and a fascist elite.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Do Not Give Up Yet</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All those projects illustrate a big part of our political and economic realities but we need to understand two points here:<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
1) There is much political action being done all around the region and those regimes continue to be surprised: how it goes in Syria, how powerful Tunisians can resist Ikhwan, how longer can the youth in Morocco protest neoliberal policies and PR campaigns, how Algerian politics might change, etc. The same goes for the Gulf: an opposition in Kuwait, a screwed-up economy and lack of stability in Bahrain, the accumulating debts of the UAE, and the oppressed protests around Saudi. I am not only talking about simple political protesting, but more...a continuous act of destabilization that those shitless-scared regimes are facing.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
2) The Gulf is not one and neither is the Maghreb. Although dictators surely bound to their interests but their conflicting approaches weaken them. Think of what Qatar wants, of what Saudi Arabia wants, and of what the UAE wants. Then think of how Kuwait is not playing much abroad, and how Oman and Bahrain are too busy inside to do anything else. The same applies to the Maghreb region.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Resist and Do Not Listen to Ahlam!<br />
<br />
By Mona Kareem</div>
</div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-70801834358885645912013-05-29T18:09:00.000-04:002013-05-29T18:09:50.940-04:00Raids on Gulf Migrants<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;">
In the past few weeks, 200,000 undocumented immigrants were deported from Saudi. Arrested in raids, left to sleep in the open air, piled in front of migration offices, and shown every kind of discrimination and abuse, those immigrants continue to be deported by the country that is home to King Abdullah’s Interfaith Dialogue Center.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Simultaneously, Kuwait follows its “big sister,” deporting hundreds in the past few weeks. Pictures of those migrants are taken without their permission, while policemen pose proudly as they fulfill their national duties. Racism is a living legacy in the Gulf, softened by Western powers and overlooked by media that would prefer to cover the story of a handsome man being deported from Saudi rather than those of the tens of thousands deported.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Below are pictures collected from the few reports available.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Sz9gEcHuE/UaZ8Ajgx8wI/AAAAAAAABI4/J934iUYOUJg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="206" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Sz9gEcHuE/UaZ8Ajgx8wI/AAAAAAAABI4/J934iUYOUJg/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">Mohammed is an undocumented Yemeni in Saudi Arabia showing his severe workplace injury. Source: </span><a href="http://www.yementimes.com/en/1678/report/2369/Saudi-Arabia-continues-to-deport-Yemeni-migrants.htm" style="color: #804000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Yemen Times</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">.<a name='more'></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Th3Pi1q2xoE/UaZ8IUYNvaI/AAAAAAAABJA/xVzyyo0A0eg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Th3Pi1q2xoE/UaZ8IUYNvaI/AAAAAAAABJA/xVzyyo0A0eg/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">In the western Yemeni town of Haradh, on the border with Saudi Arabia, Ethiopian migrants sleep out in the open near a transit center where they wait to be repatriated. Source: Reuters.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQ5kcoCMlEY/UaZ8NQ6fAgI/AAAAAAAABJI/-mmdz-U9IN4/s1600/3-.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TQ5kcoCMlEY/UaZ8NQ6fAgI/AAAAAAAABJI/-mmdz-U9IN4/s320/3-.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">Hundreds have been arrested and deported during recent Kuwaiti raids on undocumented migrants. Source: </span><a href="http://www.alaan.cc/pagedetails.asp?nid=142460&cid=48" style="color: #804000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>Alaan</i></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9aOWnirw5E/UaZ8Nl8cAbI/AAAAAAAABJM/O2O01yaUk7A/s1600/4-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K9aOWnirw5E/UaZ8Nl8cAbI/AAAAAAAABJM/O2O01yaUk7A/s320/4-.jpg" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">A screenshot of a report published on 22 May 2013 by Kuwait’s English newspaper </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">Kuwait Times</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">. The newspaper uses the verb “nets” to describe these arrests, dehumanizing the migrants. The security officers drag arrested migrants, reflecting how society applauds these forces and their actions.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYFIF0vc4iU/UaZ8Nb4sBKI/AAAAAAAABJQ/Uzov2AntSpM/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YYFIF0vc4iU/UaZ8Nb4sBKI/AAAAAAAABJQ/Uzov2AntSpM/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: start;">The same newspaper adopts the interior ministry’s rhetoric, calling undocumented migrants “violators.” The picture shows racial profiling in action in Kuwait as security forces are allowed to ask anyone for their identification cards</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– Kuwait has <a href="http://news.kuwaittimes.net/2013/05/19/hundreds-deported-for-traffic-offences/" style="color: #804000; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">deported</a> over 1,200 individuals for violating traffic rules in the past month. Kuwaitis are sick of traffic, so their parliament members are proposing a change of working hours. Restrictions on giving non-Kuwaitis drivers’ licenses are increasing. Deporting traffic violators is now a law.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– At healthcare facilities, Kuwait has designated specific hours for migrants and Kuwaitis. I guess it is easy for a Kuwaiti to wait in line with other Kuwaitis, just not with migrants because they are too many and “annoying”!</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– Arab intellectuals speak of Gulf money interfering in the post-uprising political reality in revolting countries. They speak of feeding Syria’s civil war, political Islam, and sectarianism. They need to speak of deportations of Arab workers, Africans, and many South Asians. They need to speak about those deported now while remembering the tens of thousands of Palestinians deported overnight after the second Gulf War or the Arab Shia deported overnight from the Gulf after the Bahraini uprising.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– Western academia should understand that the Gulf is the backbone of global capitalism, just the way they care to analyze and warn us about the implications of the rising Asian capitalism.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– Attention given to certain issues in the region should be questioned. This is one of the most shielded regions, with petrol, armies, and enough money to run media outlets and soften NGOs.</div>
<div style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
– If this was another world, or at least the world that existed two decades ago, we would be marching against racism in the Gulf the way people marched against apartheid in South Africa.</div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-88312417999655985582013-05-20T10:20:00.000-04:002013-05-20T10:20:11.933-04:00Arab Idol and Policing Identities
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dCUrpPBh7_k/UZowxKpM1sI/AAAAAAAAAJk/fgm0nqwgKP8/s1600/arab_idol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dCUrpPBh7_k/UZowxKpM1sI/AAAAAAAAAJk/fgm0nqwgKP8/s320/arab_idol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Popular
Emirati singer, Ahlam, also a judge on the Arab Idol singing show, made the
following </span><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/television/arab-idol-judge-ahlams-opinion-on-identity-stirs-controversy"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">comments</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> in
reference to a contestant's Kurdish identity: </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">I'm against when they
always say we support Morocco, we support Iraq, we support Syria, we support
the Khaleej ... But today, really, I want to send a message of love to Iraq ...
I'm against when Parwas's [contestant name] is written saying she is from
Kurdistan, because Kurdistan is part of Iraq and from today, I want you
[pointing at Parwas] name to be Parwas from Iraq and not from Kurdistan.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; text-align: justify;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
show itself showcases the musical talents of people from across the region.
Whether from Morocco or Iraq, all singers competing in the show sing in Arabic--meaning, the show is supposed to be a pan-Arabic show not a "pan-Arab" show.
However, clearly from the statement of Ahlam, we see how identities and language
are examined through media and entertainment industries in the region. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">A
Weapon of Racial Exclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Arab
Idol reflects multiple layers of the interconnectivity of pop culture and
politics. The show is broadcasted on the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC),
a company that was initially founded in London and whose headquarters later
moved to Dubai. Its owner is Waleed bin Ibrahim, a member of the Saudi royal
family through the marriage between his sister and the late King Fahd.
Considering the extent to which "private sector" and authoritarian
regimes operate so closely, especially as they are often sustainers of one
another through a close marriage of patronage, political loyalty, and nepotism,
MBC can hardly be called a private network.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a> <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Understanding
the network through this lens allows us to view Arab Idol as something beyond a
mere singing competition. Ahlam's comments are not simply hers--they are
positions propagated by hegemonic discourses that aren't confined to just
punditry, but play a major role in policy-making. The GCC regimes do not have
direct relations with Kurdish populations or statements on the Kurdish
struggle; when Saddam was supported by the Gulf rulers for his fight against
Iran, this made them make no comments on his massacre against the Kurds. The
same goes with their position towards events facing Kurds in Syria and Turkey.
For the Gulf regimes, Arabic and Arab are only understood as racial fronts for
their propaganda and power, specifically linked to tribalism. This is why
minorities and rebellious voices are criminalized by referring to them as not
Arabs or Arabized or race-traitors etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Singing against the Uprisings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">The
timing of these singing competitions also raises questions, which almost all
entirely sprung up around the time the uprisings began in the region-- they
have since multiplied. In addition to Arab Idol, which began in December 2011,
it was soon followed by The Voice (September 2012), and more recently X-Factor,
which was relaunched this year following about a 6-year hiatus. All these
singing competitions share a common factor in that funding and production is
supported by major Arab networks (either MBC or Rotana), whose majority
shareholders are Gulf-based businessmen with ties to the Saudi government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">Beyond
the fact that these singing competitions offer (mostly young) contestants a
shot of regional fame and money prizes, they have quickly become a platform for
nationalism and identity politics. Since participants come from across the
region, fan participation evolves into a brand of nationalism through the
process of voting in, for example. This inevitably opens the door for
co-optation through authoritarian politics, which was exemplified through the
success of Moroccan contestant, Dounia Batma. Upon her return to Morocco
following the completion of Arab Idol (in which she was as runner up), she was
seen singing the praises of King Mohammed VI, fans <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXDUKONpvIY">paraded</a> around her carrying
portraits of the king, and she quickly got an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lYgMgmQhKU">endorsement deal</a> with Morocco’s biggest telecom company, Maroc Telecom.
Billboards of her soon appeared in major roads throughout the country’s major
cities, and commercials featuring her in Maroc Telecom ads became frequent on
state media. She also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uwdmP8wNFQ">spoke</a> on Morocco's state run media channel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">There
is a history of Gulf money playing major political roles in the region. Lebanon
was a central example when TV channels or publications got their funding from
Saudi Arabia flooding the region with entertainment shows objectifying women.
Since then, those policies were not enough and now we see these music contests coming to serve the same policy in which
identity is used to create a hegemony over different populations while
emphasizing a hierarchy topped by the Gulf and imposing an orthodox understanding of
representation, identity, and art. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><i>By Mona and Samia</i></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-56738836718938474942013-03-13T10:18:00.001-04:002013-03-13T10:24:29.836-04:00"I Knew You Were Moroccan"There's unwanted attention because of gender. There's unwanted attention because the "pursuant" interprets the pursued's choice of dress as an invitation. There's sometimes unwanted attention because of race. And the list continues. I have personally experienced all of the above and wanted to add another one to the mix: unwanted attention because of nationality.<br />
<br />
When I began this blog with my friend Mona Kareem, it emerged out of a need to address stereotypes within our region, especially towards women. From the Maghreb to the Gulf, the stereotypes generated in these societies have unfortunately led to hate, violence, even state-imposed policies. My awareness of the stereotypes towards Moroccan women only heightened following my increased interaction with Arab men, whether it was for professional, academic, or social reasons. A recent (and very unwanted) experience only further exposed me to these stereotypes.<br />
<br />
The experience took place during a recent private and intimate reception, featuring one of the region's most prominent musical minds. My own interest in music stems from over 10 years of playing the viola. This artist had been a musical inspiration following my discovery of his work and I was very keen on listening to him perform. Given the small number at the event, conversing with him was super easy and before I knew it, we were discussing Arabic music over dinner. The conversation began with "I knew you were Moroccan from your first words." I, of course, would realize the implications of his discovery later.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
His interaction with me was initially verbal, and it evolved, but he was very comfortable in his skin--dipping a portion of his falafel into the hummus in my plate (I realize how sexual that sounds, but that's really what happend), grazing my arm, putting his number in my phone then calling himself from my number, etc. He gravitated towards me the whole evening, despite my attempts to cordially keep my distance. By the time the evening ended, I took advantage of everyone saying goodbye to him and leaving at the first instance. I woke up to a message the next morning, "Why didn't you say goodbye to me before leaving?"<br />
<br />
His advances may have been flattering had he not been a) married and b) noting at every moment that he had a hotel room. And yet, his messages continue (including today).<br />
<br />
He didn't care for my career, my interest in music, and our brief discussion in politics revealed that he was quite the monarchist, so that ended quickly. Yet, while there were other attractive women in the event, I couldn't help but trace back to his first sentence to me, "I knew you were Moroccan from your first words." It wasn't simply that he stated it as if he made a monumental discovery, but that he stated it with some sort of expectation...one that led to a bedroom in a hotel room. My experience left me reflecting on numerous things. How many possible ways did he sexualize my very being? It wasn't just that I was a young woman, but my nationality, ethnic origins, and heritage were enough reasons for him to step beyond cordial boundaries and into the realm of sexual harassment.<br />
<br />
We point to the human and sex trafficking that weaves Morocco into the rest of the region as a source of these stereotypes but I believe that the intersection of class, patriarchy, and power is the biggest to blame. Morocco, a country with the highest income inequalities in the region, has been the host of sweeping neoliberal economic policies that have made way for dire socioeconomic conditions. And it is women especially, who bare the brunt of these conditions, spanning from the public sphere to the confines of their homes. By virtue of the entrenched patriarchal norms in the region, women are automatically inferior to men. Add class to the mix, and that only lessens their position vis-a-vis men. Morocco certainly isn't known to be one of the wealthier countries in the region and this association sticks when it comes to stereotyping its women. Moreover, the inferiority is legitimized in the minds of men like this Arab artist, who find it so easy to approach a Moroccan woman, like myself, with inappropriate expectations.<br />
<br />
These stereotypes have a roots. We break them down by exposing their roots.<br />
<br />
--SamiaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-13444855442122042592013-02-10T12:36:00.001-05:002013-02-10T12:40:30.461-05:00The Fluidity of Gender in Francophone Maghrebi Literature<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DK7icseUQ6Q/URRtXQ9hV6I/AAAAAAAAAJM/h7saiuhDt74/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-02-07+at+10.13.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DK7icseUQ6Q/URRtXQ9hV6I/AAAAAAAAAJM/h7saiuhDt74/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-02-07+at+10.13.12+PM.png" width="233" /></a>The journey of self-discovery is a recurring theme in francophone
Maghrebi literature and film. Characters are often placed in a struggle against forces
in both French and Maghrebi society, where authors and directors evoke various themes through which characters define themselves. Despite the differences in how characters
choose to define themselves, the similarity they share is that these identities
are not rigid. They are fluid and are shaped by a multitude of factors that can be
traced to power and power contributes to perceptions and the day-to-day
experiences in these societies. One of the common ways characters embark on this journey of self-discovery is through gender. Two
characters who do this differently are Nina in <i>Garçon manqué</i> by Nina Bouraoui and Zahra in <i>La nuit sacrée </i>by Tahar ben Jelloun. Each of these characters
demonstrates the complexity of gender, the ways in which power shapes these
complexities, and how, throughout their evolution as characters, they flow
between identifying as male and female for different reasons. In both stories, gender remains central in their quest
to define themselves as individuals.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IU92ssJpJZ8/URRs1YMm4lI/AAAAAAAAAI8/R2rZzZHUU-o/s1600/ACH001220627.0.320x320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IU92ssJpJZ8/URRs1YMm4lI/AAAAAAAAAI8/R2rZzZHUU-o/s1600/ACH001220627.0.320x320.jpg" /></a>Before diving into the different ways Nina and Zahra
approach their identities through gender and how power plays a role in their
realities and experiences, these two characters share an important similarity.
Throughout both the book and the film, the characters do not maintain one
gender. They both, at different moments in the development of their respective
stories, identify both as male and female. Moreover, the evolution of their
characters and the progression of the plot centers on the change in their
self-identification. It is a central conflict for both characters. They also share a similarity regarding the terms of gender they choose to
define themselves with—a decision shaped by a combination of voluntary choices
and imposed definitions, whether from society or specific people in their
lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In Nina Bouraoui’s book, <i>Garçon
manqué</i>, Nina narrates her experiences as the child of an Algerian father
and a French mother. Nina must explore her identity in a world of "opposing dualities," as she frames it. Despite the fact that she was born in France, she grew up in
Algeria and a vast majority of her self-discovery took place in Algeria. Beyond
the conflicts she faces as a person of mixed origins, she finds refuge in the
creation of alternative identities that serve multiple objectives. At the
beginning, all the alternative identities, namely her identity as Ahmed, Brio,
and Steve, are all male. However, for the sake of concision, her alternative
identity as Ahmed will serve as the most relevant example in this context. One
of the reasons Nina creates this identity as Ahmed is due to the patriarchal
nature of Algerian society. Nina recognizes that men have the greatest amount of privilege and
she seeks to attain this privilege by identifying as male. While it may seem
that this decision is based on a voluntary choice, the powers in society rooted
in this dominant patriarchal narrative are what push her to make this decision.
Nina says, “I want to be a man. To be a man in Algeria means to become
invisible” (Bouraoui 37). She repeats this desire to attain masculine privilege
when she describes her childhood friend, Amine, who is male. She says, “His
body is what I desire” (Bouraoui 28). Through physical and psychological means,
Nina embarks on a path where she begins to discover herself as Ahmed.</div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: justify;">Zahra’s situation in Tahar Ben Jelloun’s film, </span><i style="text-align: justify;">La nuit sacrée</i><span style="text-align: justify;">, faces the subject of
gender in a different way. Zahra’s father, in an attempt to secure an heir for
his family business, decides to raise Zahra, his youngest daughter, as a son.
Zahra grows up with the name Ahmed, and that is the name given to her for the
entire first half of the film. Zahra, as Ahmed, entirely embraces this
masculine role imposed on her by her father by dressing as a man and acting as
a man as dictated by societal and traditional norms in the context of late
twentieth century Moroccan society. There are even moments when Zahra, as
Ahmed, imposes a certain hierarchy in the household, even in the presence of
the father. This is demonstrated through the way Zahra, as Ahmed, treats her
sisters and mother by making them cook and clean for her. There are also
instances where the dialogue between Zahra/Ahmed carries a heavy misogynistic
tone towards the female members of the household.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Certain conflicts arise when
the masculine identity of Ahmed clashes with the biological female identity of
Zahra. An example of this conflict is when Zahra/Ahmed begins her menstruation
cycle, an event that deals a heavy blow to the masculine side of her identity.
She responds by using violence and aggression as the means through which she
asserts her masculine identity. It is also a catalyst for her decision to
marry her female cousin, which becomes a redline for the family, even for the father who was the
person who initially imposed this masculine identity upon her. It becomes a
turning point for the story and Zahra/Ahmed’s path of self-discovery. In his
deathbed, the father’s last wish was for Zahra/Ahmed
to renounce her masculine identity and to fully embrace her identity as a
female, a wish that Zahra/Ahmed initially reacts to with anger. Eventually,
Zahra abandons her masculine identity and she ceremoniously buries the main
objects that were associated with her male identity in her father’s grave. She
then embarks on both a literal and psychological journey to discover her identity
as a female, which becomes the focus of the second half of the film.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
In both the contexts of the book and the film, gender is not
the only factor of these characters’ identities. Because of the postcolonial
context in both these stories, the self-discovery of the characters parallels
the self-discovery and emerging identities of these recently independent
countries. In <i>Garçon manqué</i>, for
example, Nina constantly evokes the fact that her existence comes from a
violent past: “I come from the war” (Bouraoui 32). Yet, in Nina’s own effort to
define herself, she also hosts a bigger struggle in the context of the
construction of a national identity. The use of female characters in the
narration and experience of this struggle is a recurrence, as Ilkkaracan argues:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="FR"> </span>“Concentrating on the
imagery of desire, eroticism, and male gaze in poetry, songs, plays, and
popular films […] the ‘sexual’ and women’s bodies have become a terrain of
projection in the construction of communal or national identity” (Ilkkaracan
764).<span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="FR">In both <i>La nuit sacrée</i> and <i>Garcon manqué</i>, </span>the characters are
born female and there is an emphasis on their initial identity as females. As they
matured, they undergo a conflict that centers on gender—a conflict that pushes
and pulls them back and forth between identifying as male and female. Yet, in
both stories, the characters complete their journey in self-discovery by
falling back on their identities as females. This evolving pattern also
parallels that of the countries where these stories took place: Morocco and
Algeria. Before French colonialism, they were a collection of land with inhabitants
in a certain location. In neither Morocco nor Algeria was there ever a uniform
“identity” that inclusively drew the whole population together, whether that
identity was based on ethnic, religious, linguistic, political, or social class
terms. However, during colonialism, there was a conflict that was driven by
exterior forces. Sometimes the conflict was violent and sometimes it was
political. Yet, powerful external forces shaped the conflict, like the conflict
Nina and Zahra faced. After colonialism, these countries were left to deal with
a process that required they come to terms with their previous struggle, which
involved the construction of a “national identity.”<span lang="FR"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="FR"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="FR">La nuit sacrée</span></i><span lang="FR"> </span>is especially interesting in the way
history and this gender-based struggle can be viewed through the lens of a
postcolonial struggle. <i>La nuit sacrée</i>,
as Hayes argues, is a “national
allegory that, by describing how a girl raised as a boy finally becomes a
woman, tie the search for gendered identity to the search for national identity”
(Hayes 556). This search and self-discovery that unfold during the film may not
immediately appear to be a political matter, but the political cannot be discounted from the history of
Zahra/Ahmed. Saunders also sees the connection, arguing, “Gender is a
colonization of the body by melding together the troubled gender identity of
its main character with the (de)colonization of Morocco” (Saunders 136). And in a similar war, this struggle and this
“colonization” unravel on the body and through the character of Zahra/Ahmed,
who was initially a female.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Gender cannot be removed from the
formula that brings together someone’s identity. It is a factor largely shaped
and influenced by its context and opposing forces rooted in power relations.
Nina and Zahra confront their respective contexts and societies with the audacity
and courage to reject nominal labels by choosing to define themselves on their own
terms. Their journey to self-discovery demonstrates the nuances in Maghrebi
society and depicts a profound commentary that steps beyond the rigid framework
of what dominant narratives have shaped the realities of Maghrebi women as.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="FR">Related:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<ul>
<li>Bouraoui, Nina. <i>Garçon
manqué</i>. Éditions Stock, 2001.</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">Dillman, Bradford.
Rev. of Queer Nations: Marginal
Sexualities in the Maghreb by Jarrod Hayes. </span><i style="text-indent: -0.5in;">The Journal of
Modern African Studies</i><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;"> Sept. 2001</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">Ilkkaracan,
Pinar. “Women, Sexuality, and Social
Change in the Middle East and the Maghreb.” </span><i style="text-indent: -0.5in;">Social Research</i><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;"> 69.3
(2002)</span></li>
<li><i style="text-indent: -0.5in;">La nuit sacrée</i><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">. Dir. Tahar Ben Jelloun.
Perf. Amina Annabi, Miguel Bosé, Maïté Nahyr, François Chattot, and Carole
Andronico. France 3 Cinéma, 1993. Film.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">Saunders,
Rebecca. “Decolonizing the Body: Gender, Nation, and Narration in Tahar Ben
Jelloun's ‘L'enfant de sable.’” </span><i style="text-indent: -0.5in;">Research in African Literatures</i><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;"> 37.4
(2006)</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-67038059261458902132013-02-04T22:53:00.000-05:002013-02-04T22:53:00.188-05:00Saudi Feminism In The Social Realm: In Defense of Personal Revolutions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgXf5Qo_MqU/URCBFQtWlOI/AAAAAAAAAIo/Ssdf5xl3s3M/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-02-04+at+10.48.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgXf5Qo_MqU/URCBFQtWlOI/AAAAAAAAAIo/Ssdf5xl3s3M/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-02-04+at+10.48.25+PM.png" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Image of Loujain al-Hathloul. Screenshot taken from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G57i42hg-IE">Youtube video</a>.]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>The following is a guest post written by Nora Abdulkarim. She tweets at <a href="https://twitter.com/ana3rabeya">@Ana3rabeya</a> and blogs at <a href="http://ana3rabeya.wordpress.com/">Ana3rabeya</a>.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.08019375734496448" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">“‘Cover
up, you woman!’, [they say]. But I won’t cover, and your trashy way of
offering religious advice won’t work with me”, proclaimed a Saudi woman
named Loujain al-Hathloul in a video posted on her “keek” account. She
then laughed, and began to show her “keek” followers various campus
buildings at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where she
studies French Literature. A day or two later, her video went viral
among general Twitter users. She is now the #1 top-viewed Saudi user on
"keek", and the #18 top-viewed user in All Countries</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>Understanding Authentic Acts & Defining “Personal Revolutions”</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I
admit; my first impression was that the video was juvenile, since it
wasn't exactly the most serious attempt to start a debate on the
interplay of societal pressure and religious practice. Many who are
mainly focused on the political dismissed her videos outright as just
reckless and pointless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">But,
I am reminded of an old conversation I once had, in which I was asked
simply, “why must every act have a point or a purpose in the grand
scheme of things?” I remember, I’d never thought of it that way before,
and soon came across Nietzsche’s warning against this same tendency in
understanding human affairs, “mistrust all systematizes and avoid them.
The will to a system is a lack of integrity”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">It
does make sense, when one thinks about it. In all honesty, who has not
had such frivolous moments? Who has not spontaneously poked at fire,
seeking the thrill of watching its sparks fly? Life would be a bore
without these bursts of valor, as silly as they may appear at first. As
Heraclitus, one of the first Ancient Greek philosophers to favor
rebellious thought, said, “Man is most nearly himself when he achieves
the seriousness of a child at play”. And so, in her playful seriousness,
Loujain was asserting her Self. And socially, even the smallest of such
authentic assertions can be considered personal revolutions.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now,
what do I mean by “personal revolutions”? I mean an assertion of Self
through choice of action, irrespective of its alignment with society. In
other words, I do not applaud Loujain’s act because she was uncovered
in a video, there is nothing intrinsically better about forgoing hijab
nor is there anything intrinsically worthy in defying society simply for
the sake of defying society. Rather, I support her “personal
revolution” in making a choice for herself, whatever it may be, and then
displaying this choice before others. And since appearing authentically
before others, such as individuals and more broadly society itself, is
especially difficult, as all that is typically encouraged is timid
obedience and homogeneity; that is why I deem any Self-made decision a
sort of personal revolt.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;"><b>The Range of Reactions to Loujain al-Hathloul's Videos</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">In
the case of Loujain al-Hathlou’s “personal revolution”, reactions have
ranged from harmless spoof videos, to the emergence of groupies and
admirers of her looks, while many others pass judgment on her, either
directly calling her a whore or at least insinuating it, and a few
others hold her responsible for smearing the image of Saudi women who
study abroad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">And
before the Orientalists get overly excited to cite her story as a case
of “conservatives of society versus Saudi women”, I will point to two
prominent, yet drastically different reactions of conservatives. The
first being a Saudi conservative who expressed his concern for Saudi
women abroad, and asked for a “print” on her, which I can only translate
to be a sort of societal background-check on Loujain and her family. He
then offered that his brother in Canada would marry her, most likely in
order to “fix” her supposedly immoral ways. This conservative was
hashtagged, and later deleted his Twitter account. Many felt he had gone
too far and some began arguing that it was no one’s business what she
does or does not do. The second, on the other hand, was a well-known
conservative named Shaik Twfeg al-Sayg who came to her defense in
stating, “a woman is not a whore for simply being openly uncovered and
beautified. It may be morally wrong, but this does not legitimize
speaking ill of her reputation”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The
harshest reaction, however, was a widely circulated response video in
which a Saudi man reiterated the most common issue any Saudi woman will
face in both the social and political realm: her reputation. He tells
Loujain, “do you know that you just lost your future?”, meaning, in
posting her videos while uncovered, she just lost social respect, any
prospect of marriage, and a “good life”. He went on to refer to her
self-worth vis-à-vis her dowry price: “Did you know that with your
niqab, you were worth 120,000 riyals. Now, you are worth 1400 or 1300
riyals--no more than an internet modem, 3 sticks of gum, and half a
water bottle”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another
video response was then posted by a man (it is unclear whether he is
Saudi or Kuwaiti), in which he shows himself throwing stacks of money
onto his car dashboard, claiming that he is ready to pay 1.4 Million
riyals as dowry to marry Loujain. I was perplexed by this last reaction,
was it a compliment that he was willing to pay such a high amount to
marry her? Frankly, even if he meant well, the imagery of his throwing
so much money onto a car dashboard was just too similar to throwing
money at a pole for me to find it as anything but derogatory.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>The Need to Revolt Against Restrictive Social Reputation & Materialized Self-Worth</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The
prevalent theme in negative reactions to Loujain al-Hathlol was those
that labeled her irreligious and morally corrupt. The subsequent focus
on her dowry emphasized how, as a tactic against Difference, a woman’s
worth and reputation is monetized, reduced to the material. I found it
appalling, and I think this illustrates how important it is that we
ought not take our political goals so seriously that we do not allow
space for social revolts to take place against, in this case, material
visualizations of women and their worth. I do not mean to say that every
political feminist must partake in these “personal revolutions” in the
social realm, but they ought to at least refrain from tearing down those
women who choose to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">From
my own observation and experience as a Saudi woman, each is born with a
theoretical price tag, i.e. social reputation, and an actual price tag,
i.e. her dowry amount. The higher the price, the more prestige and
self-worth she can claim for herself socially as a woman. The price is
initially dictated by arbitrary factors: what economic class she is born
into, the standing of her family name, and the degree of her natural
beauty, to name a few. These factors will in themselves allocate an
initial range for her price tag. The price will then go up or down based
on how she conducts herself in public and whether she decides to
maintain and/or improve her appearance. For this reason, public
appearances can sometimes take on a whole other, inauthentic dimension:
that of selling herself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">And
I understand the rationalization of some who view the dowry in more
rosy terms, as simply a symbolic gift from a new husband, or a practical
method to give a new wife initial financial independence. I personally
intend to accept no dowry, as I simply do not find these
rationalizations persuasive enough, nor do I wish to contribute to the
larger modern trend of materialization of human interactions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Needless
to say, growing up with this both imaginary and real price tag on you
that fluctuates based on how appear to others can be quite daunting.
Almost as daunting as the prospects of being pitied for the rest of your
life if no one accepts your price, and you end up a spinster. And so,
it takes real bravery to live against these ideals and upset society’s
norms. It is not an imagined feat; it takes courage to be accomplished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>"Personal Revolutions" As Self-Ownership & Rejection of Social Hypocrisy</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Like
most social issues in Saudi, this is not so much a moral vs. immoral
debate as it is a debate between the authentic vs. the hypocritical. In
my opinion, it was not Loujain’s decision to post the video that was of
any significance, since she could not have known that it would go viral.
Instead, it was that she did not disappear afterwards and kept posting
videos, despite the reactions received. This authentic ownership of self
and acts is noteworthy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">In
the subsequent videos she posted after the viral one, she proceeded to
confuse stereotypes about what a Muslim Saudi woman ought to do, as she
recited Quran while she was uncovered and emphasized that although she
didn't cover, she respected women who did. She even tweeted about her
father’s approval of her actions; further confusing some who thought her
family would “handle her” had they known she was posting videos online.
And while there may have been a hint of eurocentrism in a few of her
videos in which she flaunts her knowledge of the French language and in
her drawing comparison to the arts in “uplifted” European societies, she
balanced this by her being the head of her university’s Arab Students
Association, as she spoke in a few of her videos on future projects
planned with its Department of Middle Eastern Studies. This is at least
less self-hating than what so-called Saudi liberals who tend to utilize
righteous, Orientalist rhetoric when asserting their Selves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #000090; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The
negative reactions to Loujain's videos did not result from Saudi
society being uniquely conservative, as some might mistakenly
understand. Anyone familiar with it will know of the far from
conservative acts that occur away from the public eye. Rather, it
functions as any other society: it creates norms, and seeks to hold all
of its members to the unified standard of behavior these norms
perpetuate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Perhaps
what makes Saudi society feel different to Saudis is that these norms
are not often challenged openly, as it is simply easier to be done
quietly, resulting in what most Saudis know as social hypocrisy. This
also explains the recent rumors that Loujain al-Hathloul is of Indian
descent, since, as some in Saudi society like to pretend, nothing
different from the standard behavior could ever be committed by the
“actual” Saudis, and so the only solution to those troublesome Saudis
who are openly different is to simply deny that they are Saudi at all.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Identity
exclusion via intimidation and shame are common societal tactics to
force conformity. And yes, you may argue that one could avoid it by
simply conforming, and thus, if you chose to act differently, it is
“your own fault” in a sense. But, while it is true that one should
reasonably expect negative reactions from some judgmental types, it does
not make it feel anymore fair, or any less hurtful. I sympathize with
what Loujain al-Hathloul is experiencing, as her followers shot up from
around 11,000 to over 41,000 within a week, reading all that is being
said of her on Twitter, and even hearing her and her family discussed
briefly on a Rotana radio station.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve
recently spoken with other Saudi women who use their names and pictures
as avatars in Twitter. Those who write under their full name typically
chose to cover, due to either genuine religious choice or social
pressure. They explained that same sorts of moral judgments Loujain has
received are passed on them for not covering their face. But they
continue to do so, as their own sort of "personal revolution".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I,
too, have occasionally been criticized. I recall the moment a few of my
“friends” realized I did so on Twitter, by their reaction, you’d think
they’d just seen me in an x-rated movie! Or the time a few relatives
discovered I spoke on politics, oh the shock I caused. But it was only
once when I found myself in an only mildly similar situation to that of
Loujain. Seemingly out of the blue, I was in a conversation with a woman
who told me that a respectable Saudi family would never allow their son
to marry me because I was active on Twitter and used my own picture as
an avatar. It was only once that this happened, but it stuck with me. It
hurt to hear I was apparently not the "right kind of girl" and
supposedly failed to meet some virtuous criteria, and as a result found
myself wearing a Scarlet Letter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px;">The Political Relevance of 'Personal Revolutions'</b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes,
maneuvering the social realm can be just as much a challenge as the
political realm. And on a personal level, I realize that social revolts
can take just as much bravery that ought to be appreciated, not taunted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Every
Saudi woman ought to be able to define her womanhood and its relation
to morality and religion as she sees fit. And she must practice doing
this for herself while learning to disregard the little voice implanted
in her head by others that repeats, “you will ‘lose your future’ if you
choose to do this or that, rather than obey what we dictate to you”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">And
as she does this, political feminists ought not make it their aim to
decry these acts that may appear in the social realm by overriding them
as “untimely”, “inappropriate”, or, “bad for the cause”. For if
political feminists begin to demand that every woman who makes a public
appearance be on her “best behavior” at all times, than, frankly, they
have simply assumed the role of patriarchy over a fellow female. A
woman's ability to appear before others ought not hinge on what they
judge of her character.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Feminism
is about the right to choice: that each woman determine the meaning of
her own Womanhood, regardless of what social constructions may inform
her of her own identity. And political feminists ought to welcome this
choice when it manifests itself socially, rather than seek to impose
their own set of norms on how a woman “ought” to act publicly to advance
the political feminist goals. It is important that in our focus on
battling it out in the political realm, that we not belittle these
skirmishes that take place in the social realm. To each woman her own
revolution.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">“I
am proud to be a woman. I am proud of my identity. This is my face, and
this is my name, and these are all of my actions. They appear before
you all, hypocrisy is foreign to me. But I was born in a society that
only knows superficial virtue.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic;">--Loujain al-Hathloul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Links:</span><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/yasseralshmry/status/295091496196120576"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://twitter.com/yasseralshmry/status/295091496196120576</span></a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/LoujainHathloul/status/296734816165052416"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://twitter.com/LoujainHathloul/status/296734816165052416</span></a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/mazen_07/status/296164960239747072"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://twitter.com/mazen_07/status/296164960239747072</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G57i42hg-IE"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G57i42hg-IE</span></a><br />
<a href="http://cdn.keek.com/keek/video/bOeabab"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">http://cdn.keek.com/keek/video/bOeabab</span></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-39299498551311583412013-01-28T15:44:00.002-05:002013-01-28T15:44:16.489-05:00Madawi Al-Rasheed: Gulf States Co-opt Women's Mobilization and Replace it with State Feminism<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qarfxVy92SE/UQDSJSUuxCI/AAAAAAAABF0/oPQIuOFrvX0/s1600/madawi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qarfxVy92SE/UQDSJSUuxCI/AAAAAAAABF0/oPQIuOFrvX0/s400/madawi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Madawi Al-Rasheed - Picture from <i><a href="http://www.fria.nu/artikel/88120">Fria Tidningen</a></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Maghrebi women proved they are not
a homogeneous mass but are differentiated by class, education, and economic situation.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Saudi women have opted to bargain
with the state because they were not able to unionize.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><b style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Arab uprisings led to breaking the taboo of women in the
public sphere, demonstrating and asking for rights.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Saudi regime wants us to
believe that we only have a problem of women.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><b style="background-color: transparent; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I cannot accept that because I am a woman I am only allowed
to talk about women's issues.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.25in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">v<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Saudi youth need to learn lessons
from Tunisian youth about how to seek rights by action.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bil3afya: After the Arab Spring, how do you place women struggles in the
Gulf and Maghreb regions?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madawi Al-Rasheed: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Arab uprisings brought about the
well-known struggles of women in both the Gulf and the Maghreb that was
fermenting in the twentieth century. In the Maghreb, women were part of
national struggles for liberation throughout the anti-colonial struggles but
failed to gain rights after decolonization with the exception of some measures
under the discourse of modernization and nationalism. They were disappointed
with the patronage of male national elites and felt betrayed by the state
feminism that dominated the policies of many Maghreb governments. They
participated in the recent uprisings throughout North Africa from Cairo to
Rabat, moving beyond slogans that touch them as women to national politics, and
demonstrating the limits of state feminism under dictatorships. They proved
that they are not a homogenous mass but differentiated by class, education and
economic situation. They showed diversity in solutions they sought to improve
the conditions of the entire nation rather than simply one section of society.
They were Islamists, liberals and ideologically non-committed individuals who
simply wanted freedom, dignity and justice. After the success of the revolts,
they reverted back to their niches as activists grounded in one position, which
threatens to divide not only the cause of emancipation but also the nation
itself. I hope the opening of the political systems allows women of all
political persuasions to voice their dissent without the threat of arrest or
even death. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the Gulf, we have old examples of Kuwaiti
and Bahraini women being at the forefront of old national struggles and
emancipation. Unfortunately, governments in these countries managed to co-opt
women's mobilization and replace it with state feminism, which reflects the
move to making women more visible but without power to change their situation
and that of their society. Authoritarian rulers thought that a woman's face
give dictatorship a soft internationally appreciated look. Hence women were
appointed to high positions but without the whole nation having reached the
level of political representations and elected governments. In the Saudi
situation, women have been late comers to the struggle and unfortunately
because the government wanted to co-opt them they became a token for the
improvement of authoritarian rule. Women
in Saudi Arabia are weak at the level of organization as they are denied the
right to establish their own civil society, or women student associations,
trade unions or similar civil society. Also society still resists granting
women more rights. So in this situation, women have opted to bargain with the
state, accept the roles of the game and hope that they will have a window of
opportunity. Having said that, women are beginning to develop a consciousness
that is articulated in their writings, blogs, novels and other mediums. Some
women have participated in demonstrations seeking freedom and justice for
political prisoners. Like men, they have become targets and attacked and
imprisoned by security forces. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In general, the Arab uprisings led to breaking
the taboo of women in the public sphere demonstrating and asking for rights.
Women across the Arab world are sharing their experiences and images of revolt
that will spread this consciousness beyond national borders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bil3afya: The two regions are almost alien to each other; do you see
value in a shared dialogue?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madawi Al-Rasheed: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Maghreb and the Gulf have never been
alien to each other in old and recent times. Families from the Maghreb have
lived in the Hijaz for example for generations and people from the Gulf have
travelled to the Maghreb for years. The two regions have a lot in common but
also have many differences. These are social, linguistic and cultural, in
addition to the differences that were introduced by colonial powers, the French
in the Maghreb and the British and later Americans in the Gulf. While governments have their own reasons for
dialogue, mainly economic and security concerns, people also have their
interests revolving around economic opportunities, education, tourism, and
other shared interests. The remaining Arab countries without a serious Arab
Spring will have to get rid of the structures of authoritarian rule before they
can actually benefit from the opening of the public sphere in the post Arab
Spring countries. The exchanges are already taking place in conferences and intellectual
forums. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bil3afya: You always emphasize that a woman struggle in
"Saudi Arabia" cannot succeed if separated from the general
political struggle. Don't you see your approach problematic as it discourages women from stepping in?</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madawi Al-Rasheed: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Women will never get full recognition if
their struggle remains an isolated women's issue. No society can proceed with
all its people oppressed but with one half more oppressed than the other half.
The Saudi regime wants us to believe that we only have a problem of women but
in fact there is a serious problem with how both men and women are oppressed
and remain without political participation and formal representative
institutions. I cannot accept that because I am a woman I am only allowed to
talk about women's issues, which some Saudi women have accepted. This remains
their choice and their bargain with the oppressive regime. As I am abroad, I am
not under any pressure to reach a bargain with a regime that does not only
oppress me but oppress my brother, father, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bil3afya: Tell us some of your observations after your recent visits to
Tunisia and Morocco?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madawi Al-Rasheed: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">On my two visits to Tunisia and Morocco
recently, I noticed one troubling fact, the sheer number of young men and women
roaming the streets, sitting in cafes doing nothing apart from watching the
world go by. I am talking here about the economic situation which is really
bad. Unemployment is the enemy of youth and must be dealt with as soon as
possible. But at the same time, I saw defiant youth, proud and self-assured,
convinced of their ability to change their world by action. They deserve to be
proud unlike their counterparts in for example Saudi Arabia where consumption
and illusions have dominated their thinking and have led to them begging jobs
and waiting for royal largesses. Saudi youth need to learn lessons from Tunisian
youth about how to seek rights by action rather than simply from the luxury of
twitter on the IPAD. I am proud of other young men in Bahrain and Kuwait as
they proved to be political actors who cannot be fooled by royal promises. One
day, Saudi men and women will join them in celebrating their emancipation and
empowerment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bil3afya: What do you think of
the GCC's attempts to make a union of monarchies that includes Morocco and
Jordan?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Madawi Al-Rasheed: </span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gulf monarchies especially Saudi Arabia,
Bahrain and Kuwait must listen to their own people before staging the illusion of
unions that only serve security purposes. There is an Arab unity that the Arab
Spring enhanced at the level of society and youth culture but the governments
are so far behind as always. We will continue to be one people with diverse
cultures and social life but there is something beyond this diversity that
refuses to go away, a feeling of common destiny! It is this destiny and
brotherhood that makes me feel at home in Rabat, Tunis and Cairo. Dictators can
never take that away from us Arabs or even circle it as a fake union that may
not have real existence except among those who want to have solidarity against
the people and their struggles for a better life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-60056761990201825422013-01-23T14:05:00.000-05:002013-01-23T14:05:00.858-05:00In Morocco: Victims of Rape, Authoritarianism, Patriarchy, Class, and Power<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_348" style="background-color: whitesmoke; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: #333333; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 7px 10px 0px; max-width: 99%; outline: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; width: 192px;">
<a href="http://samiacharquaouia.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/amina-filali.png" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Amina Filali" class=" wp-image-348 " height="215" src="http://samiacharquaouia.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/amina-filali.png?w=182&h=215" style="border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 98%; padding: 0px;" width="182" /></a><br />
<div class="wp-caption-text" style="border: 0px; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 17px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 4px 8px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Amina Filali</div>
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<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
This is a sad recurring theme in the Moroccan This is a sad recurring theme in the Moroccan news cycle. How much commentary can one voice without slipping into redundancy? I recently translated the video testimony given by<a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/9592/raped-without-justice-and-without-hope" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nasma Naqash</a>, a young Moroccan domestic laborer who threw herself from the rooftop of an apartment building after suffering rape, rejection from her family, and depression. Just less than a year ago, the tragic suicide of <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/4854/young-women-demanding-justice-and-dignity_by-all-m" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Amina Filali</a>, a minor who was raped and forced into a marriage with her rapist, rocked headlines in Morocco and mobilized people across political, regional, and economic lines, collectively calling for justice and the removal of the disgusting article 475.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
I have to keep checking myself because it seems I’ve repeated these lines over and over again. I’ve read them over and over again. I hear them over and over again. And yet, injustice dominates. Just last week, it was reported that <a href="https://fr.lakome.com/index.php/politique/280-une-justice-au-service-des-puissants" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hassan Arif</a>, Moroccan parliament member, joyously paraded his “innocence” after he was acquitted of rape charges. And on the other side of the court bench, his victim, Malika Slimani, was faced with charges after refusing to entertain what she rightfully described as the lack of integrity of the case.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
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<a href="http://samiacharquaouia.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/screenshot2013-01-16at12-12-56pm.png" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Nasma Naqash" class=" wp-image-349 " height="161" src="http://samiacharquaouia.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/screenshot2013-01-16at12-12-56pm.png?w=227&h=161" style="border: 0px none; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 98%; padding: 0px;" width="227" /></a><br />
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Nasma Naqash</div>
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Nasma Naqash, Amina Filali, and Malika Slimani are not simply victims of sexual abuse–they are also victims of a political system marred by authoritarianism built upon the foundations of patriarchy, nepotism, and corruption. It’s not simply that they are women with underprivileged economic backgrounds, but that the state, as a source of dominant and unchecked power, is actively complicit in the violence and injustice inflicted upon these women. As an institution that enforced political economic policies based on the framework of neoliberalism and the remnants of colonialism that are heavily entrenched in domestic policy making–policies that triggered massive income inequalities and empowered a political-business elite that has played a major role in propping up the authoritarian state–this becomes a bigger problem than just a man escaping justice after committing a gender-based crime.</div>
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For this, I struggle finding the will to applaud recent <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/63005/World/Region/Morocco-might-scrap-disputed-rape-law-ministry.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">news that article 475</a> is in the process of being scrapped, the article cited in the case of Amina Filali that forced her into a marriage with her rapist. Removing this horrendous article from the legal process should not be the only measure taken to prevent these recurring cases. The law is only one of the forces these women are victims of.</div>
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*Originally posted on<a href="http://samiacharquaouia.wordpress.com/2013/01/21/in-morocco-victims-of-rape-authoritarianism-patriarchy-class-and-power/"> الشرقية في الغرب </a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-21401772005097262352013-01-21T19:17:00.000-05:002013-01-21T19:17:57.371-05:00It is Time for Gulf Colonialism<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, 'Nimbus Sans L', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: justify;">During a period when European colonialism was met with armed resistance, Algerian-born French writer Albert Camus’ suggestion that an Arab colonialism replace the French one was controversial. From a different angle, the idea of replacing one system with another is now legitimate after the Arab Spring. The differences in the comparison are considerable, but the point is the same: revolting nations are not interested in exchanging their dictators for Gulf-funded governments the way colonialism was replaced with authoritarian states.</span><br />
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In a past <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/subaltern/what-qatar-hiding-0" style="color: #804000; text-decoration: initial;" target="_blank">post</a>, I spoke of the new Qatar being a mysterious country funding political Islam in the region after the Arab Spring. Several readers were bothered by the questions asked, but did not note that the whole idea of the post was to raise questions about a closed country turning revolutions into political and economic investments, its tools being a media network, an ambiguous foreign policy, and huge projects that seem too massive and unnecessary.</div>
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Qatar’s role has been underestimated, but now, its dominance is a reality that can no longer be ignored.</div>
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For decades, the Wahabi project in Saudi Arabia has been the subject of academic focus. The role of the kingdom is evident in funding Islamist movements and supporting regimes that do not clash with their interests. The Palestinian Authority, the Bahraini regime, and Yemen’s former president Saleh are a few of the many benefactors of the Saudi project.<br />
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The birth of Qatar as a regional power does has produced a power struggle with Saudi Arabia, with Qatar seen as an intimidating force in the manner of Iran.</div>
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With sectarianism successfully taking hold in the Gulf after the Bahraini revolution, Iran was portrayed as possessing grand powers. Saudi Arabia was never going to give importance to its opponent, but now that a ‘foreign monster’ is needed to keep the people silent, Iran is depicted as being all-powerful.</div>
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On the other hand, Iran is making use of this image to keep the focus away from the voices speaking out against a theocratic dictatorship. Qatar, however, is playing wisely with both opponents.</div>
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Around the Arab world, Islamist groups are accused of being supported by one of those three powers: Muslim Brotherhood by Qatar, Salafis by Saudi Arabia, and the Shia by Iran. I see these Islamist movements having a short life. They have no flexibility or experience in running a state. They came with the mentality of the opposition that was silenced by dictators, but in few months played all their cards. By speaking of their past struggles, Islamists are no longer able to manipulate the people simply because people are more in need of an immediate change in their life conditions.</div>
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Ruling a country like Egypt or Tunisia is not easy and it is surely not easier after the revolutions and the sudden political and economic shifts of the past two years. With Egypt decentralized, Qatar has more space to play, especially alongside Brotherhood regimes. Yet this power can fail too.</div>
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Gulf money is attempting to manipulate the region and control the region’s revolutions before they hit home. Gulf money is playing the game of political Islam. Is this the right investment? The ongoing examples tell us it is not. Qatar and Saudi Arabia are in the game of neo-colonialism, but they do not see how quickly the shifts are happening; they do not realize that they are betting on one horse instead of investing in long-term relations with the revolting countries. The Pan-Arabist project was gone soon after European colonialism, and Gulf colonialism will fail soon with those puppet governments climbing to the chairs of power.</div>
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* Published in <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/subaltern/it-time-gulf-colonialism">AlAkhbar</a></div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-80662441766616408682013-01-14T17:33:00.000-05:002013-01-14T17:40:45.771-05:00Dialogue Over Stereotypes - Sultan Al-Qassemi<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">[</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/search/label/Dialogue%20Over%20Stereotypes">Dialogue Over Stereotypes</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> is an ongoing series intended to highlight the realities and issues faced by women in the Maghreb and the Gulf. The series seeks to break down stereotypes shaped by misperceptions of women from these two regions by engaging locals. For comments or suggestions, email bil3afya@gmail.com]</span></span><br />
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<b>Bil3afya:
There are the common stereotypes and perceptions of Maghrebi women,
specifically Moroccan women, in the region. In what ways are these views
present in the UAE?</b><br />
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<b>Sultan Al-Qassemi</b>: Unfortunately the perception of Moroccan women
in the Gulf veers towards the negative. This is largely to stereotyping and
ignorance on the part of the Gulf Arabs who have fell into the same racism trap
they accuse others of having.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Some in Morocco perpetuate this negative
perception as well. Last year the actress Bouchra Ijork caused a firestorm when
she stated that Moroccan women in the Gulf are ambassadors of “<a href="http://hespress.com/art-et-culture/62816.html">humiliation and debasement</a>” and
that “there aren’t any doctors and engineers amongst them”. Immediately scores
of successful expatriate Moroccan women living in the Gulf issued a joint <a href="http://hespress.com/marocains-du-monde/62674.html">statement
denouncing</a> her comments. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Many UAE ruling family members are said to have
taken Moroccan wives, but I am not sure if that has perpetuated the stereotype
or soothed it.</div>
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<b>Bil3afya:
Can you discuss the use of these perceptions as tools in the general political
discourse, especially with regard to Islamist party members?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Sultan Al-Qassemi</b>: There are no official Islamist parties in the
Gulf save for Islamist blocs in Bahrain and Kuwait.<br />
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<b>Bil3afya:
What were your initial reactions and thoughts to the prospects of Morocco
joining the GCC?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Sultan Al-Qassemi</b>: I did not see the logic behind bringing Morocco
in to the GCC other than it being a monarchy. I discuss the issue in greater
detail in <a href="http://gulfnews.com/opinions/an-expanded-gcc-challenges-and-opportunities-1.806181">this post</a> written
a few hours after the announcement. Morocco may have scored points with the
Gulf States that are heavily skeptical of Iran after it <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2009/03/2009370303221419.html">broke
ties</a> with the Islamic Republic in 2009.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Bil3afya:
You’ve written about the growing ties between the Arab monarchies. It’s
understood that Morocco can economically benefit from these ties with the Gulf
monarchies, but how do you see the Gulf monarchies benefiting from closer
relations with Morocco? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Sultan Al-Qassem: </b>Now that Egypt has gone the route of an
Islamist government it is no longer the ally that some Gulf States considered
it to be during the Mubarak era. Perhaps some in the Gulf may want to replace
the military alliance that existed with Egypt with one that includes Morocco
and perhaps Jordan as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Bil3afya:
With your interest in art, do you see any common or recurring themes in
Maghrebi and Gulf art, especially with the depiction of women?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Sultan Al-Qassemi:</b> In both Morocco and the Gulf states women
produce some of the bravest and best contemporary art. Yto Barrada and Lalla
Essaydi are great examples from Morrocco and Manal Al Dowayan, Lamya Gargash are
examples of the many artists from Saudi and the UAE respectively. The common
themes vary from the perception of women, their roles in society to non-female
centric themes of economic development, our relationship with nature and
poverty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-62979124868240839022012-12-04T23:32:00.000-05:002012-12-04T23:32:04.936-05:00Top 10 English Sites on the MaghrebOne of the most common comments I hear as a student of Middle East studies is "WHERE'S THE ENGLISH LITERATURE ON THE MAGHREB!?" There is certainly a gap in anglophone literature and knowledge production in/on the Maghreb, but that gap is slowly closing. The following is a list of top 10 sites, mostly written in English, on the Maghreb. This is not an exhaustive list and there are certainly other great sources for information on the Maghreb. Though the ones listed below were selected on the basis of their frequency in publishing material, that indigenous voices native to the Maghreb and/or voices based in the Maghreb are involved in the publishing process, and that there is an effort to inform outside audiences by posting in English.<br />
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<a href="http://maghreb.jadaliyya.com/">Jadaliyya Maghreb Page</a> (full disclosure, I'm a co-editor)</div>
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<a href="https://www.mamfakinch.com/categories/english/">Mamfakinch English section</a> (full disclosure, I'm also on the team)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UjCjA8QpSfU/UL5X1YdtYdI/AAAAAAAAAG8/6c5A65Sp3so/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.06.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UjCjA8QpSfU/UL5X1YdtYdI/AAAAAAAAAG8/6c5A65Sp3so/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.06.35+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://themoornextdoor.wordpress.com/">The Moor Next Door</a></div>
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<a href="http://dekhnstan.wordpress.com/">Dekhnstan</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.kifahlibya.com/">Kifah Libya</a></div>
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<a href="http://nawaat.org/portail/tag/english-biblio/">Nawaat English section</a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B8rTFwBb10Q/UL5a4C46K1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/Lpprt3BXLmM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.18.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B8rTFwBb10Q/UL5a4C46K1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/Lpprt3BXLmM/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.18.50+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tunisia-live.net/">Tunisia Live</a></div>
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<a href="http://maghreblog.blogspot.com/">Maghreblog</a></div>
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<a href="http://rue20.com/english/">Rue20</a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-59L22-pOLJs/UL5hujJqsqI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/xMeJ3YA3Ffg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.48.39+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-59L22-pOLJs/UL5hujJqsqI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/xMeJ3YA3Ffg/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-12-04+at+3.48.39+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://ibnkafkasobiterdicta.wordpress.com/">Ibn Kafka</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-54324428618423259832012-11-30T16:12:00.000-05:002012-12-04T01:19:55.510-05:00Top 10 Political Blogs from the GulfSince blogging has been a great way to be informed about what is happening elsewhere, I am suggesting these blogs for readers from outside the Gulf to follow. These might help you form a better understanding about the contemporary reality in the Gulf. There are other blogs that are famous but not included mostly because they are inactive, and thus, not as helpful.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Oman</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://ayshaalsaifi.blogspot.com/">Freedom for the price of bread</a> - Aisha Al-Saifi مدونة "<a href="http://ayshaalsaifi.blogspot.com/">حرية بثمن الخبز</a>" للعمانية عايشة السيفي</b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>UAE</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SKQpD-zV17I/ULau0S0G7qI/AAAAAAAABDI/dowGP1O4U3U/s1600/mansour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="217" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SKQpD-zV17I/ULau0S0G7qI/AAAAAAAABDI/dowGP1O4U3U/s400/mansour.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://emarati.katib.org/">Emirati Citizen</a> - Ahmed Mansour <a href="http://emarati.katib.org/">مواطن مغلوب على أمره </a>- أحمد منصور</b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tMPzBCdlVCY/ULavTLF9CjI/AAAAAAAABDQ/ZGTbXkfFRiw/s1600/khalifa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="311" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tMPzBCdlVCY/ULavTLF9CjI/AAAAAAAABDQ/ZGTbXkfFRiw/s400/khalifa.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://kalnuaimi.wordpress.com/">Khalifa AlNuaimi - خليفة النعيمي</a> </b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Kuwait</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yoaW5Mu8SBo/ULav3Ko415I/AAAAAAAABDY/7UF51br7TcU/s1600/dahem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yoaW5Mu8SBo/ULav3Ko415I/AAAAAAAABDY/7UF51br7TcU/s400/dahem.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://kkuwait.blogspot.com/">داهم القحطاني - Dahem Al-Qahtan</a>i</b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lszXuAZsg1c/ULawZ2NjBuI/AAAAAAAABDg/2nW7QWY78RE/s1600/ziadi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="342" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lszXuAZsg1c/ULawZ2NjBuI/AAAAAAAABDg/2nW7QWY78RE/s400/ziadi.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://alziadiq8.com/">AlZiadi Blog - مدونة الزيادي</a></b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Bahrain </b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2_DZbJioC9M/ULaxE9bCKmI/AAAAAAAABDo/ooI99iourx8/s1600/mahmoud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="291" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2_DZbJioC9M/ULaxE9bCKmI/AAAAAAAABDo/ooI99iourx8/s400/mahmoud.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://mahmood.tv/">Mahmood's den - مدونة محمود</a></b></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-42LvMjnM93o/ULaxPyFdf8I/AAAAAAAABDw/RVa8uPcG5SU/s1600/chanada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-42LvMjnM93o/ULaxPyFdf8I/AAAAAAAABDw/RVa8uPcG5SU/s400/chanada.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://chanad.posterous.com/">Chan'ad Bahrain - جنعد البحريني</a></b></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Saudi Arabia</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qtr2DEmqhw/ULax3m-5ysI/AAAAAAAABD4/4m_fokj4Hq4/s1600/mqaal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--qtr2DEmqhw/ULax3m-5ysI/AAAAAAAABD4/4m_fokj4Hq4/s400/mqaal.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://www.almqaal.com/">Almqaal المقال</a></b></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rE75JPwMNjw/ULayBTCJ0XI/AAAAAAAABEA/U764iLS00s8/s1600/saudi+jeans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="285" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rE75JPwMNjw/ULayBTCJ0XI/AAAAAAAABEA/U764iLS00s8/s400/saudi+jeans.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://saudijeans.org/">Saudi Jeansجينز سعودي</a> </b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b_EEsDxHBoc/ULayZqhJExI/AAAAAAAABEQ/R_XWGdzjwpE/s1600/green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><b><img border="0" height="297" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b_EEsDxHBoc/ULayZqhJExI/AAAAAAAABEQ/R_XWGdzjwpE/s400/green.jpg" width="400" /></b></a></div>
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<b>- <a href="http://tradalasmari.com/">Green Dream حلم أخضر</a></b></div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-17641505276922508942012-11-27T12:53:00.001-05:002012-12-03T23:41:44.344-05:00Dialogue Over Stereotypes - Lina Ben Mhenni[<i>Dialogue Over Stereotypes</i> is an ongoing series intended to highlight the realities and issues faced by women in the Maghreb and the Gulf. The series seeks to break down stereotypes shaped by misperceptions of women from these two regions. For comments or suggestions, email bil3afya@gmail.com]<br />
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The following is an interview conducted by <i>Bil3afya</i> co-founder, Samia Errazzouki, with Tunisian blogger, Lina Ben Mhenni. It was originally <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/7859/the-tunisian-revolution-continues_an-interview-wit">published on <i>Jadaliyya</i></a><i>.</i><br />
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<b>Samia Errazzouki (SE): Regarding the drafting of the new constitution, as a Tunisian woman, how do you respond to the proposed article 28 that defines women as complements of men? </b><br />
<b>Lina Ben Mhenni (LBM):</b> The attacks against women, freedom, and human rights continue to multiply in Tunisia. And unfortunately, these attacks are coming mostly from the Tunisian government. This article 28 that discusses women in complementary terms to men instead of equal terms is revolting. I ended up protesting against this article on the streets during an unauthorized demonstration and ten policemen beat me. If I could do it again, I would, because in all the internationally recognized charters that speak of human rights, they always address the relationship between men and women in equal terms. Complementarity, as a term, is large and fluid--each individual can interpret it differently. What is the government seeking to achieve or prevent by using complementarity to define the relationship between men and women, instead of equality? Why make detours to avoid being honest?<br />
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<b>SE: After a Tunisian woman was raped, then consequently charged with indecency, what was your reaction to the Tunisian government response? </b><br />
<b>LBM:</b> Every time this incident comes up, I get goose bumps. I am truly shocked and disgusted by the government’s reaction. Here we have a woman who was raped by police officers--officers who are supposed to ensure security and protect citizens. Instead of taking care of the woman by providing either physical or psychological help, she was instead accused of committing a crime. They said they found her in an “indecent situation.” But even if she was found in an “indecent situation,” that does not justify the act of rape. It is not an excuse. I was truly shocked to hear this reaction of the spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior.<br />
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<b>SE: What measures have been taken by activists and movements to continue placing pressure on the new government, and to push for change in Tunisia? </b><br />
<b>LBM:</b> Like I previously said, we can deduct that despite the fact that this is an elected government, nothing has been done to construct a real democracy in Tunisia. A government that justifies rape is shameful. For me, it is no longer legal. Even if this government was democratically elected, it is not legal. What this demonstrates is that this government is incompetent and no measures have been set in place to address, for example, the socioeconomic conditions in Tunisia that continue to worsen. They are incompetent; they attack individual liberties and human rights. Recently, they even refused to include the matter of human rights in the constitution.<br />
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<b>SE: What have you done to continue demanding for the initial causes of the uprising? </b><br />
<b>LBM: </b>As a blogger, it is important for me that we first talk and discuss these matters. Then, march on the streets to demonstrate and continue placing pressure. Anytime there is a major issue, I try to go on the streets, talk to people, and to report all of this. I try to be objective, and when it is time to demonstrate on the streets, I am there to do so.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-14586611686734874462012-10-05T14:34:00.001-04:002012-12-03T23:42:06.391-05:00Maghrebi Women in Art<div style="text-align: justify;">
The artistic depiction of Maghrebi women has been skewed, hijacked, misrepresented, bastardized, exoticized, and everything in between. Orientalist art conjured up scenes of harems, women in baths, lavish sitting areas--this artistic portrayal went beyond just illustrating the artists' imaginations, but it set a standard and fed into a narrative that defined women from the region in terms of their space. This space illustrated in Orientalist art sought to sexualize that women lived in and the space that they embodied. Even the practice of veiling, which has evolved in meaning and purpose throughout the centuries, was sexualized through the art. Below are some classic images of Orientalist art:</div>
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While Orientalist art has been deconstructed theoretically, most notably by Edward Said, two contemporary Moroccan artists have challenged these depictions in their own way. </div>
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Lalla Essaydi is a Moroccan-born artist whose work has gained prominence throughout the world. I <a href="http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5569/artistic-depictions-of-arab-women_an-interview-wit">interviewed her a few months ago on Jadaliyya</a>, and she brought up the role Orientalist art played in her work: </div>
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<i>"My work reaches beyond Islamic culture to include the Western fascination, which we see so powerfully in painting, with the odalisque, the veil, and the harem. It’s obvious to anyone who cares to look that images of the harem and odalisque are still pervasive today, and I am using the female body to complicate assumptions and disrupt the Orientalist gaze. I want the viewer to become aware of Orientalism as a projection of the sexual fantasies of Western male artists, in other words, as a voyeuristic tradition, which involves peering into and distorting private space."</i></div>
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She also adds:<br />
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<i>"By invoking the Orientalist tradition in a way that makes the viewer aware of its inherent assumptions, I hope not to provoke some kind of “blame game” but rather to liberate viewers—Arab and Western alike—from the grip of these assumptions.</i></blockquote>
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Below are some examples of her work:</div>
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Lalla Essaydi goes beyond deconstructing these images, but her work, as she describes, is a retrospective. It is injected with her own perception and experiences, especially as an Arab woman living in the West. In the pieces above, I was most struck by her use of space and how that space is maintained through the women. The patterns of the walls continue on to the women themselves, making them virtually inseparable from the space they are in. This poses a profound argument against the one of the results of Orientalist art, which defined women in the pieces vis-a-vis their space. This was carried on through colonialism and even into today, when Arab women continue to be defined according to their physical space, with a focus on dress, for example, rather than a reality shaped by a multitude of factors that weigh differently for each individual. Lalla Essaydi approaches this narrative and flips it on its head.</div>
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Another Moroccan artist approaches the depiction of women in a different way. Hassan Hajjaj invokes a commentary on neoliberalism and prescribed gender roles, producing some fantastic images. Below are some examples:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PcRJ9Wq59e4/UG44bv0AWEI/AAAAAAAAAD0/MlO_DL5xcsk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-10-04+at+9.30.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PcRJ9Wq59e4/UG44bv0AWEI/AAAAAAAAAD0/MlO_DL5xcsk/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-10-04+at+9.30.43+PM.png" width="220" /></a></div>
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His use of pop art in the context of Morocco is almost satirical. The impact of neoliberal policies from the 1980s under Hassan II set the stage for the pouring in of foreign investment and trade. Cue the McDonalds, the Coca Colas, the Pepsis, the KFCs, the Pizza Huts. Hassan Hajjaj approaches the depiction of Arab women through this angle, and creating what would be viewed as a conflicting image for those who tout the Orientalist narrative, such as the above image of veiled woman and a bottle of Coca Cola or the veiled woman integrated in the depiction of the US flag. Even though the Coca Cola label is in Arabic, it's recognizable. What's interesting is that Hassan Hajjaj invokes another aspect of these neoliberal policies: the inequalities they facilitated. Morocco has one of the highest income inequalities in the region. In the last image, the bottle, although a Coca Cola bottle, isn't filled with soda.</div>
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There is, without a doubt, much to be said about the artists mentioned here. Despite their varying approaches and commentary, they share similarities in that they seek to deconstruct, and in some ways, reclaim the depiction of Maghrebi women, but in different ways. Maghrebi women were most often the subjects of Orientalist art because of the colonial relationship with France. Beyond the theoretical deconstruction of these narratives, Moroccan artists not only counter them, but they also provide viewers with a pluralistic commentary that steps beyond rigid binaries. These pieces invoke realities shaped by the very factors Orientalist art perpetuated. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-85897495066172833232012-09-23T22:00:00.001-04:002012-09-24T20:36:40.346-04:00Maghreb women and Gulf Music<div style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify;">
What is better than Music to bridge cultures? Nothing really, I believe. I've mentioned before many times that my first interaction with the Maghreb region happened through Rai music. This great genre that got introduced to thousands, if not millions, of my generation in the Arab world and Europe through pop songs like those of Khaled and Mami. When you take such a genre seriously, as a fan of music, then you try to know as much as possible. You get to track the history of it and how it is a reflection of a great diversity in Algeria's early modern history. You also get to know the dialect better, see how different communities interact, and what themes are mostly presented. If it wasn't for Rai, I would not have known about the history of the 1990's civil war in Algeria; the young men and women escaping the threats and assassinations of Islamists back then. A great example of that was the assassinated Cheb Hosni. </div>
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Since my friend Samia has already made a <a href="http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/2012/08/music-as-cross-cultural-dialogue.html">post </a>about the Gulf songs that hit Morocco, I choose to write here about several wonderful women of the Maghreb who have not only mastered Gulf music, but also left their fingerprints on it. They set the bar up for other Arab singers to reach, especially that many aspire to sing in Khaliji dialects to approach a wider market. </div>
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To go back in time, I share this video of an Algerian singer called Sabah. Back in the 60's and 70's, Kuwait was the best place for Arab singers to make concerts and get to approach the Gulf audience. Kuwait was a central country in hosting Arab intellectuals and artists and had strong pan-arabist political stance. Sabah is one of the early Maghrebians to sing a Khaliji song, if not the first. I could not find any information about her and hope Algerians can help us figure out more about her life and career. This song entitled "Yal Asmar Ya Zain" translates to "o you dark, you beautiful." It is a Kuwaiti song for Abdulkharim Abdulkader (check the beautiful music <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qJ4gs-GVU">video </a>here), and she was the reason this song became popular again when she sang it in her concert in Kuwait in 1978. Ladies and gentlemen, "Sabah the Algerian": </div>
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Another woman that sang beautifully in the Gulf was Alya Al-tounisiya from Tunisia. She was a famous singer in the 50's and 60's mostly singing in Egyptian dialect; she moved there to start her career and married an Egyptian composer. Alya (or as some write it: Oliya) had two songs that most of us do not know that they belong to here; عاللي جرى sang years ago by Syrian singer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTx5yj-ECj4">Asaala </a>(without any acknowledgment to Alya) and جاري يا حمودة sang by Lebanese singer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyVdHf_UhEs">Laura Khalil</a> (also no acknowledgment). Shamelessly, Arab pop singers take over older songs and say they're theirs or "they are of folklore." </div>
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I could not find a song of Alya in Khaliji dialect, but this song is written and composed by Ahmed Baqer- a big figure in Kuwaiti music and one of the founders of Kuwait's musical institution: </div>
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The other Tunisian woman that has sung in the Gulf is surely Thekra (or Zikra, as some wish to spell it). This great singer did not only sing some songs in Khaliji dialect but more importantly became the most favorite to the Gulf audience for a while and was unbeatable. She has great vocal strength and has grasped the accent well. Thekra had her own Khaliji songs and has also made covers of old songs. This one was the first of hers singing in Khaliji and is here sang live by here as she's dressed in a Khaliji dress and sitting in a Gulf musical circle: </div>
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The last one is Moroccan and she's a contemporary singer that keeps succeeding in her career and in her choices of Gulf songs. Asmaa Lemnawar makes numerous concerts around the gulf having proved her ability to sing in several dialects with her great voice. Asmaa was also loved much when first introduced in the Gulf for her beauty and became an icon in that regard. This is her latest song in Khaliji: </div>
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This theme on music is surely crucial and we hope to write more on this in future. </div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-29555267716386304832012-09-07T20:16:00.000-04:002012-09-07T20:23:32.468-04:00A tale of two Moroccan women exposes myths of Arab identity[This article was originally published at <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/a-tale-of-two-moroccan-women-exposes-myths-of-arab-identity"><i>The National</i></a>.]<br />
<br />
Nameless in her own space, judged and defined by others, familiar in some ways, but misunderstood in others - the art exhibition entitled Lalla Essaydi: Revisions explores the artistic representation of Arab women.<br />
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In the series Les Femmes du Maroc, the subjects' entire bodies and space are obscured with illegible calligraphy, that for non-Arabic readers, as the artist Lalla Essaydi herself explained, questions the "assumption that the written holds the best access to reality."<br />
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It also presents a telling account of how the existence of Arab women, who are most commonly defined by their bodies and surrounding spaces, is reduced to rigid concepts that obscure their complictated realities. Arab women are often perceived in binary terms: either she is "this" or she is "that".<br />
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Essaydi, a Moroccan-born artists, explores these themes in her latest exhibition in Washington DC in ways that allow for their application in fields other than art.<br />
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As I was viewing Essaydi's exhibition in DC, I began reflecting on how Moroccan women have been, and continue to be, represented. <br />
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Their situation is constantly explained in relative terms. Their status and role in society are seen through the lens of their recent history. This inevitably produces a narrative that assumes every Moroccan woman shares the same reality.<br />
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In fact, the status of Moroccan women is, as in any society, riddled with inequalities and imposed hierarchies rooted in history and power, both heavily shaped by political economy.<br />
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It is important to identify and expose these inequalities and hierarchies. At various moments, when particular narratives are being perpetuated, both the wealthiest and the poorest, the privileged and the deprived, come to represent the reality of the masses.<br />
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I will examine the case of two Moroccan women whose realities demonstrate these two extremes, but who have come to define Moroccan women as a group: Selwa Akhennouch and Amina Filali.<br />
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The two are Moroccan women whose lives have come to dominate mainstream media headlines both within and outside Morocco. Measured on a spectrum that factors in wealth and social class, they stand on opposite ends.<br />
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What is even more important is that the situations of women in positions like Amina Filali are direct products of political and economic policies that gave way for the success of women like Selwa Akhennouch.<br />
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Coming from a privileged and business-orientated family whose success was built on the tea trade, Ms Akhennouch began building her own business empire in 2001, when she brought the Zara and Massimo Dutti clothing store chains to Morocco.<br />
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Her success was complemented by that of her husband, Aziz Akhennouch, who would later become a member of the royalist National Rally of Independents political party. His own business ventures range from agriculture to the energy industries and he would eventually move on to become minister of agriculture.<br />
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In December 2011, Ms Akhennouch's biggest project opened to the public: the Morocco Mall in Casablanca. Dubbed the biggest mall in Africa, the sheer scale of the project was unprecedented in Morocco. The mall includes luxury boutiques, an enormous musical fountain, the first IMAX theatre in Morocco and an aquarium.<br />
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During the opening press tour, Ms Akhennouch, in towering Christian Louboutin high heels, looked every inch the consumate CEO, a woman who, thanks to her family ties and husband's political and business connections, did not encounter too many hurdles.<br />
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The tragic suicide of 16-year old Amina Filali has dominated headlines and discussions both within and outside Morocco since March this year.<br />
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Amina was living in a rural village in northern Morocco when, last year, her life took a rapid turn for the worst after she was raped.<br />
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When her case was brought to court, the local judge cited Article 475, a piece of legislation from the "reformed" personal status code (mudawanna) that ruled if the rapist marries his victim, he will be excused any crimes.<br />
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Without political connections or hefty bribes, and living in a patriarchal society that places a woman's honour at the forefront of her identity, Amina was forced to marry her rapist.<br />
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After suffering almost a year of abuse in his household, inflicted by him and his family, Amina Filali decided to end her life by swallowing rat poison.<br />
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Moroccans rallied across the country to denounce the archaic Article 475 - protests were held, petitions were signed, and the Western press eventually began to cover the incident and the consequential outrage.<br />
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The only female minister in the cabinet, Bassima Hakkaoui, also became the target of criticism after she apologetically spoke of the incident, claiming: "Sometimes, the marriage between a rapist and his victim does not cause any real damage." Amina's rapist remains a free man with no criminal charges.<br />
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Both Selwa Akhennouch and Amina Filali share the fact that their realities are shaped by their own circumstances. They are, in a sense, products of realities that sustain one another. Ms Akhennouch's economic success is of the type that emerged under the reign of Hassan II, which entailed vast privatisation of public industries. Those given positions in the emerging private sector by the monarchy were figures that were politically allied to the regime.<br />
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This created an extensive network of wealthy business elites who served the interests of the regime. The wealth accrued in this newly-emerged private sector came at the expense of the majority of the Moroccan population, especially those in the rural areas.<br />
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One of the consequences has been that Morocco is below the regional average on the Human Development Index, as well as having one of the highest income inequalities in the region.<br />
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It is important to acknowledge the causes of the inequalities that are rooted in a political economic context stemming from a recent colonial history.<br />
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From the wives of kings and authoritarian presidents, to the middle-class independent women making ends meet, to the abused women who face dire circumstances every day, and every woman in between - inequalities exist and glossing over them to collectively present every woman as oppressed or every woman as empowered perpetuates nothing but generalisation and misunderstanding.<br />
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When the Moroccan woman is presented as free and modern, Selwa Akhennouch is her face. When the Moroccan woman is presented as oppressed and deprived, Amina Filali is her face.<br />
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In such misrepresentations, both the identities of Ms Akhennouch and Amina are effectively hijacked (sometimes even by Arab women who claim to champion women's rights), as well as the independence of every Moroccan woman who is prevented from defining herself and her own experiences.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-77823128479444429792012-08-29T21:24:00.001-04:002012-08-29T21:24:41.401-04:00Why do you hate Khalijis?<div class="content-wrap clearfix" style="text-align: justify;">
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One of the struggles that many Khalijis have to undertake is the one
against all the stereotypes set against them, especially by the rest of
the Arab world. These stereotypes are caused by three factors: oil,
migrant workers, and tourism. The millions of Arabs, whether Arab
nationalists or not, who negatively stereotype people of the Gulf, look
down at them, and marginalize their political and human struggles, do
blame the Gulf for not using their oil to empower the Arab region. They
see them as spoiled, non-productive creatures and classical allies of
the West. Simply, the Gulf is somehow blamed for most of their
tragedies.</div>
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As for migrant workers, the Gulf has one of the worst records when it
comes to mistreating, discriminating, and violating the rights of
millions of migrant workers; Arab, Asian, and African, and certainly far
less against white westerners who mostly hold prestigious posts in
corporations and academia.</div>
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The third generator of these stereotypes comes classically from
Khaliji tourists visiting countries like Lebanon, Egypt, and Morocco.
The men who travel looking for sex tourism and what comes with do so
simply because they are denied many of their individual freedom in
societies that do not normalize interaction between both genders.</div>
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What is the Gulf to Arabs? An oil land filled with backward Bedouins
who don’t deserve the luxury they have. The Gulf for many Arabs is never
portrayed as the region that fought colonialism, contributed to the
struggle of fellow Arab nations, revolted in Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi
Arabia. The Gulf is not the beauty of Bedouin culture but its harshness,
the Gulf is not the diversity, and not that meeting point of African,
Yemeni, Arabian, Persian, and Indian cultures. The Gulf for many
outsiders is exactly what the Gulf regimes want it to be portrayed as;
passive, disconnected, and spoiled.</div>
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One of the worst arguments made by many Arabs against the Gulf is
made by neo-colonial minds, those who use the same arguments used by
European colonialists; you are uncivilized, you are tribes, and that’s
why you can’t be productive, creative, or free. They don’t even question
the dangerous discourse they’re using and do not realize the importance
of knowing the real Gulf. They do not realize that they are abusing
Khalijis the way they were abused; dehumanizing nations, isolating them,
and leaving them without forms of solidarity and needed exposure.</div>
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The discourse of civilization has been often used in the modern Arab
world and is now being reborn in reaction to the rising Islamist power
that is believed to be funded by Gulf regimes. Instead of pointing to
the acts of those regimes, the cultures of the Gulf and the people are
taking the blame. The cultures are being deformed in a way that portrays
the political game as if it is an act of exporting a violent, sexist,
racist, and backward culture to the rest of the region.</div>
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Here, the discussion of an Arab Spring of the mind comes to play an
important role. I believe the rising voices around the Gulf are not only
contributing to the fight for democracy but most importantly shaping a
new image for themselves; when other Arabs see how many communities are
oppressed in the Gulf and how many of those are compromising to
highlight those struggles, then we will witness a new era of mutual Arab
understanding. We can no longer believe in the elite (being writers or
bloggers) as long as they insist on using the colonial discourse of
civilization.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* Published in <a href="http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/subaltern/why-do-you-hate-khalijis">AlAkhbar</a></span> </div>
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Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-53493350942145423042012-08-19T19:20:00.001-04:002012-08-19T19:32:50.718-04:00Music as cross-cultural dialogueThe seemingly endless selection of Arabic music video channels on the satellite dish has, without a doubt, have made different music genres more accessible. This is true not just in the Maghreb and the Gulf. Of course, Khaliji music has its variations, as well as Maghrebi music. As a Moroccan, I can certainly vouch for the popularity of Khaliji music in Morocco.<br />
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I remember a few years ago around 2005 when Rachid El Majed was becoming super popular in Morocco. His videos usually showed scores of girls dancing along to his music, sometimes with one special video vixen by his side.<br />
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Above is one of the more popular numbers he's put out. The first time I saw it, my male cousin commented, "Look at all these Moroccan whores." According to him, all those girls were just in search for a few extra bucks and jumped at the opportunity to be featured in a Khaliji artist's music video, which was sure to reach a wide audience. I asked him how he knew they were Moroccan. He said, "Just look at them. Can't you tell?" Well, no, I couldn't. I still can't tell. But it seemed to be a general view shared by other Moroccans. (My co-blogger, Mona, informed me that folks in the Gulf thought the girls were Eastern European). But, that didn't stop this song from becoming a huge hit. Along with several others of his, including <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uns7NhRwuyE&feature=related">this one</a>, which also features a bunch of dancing girls (similarly labelled as Moroccan whores by some).</div>
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A few years later, Rachid El Majed partnered up with popular Moroccan artist, Asmaa Lmnawar and together, the two came up with this:</div>
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Asmaa Lmnawar has also gained prominence in the Khaliji music scene, with numbers such as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dul0XKTUKy8">this</a>. Below is Asma Lmnawar covering Moroccan singer, Najat Aatabou's popular hit, "J'en ai marre," along with a band and audience of Khalijis.<br />
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Her songs in the Khaliji dialect have not hindered her popularity in the Maghreb either since she also balances it with covers of popular Moroccan classics. During concerts, she'll often go back and forth between the two dialects with cheers and applause all along the way.</div>
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Popular Khaliji singers, such as Hussein El Jasmi, have joined in on the Maghreb-Khaliji fusion music trend.</div>
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The lyrics are in Maghrebi dialect but the music is very much Khaliji in style. Oh, this was a huge hit in Morocco. Below is the full video of his performance at the International Mawazine Music Festival in Rabat. After he sang some nationalist song dedicated to Morocco, he opened up with the song I linked above.</div>
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The music between the two regions has facilitated a wider dialogue, whether it's between the artists or the audience. That dialogue may not always be positive in some cases, but it's a conversation that transcends both regions and arguably leading to a greater understanding and even appreciation of the other.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-57287572264453897632012-08-05T22:40:00.000-04:002012-08-06T16:03:35.989-04:00طرابلس ليست دبي وأبوظبي ليست بنغازي<br />
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<b><span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">بقلم: محمد مصراتي *</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">أنا هنا الأن، شاب ليبي في الثانية والعشرين من عمره
يمتلك فكر ستيريوتايب حول دول الخليج، وأخص بهذا دولة الامارات حفظ الله شعبها
وأسخط حكّامها وشيوخها ذلاً وكراهية. ومن هذا المنطلق أبتدئ. </span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">فقد أرسلت لي منى بنت كريم الهزّاع، الشاعرة المعروفة
والناشطة الشرسة رسالة "دي ام" على تويتر قالت لي فيها "لا تنسى
المقال يا حمّة"، وقد أصابتني الرعشة وقتها.. ليسَ لأنني سأكتب مقال مغاربي
ليبي عن الخليج، بل لأنّ حمّة كانت كافية لتهزّ كينونة قلبي المحطّم.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">وفكرت: كيف أنظر كـ ليبي إلى دول الخليج؟ في
المخليّلة، صور عمارات ومبانٍ طويلة ضخمة.. برج الخليفة مثالاً، وفكرت في نفس
الوقت أنّني لم أشاهد يومًا فيلم بورنو خليجي لكي أحكم على طول قضيب الاماراتيين
لتخلق عندهم هذا الهاجس بالمباني الطويلة.. كلّ شيء هناك يعتمد على الطول: أطول
مبنى في العالم، أطول ساعة في العالم، أطول برج في العالم.. "هل هناكَ يا ترى
في تلك البلاد البعيدة أطول "زب" في العالم؟" كانت هذه مجرد فكرة.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">الفرصة الوحيدة التي أتيحت لي لزيارة الامارات، كانت
في العام الماضي، وذلك كعضو في مشروع ورشة الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية،
والمخصصة للكتّاب الشباب وكتابة أولى فصول رواياتهم في أبوظبي، وللأسف، كـ
"لاجئ ليبي في بريطانيا" لم أحصل على تأشيرة لدخول الدولة المحصّنة
برجال الأمن، نظرًا لكوني "خطر على الأمن القومي". وان كنتُ وقتها
متلهفًا أكثر لزيارة هكذا بلد كي أستطيع التفرغ للكتابة، إلاّ أنّ معرفة عوالمه
وسراديبه والذين يعيشون في هامشه كانَ كافيًا لأقتنع بقرار السفارة.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">تقول الحكاية أنّ "الكل يذهب إلى دبي"،
وربما هنا، نقول أيضًا، أن كلّ الطرق باتت تؤدي إلى دبي. صديقي الكاتب اللبناني
قال أنّني لا أعرف دبي لهذا يجب عليّ الصمت. السياسيين الليبيين، من القطط السمان
والاعلاميين المبتسمين على الدوام، يعشقون الامارات وقطر.. ينامون على أسرّة
فنادقها، ويغسلون وجوههم بترابها. أتخيّل أن الامارات بشكل خاص، والخليج بشكل عام،
بات أرض الفلوس. أتساءل في ظلّ كلّ هذا عن ثقافة تلكَ الأرض، وأتساءل عمّا سيحدث
يوم ينتهي النفط وتعود تلكَ الأراضي إلى الصحراء وبداية الانهيار العظيم! </span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">أين الثقافة من كل ذلك مثلاً؟ "جيمس، قل
لي.." سألت صديقي الذي يقضي ثمانية أشهر متواصلة في أبوظبي ولا يكف عن
التحدّث حول سهراته وبيته بحوض السباحة "هل تنصحني بسماع بعض الأغاني من الفلكلور
الشعبي في أبوظبي؟".. "ها؟!"، هذهِ اجابة جيمس. أمّا صديقي المحرر
في احدى الصحف العربية، فقد بات ينشر كثيرًا للشعراء الاماراتيين، وقال لي أنّهُ
باتَ يذهب كثيرًا للامارات، لأنهم يعطون الكثير من المال وأنواع الويسكي
والشمبانيا الفاخر و"أنا أنشر للكتابات الخراء التي يكتبها شعرائهم"..
شعرتُ بالأذية وقتها حينَ قال ذلك، ليسَ من أجل سبّ هذا المحرر لشعر الاماراتيين
بقدر ما كانت أذيتي لحال الثقافة العربية جراء دخول الرأس المال الخليجي إليها. لا
أقول هذا الكلام بدافع حقد تجاه تلكَ البلاد، بل على العكس، أنا شخصيا متأكد من وجود
شعراء وكتّاب حقيقيين فيها، كإيماني بأنّ هناك حكايات وقصص بإمكانها خلق حالة
ابداع فريدة، إلاّ أنّ حالة الاستهلاك المادي والبذخ غلبت بشكل أو بأخر على كل
مظاهر الثقافة التي من الممكن الاستفادة منها في التعريف بالامارات. باتت المادة
هي العنصر المسيطر. باتت الامارات في كل هذا بلد زائفة، وكذبة بأعمدة طويلة.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">في صيف العام 2010، حضرت أمسية شعرية إماراتية في
لندن. كانت الأمسية أقل من متواضعة من حيث القصائد التي ألقيت على الجمهور، ووجود
بذخ من طعام وشراب بعد القاء القصائد، وقف أحد الشعراء الاماراتيين وبدأ يلقي قصيدته،
والتي في مجملها فلسفة البحث عن الذات، وأنه ألقى ما يعني أنّهُ "يحفر عميقًا
جدًا.. ويحفر ويحفر"، فعلّق أحد الشعراء العرب الحاضرين: "ما تحفر كثير،
لينفجر ف وشك أنبوب بترول". كان التعليق مستفزًا في لحظتها، والظريف في الأمر
أنّ هذا الشاعر العربي قال لي وهو يحتسي الشراب بعد انتهاء الأمسية أنه ذاهب في
الغد إلى دبي بعد أن قُبل للعمل في مجلة ثقافية هناك بمعاش شهري يفوق تطلعاته.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">وتقول الأسطورة الليبية أنّ الشيخ زايد زار ليبيا
للعلاج في السبعينيات، وهناك قال (حسب الاسطورة): أتمنى لو كانت الامارات كـ
ليبيا. </span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">هذهِ أسطورة يرددها الليبيون بحسرة في الأعوام
الأخيرة. العديد من معارفي يتطلعون لتكون ليبيا امارات أخرى، بمبانٍ ضخمة وعمارات
طويلة. سيف الاسلام القذافي كانَ ينوي القضاء على مركز مدينة طرابلس حيث المباني
الايطالية العتيقة التي بنيت في القرن الماضي والتي تمثّل جزءًا من حقبة مهمة في التاريخ
الليبي واستبدالها بأخرى عصرية على الطراز نفسه الموجود في الامارات. بعد الثورة
وسقوط معمر القذافي، باتَ السؤال محيّرًا، هل يريد الليبيون ليبيا دولة ديمقراطية
كأولوية أم لا بأس بدولة ديكتاتورية ولكن فيها سبل الرفاهة والحياة العسلية؟ </span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">والسؤال الأهم: هل تنتفض الامارات يومًا يا ترى؟</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">شاب ليبي سألني بحيرة "على ماذا تنتفض؟"،
وفعلاً كنتُ أتساءلُ أيضًا على ما ستنتفض الامارات؟ ولكنّني سحبت هذا السؤال
لسببين مهمين:</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">الأول: هناك سجناء رأي شباب ألقوا بين القضبان ولا
وجود إلى أي ناشط سياسي في مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي ولا خبر واحد في القنوات
الاخبارية التي يمولها شيوخ الخليج تحدث حول هذا الموضوع، بالاضافة إلى ما يقارب
خمسين عضوًا من "حركة اصلاح" أعتقلوا في الأونة الأخيرة... وبما أنّ
الناشط والكاتب والسياسي العربي يلعق المال الخليجي، فلا همّ له أنّ هؤلاء كذلك
جزء من المشروع التحرري وقضيتهم تمسّ قضايا حقوق الانسان بالدرجة الأولى، حتى وان
اختلفت توجهاتنا السياسية معهم.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">الثاني: تذكرت سائق تاكسي مصري سألني يومًا:
"انتو ليه بتعلموا ثورة ع القذافي؟ احنا فقرا وحالتنا ما يعلمش بيها الا ربنا
عشان كده نزلنا التحرير.. بس انتو القذافي معيشكوا.. ليه بتعملوا ثورة
عليه؟".. هذا السائق لا يعرف ليبيا.. أنا لا أعرف الامارات لأطلق أحكامًا
أيضًا! طرابلس مش دبي، وبنغازي مش أبوظبي.</span></div>
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<span lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;">* مدون وكاتب ليبي مقيم في لندن (<a href="http://mesrati.blogspot.com/">رابط لمدونته</a>)</span></span></div>Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-37170793589799822742012-08-02T13:36:00.000-04:002012-08-02T13:36:37.574-04:00Wealth in the Maghreb<i>[I want to preface this post by pointing out that poverty remains prevalent in the Maghreb region (in some countries, more than others) and this, in no way, seeks to gloss over the dire socioeconomic realities lived by the people of this region.]</i><br />
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After Mona put together a great <a href="http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/2012/07/poverty-in-gulf-reversing-stereotypes.html">post</a> that addresses the serious issue of poverty in the Gulf, naturally, I thought to make a post that shifts this subject and looks at wealth in the Maghreb, where it's present in the region, and what it's led to.<br />
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Unlike most of the Gulf countries who share a more common source of income (read oil), the economies of the Maghreb span from rent-based, to heavily dependent on tourism. Algeria and Libya are the two main rentier economies in the Maghreb and this is reflected on their higher rankings in the Human Development Index (HDI).<br />
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Here is where Algeria stands in the region and the world (<a href="http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/DZA.html">source</a>):<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7Wr31lPJmc/UBqg1Kg87FI/AAAAAAAAABg/KavswlrKOeA/s1600/chart.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="411" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7Wr31lPJmc/UBqg1Kg87FI/AAAAAAAAABg/KavswlrKOeA/s640/chart.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is where Libya stands in the region and the world (<a href="http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/LBY.html">source</a>):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AFVrK2fhsU/UBqhGgroA7I/AAAAAAAAABo/254ta8Lt2C0/s1600/chart+(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9AFVrK2fhsU/UBqhGgroA7I/AAAAAAAAABo/254ta8Lt2C0/s640/chart+(1).jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The way Algeria and Libya use their rent varies and that is reflected through the political climate in both countries, which also vary significantly. </div>
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On the lower side of the Human Development Index are Morocco and Mauritania. The agricultural sectors in both Morocco and Mauritania are major employers. Morocco depends heavily on tourism and remittances, while the production of phosphates makes Morocco the top exporter in the world. Mauritania's fish and mining industries dominate their economies. </div>
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Here is where Morocco stands in the region and the world (<a href="http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/MAR.html">source</a>):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifzy9dn7Dsk/UBqmB8hnAdI/AAAAAAAAAB4/5ybbHRXq25E/s1600/chart+(2).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ifzy9dn7Dsk/UBqmB8hnAdI/AAAAAAAAAB4/5ybbHRXq25E/s640/chart+(2).jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here is where Mauritania stands in the region (the UNDP compares Mauritania's position with Sub-Saharan Africa, instead of Arab states) and the world (<a href="http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/MRT.html">source</a>):</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M0e3L3-GoM/UBqmmaPJx8I/AAAAAAAAACA/kTjSSFqUBhg/s1600/chart+(3).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_M0e3L3-GoM/UBqmmaPJx8I/AAAAAAAAACA/kTjSSFqUBhg/s640/chart+(3).jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tunisia's economic structure is more diversified in relation to its neighbors and has a far smaller population. Along with the other factors measured by the Human Development Index, here is where Tunisia stands (<a href="http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/TUN.html">source</a>):</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oAfUIvILPXs/UBqqe2CiybI/AAAAAAAAACQ/OA55pHXjs2s/s1600/chart+(4).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="410" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oAfUIvILPXs/UBqqe2CiybI/AAAAAAAAACQ/OA55pHXjs2s/s640/chart+(4).jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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What Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia share is a fairly recent colonial history that shaped the future of the state-led economic reforms. These reforms, in all the countries mentioned, sustained the regimes, which grew more authoritarian over time. Actors within the regime, along with the regime's allies, eventually became the most wealthy. These actors used their position vis-a-vis the regime to advance their personal business interests, creating a vast network of government officials and businessmen who crossed the line between the government and the private sector. It came to a point where the success of a businessman's large-scale investment, for example, depended on his political loyalty to the regime.</div>
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There is wealth in the Maghreb, but it's trapped within a small portion of the population that also makes all the decision-making. These practices of crony capitalism and nepotism created conditions that would eventually spark the uprisings that initially began in the Maghreb with Tunisia, and later, Libya. </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-89712304149713189752012-07-30T19:53:00.001-04:002012-08-14T18:12:22.036-04:00Poverty in the Gulf; reversing stereotypes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cCPwjqgB3Ls/UBYVL-SqJcI/AAAAAAAABAE/JEdWumffqeM/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cCPwjqgB3Ls/UBYVL-SqJcI/AAAAAAAABAE/JEdWumffqeM/s320/0.jpg" width="177" /></a></div>
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Having lived my whole life in Kuwait, I was faced with two stereotypes by other Arabs whom I went to school with or worked with. The first, if they thought I'm Kuwaiti, they would think am rich and have "access" to power that might screw them over somehow. The other stereotype comes when they know am a stateless of Kuwait, they think exactly the opposite and some would even look down at me being from a community that faces unemployment, lack of education, and powerless, as the government has planned for us. In both cases, the stereotypes have enraged me. </div>
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When I traveled to Cairo, being someone who comes from the Gulf, the stereotype was that "I have an oil well in my backyard" and thus I should help find them a job or I should over-tip them. In the US, many Arabs I met, including people of the Maghreb, have depicted me as the spoiled rich girl from the Gulf coming, with no worries, to study and enjoy her time. </div>
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Long story short, every person from the Gulf is stereotyped by their oil image. It really enrages me the most because of several reasons: 1) are we expected to give up the oil, so you would like us? 2) what are you blaming us for really? 3) NOT ALL OF US ARE RICH! This is why I decided to put together some pictures, videos, and links showing poverty in the Gulf; a way to reverse stereotypes. </div>
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<b>Kuwait</b></div>
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I am a stateless of Kuwait, and alongside Asian migrant-workers, my community faces the hardest living conditions. All Bedoon work in hard labor or low-paid jobs. It is fascinating how many big Bedoon families are surviving on the salary of one or two of their sons; we are speaking about an expensive country and a bad education that is not affordable for the majority of Bedoon. The crazy stories of poverty about Bedoon are countless and show up everyday. Few weeks ago, a man was found living in the desert alone for years and few days ago a family of nine kids and their mother were found living in the STABLES! Here's a video report on this family: </div>
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/_ffUURe-ATI/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ffUURe-ATI&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ffUURe-ATI&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Here is a picture from Sulaibiya, the area most populated with Bedoon. The government gave small houses to Bedoon in cheap rates in this area to isolate them from the society: </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4aE5pm9Yzg/UBYGn1rXqwI/AAAAAAAAA-s/mD-9RAacrnk/s1600/sulaibiya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q4aE5pm9Yzg/UBYGn1rXqwI/AAAAAAAAA-s/mD-9RAacrnk/s400/sulaibiya.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVp6MHMRpcs/UBYGvErK4OI/AAAAAAAAA-0/zq8FHQFb3sg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IVp6MHMRpcs/UBYGvErK4OI/AAAAAAAAA-0/zq8FHQFb3sg/s400/1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Many of Bedoon kids are denied education because they have no documents and/or money to enroll in schools. They get forced into selling copied DVDs, CDs, perfumes, food, toys etc. If you go to Kuwait, stop by a traffic light, and you will see Bedoon kids trying to sell you something. Here are two pictures I found of them: </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdXv200PIU4/UBYHMUbx9nI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hNnhbjQOF-o/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rdXv200PIU4/UBYHMUbx9nI/AAAAAAAAA_A/hNnhbjQOF-o/s320/2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7VHBMaxtKlA/UBYHPvbm76I/AAAAAAAAA_I/qOmhsmiVt8s/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7VHBMaxtKlA/UBYHPvbm76I/AAAAAAAAA_I/qOmhsmiVt8s/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Of course, the Bedoon have been protesting for two years now, and when they arrest protesters, this is what they do to them to portray them as thieves and protesters who attack police: </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hjUFyA2xEBY/UBYHi2u-hFI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/i2BmwvdKzU4/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hjUFyA2xEBY/UBYHi2u-hFI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/i2BmwvdKzU4/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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They also get their share of being beaten, arrested, tortured, and sent to trials: </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XEAs_BwEuIg/UBYHt-VUhVI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/e5N21MTjs2M/s1600/may.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XEAs_BwEuIg/UBYHt-VUhVI/AAAAAAAAA_Y/e5N21MTjs2M/s320/may.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Saudi Arabia</b></div>
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For a country as rich as Saudi Arabia with all its constant decisions to give away money here and there, one can't imagine how poor thousands of Saudis are. The issue of poverty in Saudi Arabia is very serious and it effects a lot of Saudis; not just migrant workers or stateless people. Saudi prominent blog "Green Dream" is the leading source for this topic as the blogger dedicated years of blogging to unveil this issue. <u>In a post entitled "<a href="http://tradalasmari.com/2010/04/02/suicide-2/">suicide in Saudi Arabia</a>", Alasmari puts over 30 pieces from Saudi newspapers documenting cases of suicide and he says they are cases due to poverty. </u></div>
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For the typical image of the Gulf, others won't imagine that there are citizens working as cleaning workers. Well, it happens in Saudi Arabia and this video shows workers who only dream of getting paid 400$ a month; a payment that really has no value considering the expensive living conditions in an oil country: </div>
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Another story comes in the video of a Saudi man who wants to pay off his debts and decides to sell his kidney but doesn't get paid for 5 months: </div>
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Last year, a group of Saudi vloggers were <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/31/saudi-arabia-poverty-video-vloggers-released/">arrested </a>for making an episode about poverty in Riyadh. Here's the video for you to view: </div>
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Another video from the same blog shows a man with disability living in a tent in the desert: </div>
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<b>Bahrain</b></div>
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Surely there is no country in the Gulf in crisis like Bahrain. Many Bahrainis face unemployment, sectarian discrimination, and poverty. Since February 14th last year, the country has been in protests and hundreds are in jails getting severely tortured and tens were killed during the uprising. Here are pictures and video reports about poverty in Bahrain: </div>
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<b>UAE, Oman, Qatar </b></div>
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For those countries, there aren't much information on poverty. All three have stateless communities and have migrant workers living in bad conditions. According to a 2009 <a href="http://www.emaratalyoum.com/business/local/2009-05-06-1.132604">report</a>, UAE has 16.9% poverty that effects 7.2% of citizens and 13.9% non citizens. UAE is absolutely extreme in blocking any negative information about violations of human rights and bad living conditions. Lately, a Bedoon activist was sent to exile for his activism, and here's his <a href="http://www.emaratybedoon.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. In this interview, UAE activist Ahmed Mansour speaks about the status of Bedoon in his country: </div>
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Qatar hasn't witnessed any strikes or protests but Oman faced many protests since the Arab Spring calling for better salaries, living conditions, and more representation of the people. Riot police have <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/02/2011227112850852905.html">killed </a>some protesters and still arrests tens of them. </div>
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It is no heaven; they just want you to believe so! </div>
Monahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12580085892646126422noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5615168596632460339.post-17311031890533744882012-07-27T09:47:00.000-04:002012-07-27T09:56:21.611-04:00Maghreb on Gulf: Exoticizing or Immoralizing?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g7ycfVpuAuc/UBH2BolvwwI/AAAAAAAAAA8/jdchbg42x7g/s1600/375713_428741603831641_815504810_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g7ycfVpuAuc/UBH2BolvwwI/AAAAAAAAAA8/jdchbg42x7g/s320/375713_428741603831641_815504810_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arabic text reads "Khaliji soap operas."<br />
[Image from <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MoroccanTrolls">Moroccan Trolls</a>]</td></tr>
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Camels, uneducated tribal folk, expensive cars, slow speech, niqabs and abayas, no moral values. Saudi, Kuwaiti, Qatari, Emirati, who cares? They're all the same. Moroccan women are their toys, five-star resorts and night clubs are their playgrounds. Unearned petrodollars flowing out of their wallets, with the same Khaliji dress and accent.</div>
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The actions of a few become the stereotypes used to identify the many. Such is the case of Maghrebi attitudes the Gulf. These essentialist views are mutual, as Mona previously <a href="http://bil3afya.blogspot.com/2012/07/gulf-on-maghreb-exoticizing-or.html">pointed out.</a> But what has shaped these views? Where have these views positioned Moroccan women? How are they perpetuated and reinforced? What is being done to facilitate better understanding?</div>
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<b>Neoliberalism Gone Wild</b></div>
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When the newly independent Maghrebi countries began the process of post-colonial development, the state led the way with import-substitution policies. In order to man the factories and maintain production, rural-to-urban migration boomed. The public sector became the largest employer and provider of welfare. Populations were growing, expenses were rising, and the government could no longer sustain these policies. Cue the privatization of state-owned enterprises and the World Bank and IMF loans (awarded with a list of stipulations, of course). In comes the Gulf foreign direct investment.</div>
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Luxury malls, five-star resorts and hotels, high-end residential projects--were Gulf investors launching businesses for the local population or themselves? Popular Moroccan band, Nass El Ghiwane, answered that question in their song "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XgApxQu7FA">Ya Jemmal</a>," whose chorus translates to "Oh camel-herder, take your camels back and away from us."</div>
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Income inequalities grew and more people were pushed into poverty. At the same time, the drug and sex trade began to evolve into a lucrative market. Between the hash and sex trafficking, Gulf investors saw the Maghreb as more than just a market for investment, but as Mona put it, they saw it "as the place to fulfill their drugs/sex dreams." And for Maghrebis, the Gulf and its inhabitants were not just a geographic region shaped by its own history, geopoliticial, and socioeconomic conditions. The Gulf and its inhabitants were seen in terms of their <i>wealth</i>.</div>
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<b>The Moroccan Woman</b></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Some underprivileged</span> Moroccan women charmed wealthy Gulf tourists. Others <span style="background-color: white;">resorted to prostitution. Some pursued what they thought were maid or cosmetologist working contracts in the Gulf, only to be stripped of their passports and forced into prostitution. Some were kidnapped by folks involved in extensive transnational prostitution rings. Whatever her fate, the Moroccan woman would become a victim of her own reality, along with the scorning eyes of society. In her homecountry, she is seen as lacking the moral values or patience to search for a more "appropriate" source of income. In the Gulf, she is no longer a victim of her socioeconomic reality, but an object deserving of the imposed objectification.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">This notion is reinforced by mass media in both regions, whether in film, television series, music videos. It is indirectly perpetuated by government policies in both regions as well. The Saudi government </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/29/saudi-arabia-ban-moroccan-women-stereotype">banned Moroccan women "of a certain age"</a> from performing the minor religious pilgrimage, the umrah. This policy reinforces the fact that whatever experiences she has endured, shaped by whatever factors, it is the Moroccan woman's fault. She is not a victim, but the perpetrator. The Moroccan government did no better in </span><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://xrdarabia.org/2007/05/04/morocco-protects-saudi-wives/">requiring Saudi-court approval</a> before a Saudi man can get married in Morocco to a Moroccan woman. Again, the law does not address the conditions of the Moroccan woman, nor does it indicate any step toward improving her conditions. It's just another bureaucratic step added to the process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>What Now?</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">When the idea for this blog came up, it was just one possible step towards changing these views and better understanding why these views exist. It's quite obvious that not much is being done by either societies or governments. If there is something being done, it's not working really well. The Maghreb and the Gulf may be on two opposite ends of the so-called "Arab World," but misconstrued views should not be the only bridge through which these two regions connect. There is still much to be said, so we invite your feedback and suggestions. </span></div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18357158791212097925noreply@blogger.com3