A Reader Reflects: First Annual Bay Area Arab Women's Conference

This report was submitted by Kristel.

I had the honor of attending the first annual Bay Area Arab Women's Conference this past Friday, March 14, in Mountain View, California. This event was organized by the Arab Cultural and Community Center of San Francisco and featured a diverse compilation of speakers and subject matters. Topics ranged from discussions on Arab women in the realm of politics, health, media, community activism, identity, and cultural expression.

Although the speakers all articulated themselves well and shared rich perspectives and vital information, I felt the heart of the conference came from the mere fact that Arab/Arab-American women gathered together in one room. This act alone garnered an overwhelming sense of solidarity, especially as every participant could identify with battling warp perspectives non-Arabs hold of Arab women, and the very personal struggles Arab women have in dealing with their own community.

Dr. Suad Amiry touched upon an element of these two struggles in her speech titled after her book, "No Sex in the City: The Generation of Secular Women in the PLO." Dr. Amiry expressed her frustration derived from the labeling of Arab women as either the subservient/oppressed type, or the overly emotional/mourning type. Those having such limited views of Arab women do a great injustice, as the contributions, lifestyles, and points-of-view of Arab women get overlooked. The exploration of these eclectic and unique differences among Arab women can give others great insight and understanding into a people often misunderstood.

Dr. Dina Ibrahim, in her talk about Arab women in the media, chimed into this subject as well. Her simple statement of how often people assume her to be "Mexican" or something other than Arab, as she doesn't fit the stereotypical look of an Arab (i.e., not wearing a hijab), emerged a powerful testament to the daily struggle of the Arab/Arab-American woman. The collective chuckle at the presumption of being an ethnicity other than Arab proved Dr. Ibrahim was not alone! I can most definitely relate, as can every one of my Arab cousins/friends.

The conference attendees also found unity when discussing issues plaguing women within the Arab/Arab-American community. Dr. Suad Amiry talked about her having to take great strides to conceal the identity of the women featured in her book, who spoke about their first loves, other romantic relationships, and their sex lives. These women feared "gossip" would construe as a result of their stories. Discussions related to health were also a cause of fear, which Dr. Sally Al-Daher and Nadiah Mshasha, MPH, reflected upon. For example, a result of the extensive survey they conducted on Arab/Arab-American women exposed that they tend to not conduct monthly breast exams as recommended by their gynecologists. The reason for this comes from being embarrassed to touch oneself; these acts are considered "aib," or shameful in Arabic.

Whether we discussed our strengths or areas of improvement, it felt empowering to have a forum focused on Arab/Arab-American women. Rarely does this outlet exist in the community, so being surrounded by women that could whole - heartedly empathize, relate, and most importantly, care - just felt good. I only hope this sort of momentum continues and escalates to an even grander, more encompassing scale in the future.

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Who is More Unelectable than a Black, a Woman, a Hispanic or a Mormon?

2 Answers: an atheist and a Muslim.

Barack Obama has to face e-mail chain letters suggesting he is an atheist, and others that he is a Muslim.

This Chicago Sun-Times article illuminates the whispering campaign being used to discredit Barack Obama. It is based on accusations apparently most detrimental to an American politician: being godless or worshiping "Allah."

While the media raves about the historic possibility of a woman or African-American as President, and a Latino candidate (Bill Richardson), this shows that the American public still has several psychological, prejudicial hurdles to go, this is, if an African-American and a woman are actually electable. I would like to think that given their leading positions now, it is possible, at the least. Time will tell.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Just hours before Thursday night’s caucuses, White House hopeful Barack Obama did interviews on five networks and plenty of local television stations this morning, then hoarsely greeted diners at a downtown Des Moines food court.

And he faced a surprise question from one woman who asked him if he was an atheist.

“I’m a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ. I’ve been a member for 15 years,” Obama replied, adding, “Don’t read e-mails.”

E-mails have circulated in recent weeks saying Obama is a Muslim or an atheist or took his oath of office on a Quran instead of a Bible, none of which is true.

“I hated having to ask him that,” the woman, Zanetta Moore-El, said. “But I heard he was like an atheist. I don’t want a president who’s an atheist. I’m a firm believer in God. I just really wanted to make sure because I really wanted to vote for him and he has some good topics and everything.”

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How many Muslim women leaders can you name?

Charismatic, striking and politically sly, Benazir Bhutto, 54, was reared amid the privileges of Pakistan's aristocracy and the ordeals of its turbulent politics. Smart, ambitious and resilient, she endured her father's execution and her own imprisonment at the hands of a military dictator to become the country's - and the Muslim world's - first female leader.

The Muslim world's first female leader? Really? Are they serious? Maybe the first democratically elected prime minister of a modern nation-state that is majority Muslim, but to make the jump to say the first leader in the entire history of the 'Muslim world' is misleading and incorrect methinks.

What an incredibly misleading way to begin a story. I said as much to someone, and they said, why is that misleading? So I said umm, Aisha led politically (right?) after the death of the prophet. The person said, "Well I didn't know that." And she's right- no one does, which is why major respected papers with international readership can get away with making such a statement (which really has not much to do with the rest of the article). Notice how the author can write a biography of a female leader of a Muslim modern nation, something that would contradict the stereotypes of most of the readers, without actually challenging the stereotype. With that sentence they reinforce the idea that women can't lead- she must have been the first.

Can we please note here that there hasn't been any non-white non-male president in the US?

Here are some of the FEST's favorite Muslim women leaders (min zamaan and in this current zaman):

Khadija: The first wife of Muhammad. Also his elder, his distant cousin, and his financial sponsor. She was the first person to convert to Islam, and the prophet didn't marry any other wives until after her death. She is remembered as having a leading role in early Islam.

Aisha: A later wife of Muhammad, remembered as having had a special relationship with him, who after his death was respected for her accounts of the prophet's sayings and actions. Up to a quarter of Islamic law may be attributed to her explanations. In the battle that split Islam into Sunni and Shia, she raised up and led an army.

Najah Al-Attar: Syrian Vice President as of 2006 and former Minister of Culture. Don't let her fake wig distract you from her accomplishments.

Khaleda Zia: Bangladeshi Prime Minister from 1991-1996 and 2001-2006. Also she was Forbes' 33rd Most Powerful Woman in 2006.

For a plethora, see here.

Tarboush Tip: Nadeem, May, Fadi

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The Hijabi Cabbie: Jerusalem's Hottest Taxi Driver

Majda al-Bahr, 38, wife, and mother of five, is Jerusalem's only female taxi driver. And that is not the only item on her list of "coolness," her last name means "The Sea." If I had such a cool last name, you people wouldn't hear the end of it.

As Jerusalem's only female Muslim taxi driver, Mrs Bahr, wearing a white headscarf, cuts a distinctive figure in the city's taxi-driving community.

Mrs Bahr is an unlikely heroine breaking down the gender and religious barriers in the holy city.

Born and educated in Kuwait, Mrs Bahr, whose parents are both Palestinian, has worked as a taxi driver in the city for five years.

Previously, she worked as a cleaner in hotels and retirement homes.

Now, the mother-of-five shares the taxi with her husband and works six days a week. She normally takes Saturday off - the Jewish Sabbath - when there is very little business.

"It's very expensive in Jerusalem," she says, explaining why she first became a taxi driver, "and we needed more money."

Mrs Bahr constantly juggles the challenges of motherhood with her job.

Working the morning shift, she sometimes cuts it short to make lunch for her children.

In her conservative Muslim community, Mrs Bahr says that it is her female Muslim friends that have been her biggest champions.

"My friends think it is daring and brave to be a taxi driver," she says.

Mrs Bahr is even trying to persuade another Muslim female friend to get behind the wheel.

She also says that her male Muslim and Jewish colleagues at the local taxi office are completely supportive.

Check the article for comments by her Jewish colleagues, while they are mostly friendly, they carry more than just a hint of condescension. It seems like they are referring to her being Muslim as some sort of a disability that she had to overcome.

..

In a city that is inhabited by largely conservative Muslims, and largely conservative Jews, it is hard for any female to break from the stranglehold of societal norms. Mrs. Bahr's being Muslim, no doubtedly presents her with a unique set of challenges. But the Jewish colleagues forget that she is the only female cabbie in town. They would make you believe that there are female cabbies roaming the city's streets, and being Muslim was the only hurdle she had to pass.

Oh, by the way, Arab women know how to park, and they drive cars with stick shift.

[Tarboush tip: Mary Kate]

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Saudi Tribe Holds Camel Beauty Pageant: Jordanian Woman Wins!

According to Reuters, "[t]he legs are long, the eyes are big, the bod[y's] curvaceous."

"Contestants in this Saudi-style beauty pageant have all the features you might expect anywhere else in the world, but with one crucial difference -- the competitors are camels.

This week, the Qahtani tribe of western Saudi Arabia has been welcoming entrants to its Mazayen al-Ibl competition, a parade of the "most beautiful camels" in the desolate desert region of Guwei'iyya, 120 km (75 miles) west of Riyadh." MORE

No one, however, expected Mona Hussein Abu-Bakr to win!!

Ouch.. sorry, yeah that's pretty f*cked up. On a serious note, I think we should all be congratulating Ms. Abu-Bakr for becoming the first female (?) chief of a political party in Jordan.

Yay democracy! Democracy? DEMOCRACY!!! Tayib, whatever... "democracy"... she's still hotter than Golda.

(tarboush tip: MuNa MuNa MuNa & The Fadmeister)

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Israel's Use of "Symbolic Legislation"

At a recent UC Davis event, Orit Kamir, an Israeli “scholar that deals with the interface between law, society, and even politics” stated:

Israel likes to think of itself as a forward-thinking, liberal, enlightened, egalitarian state, and it's happy to legislate in that image… It makes us feel good. [But] outlaws are like a mirror that we look at to see our ideals[?]. If you look at the law again, the laws are very short [?] there's hardly anything operative about the law [?] nothing about what should be changed or institutionalized.[?] It's a symbolic legislation.

Interestingly enough, she wasn’t talking about the sham democracy that imposes second-class subhuman status upon the Arab/Palestinian citizens of Israel. Instead, she was referring to the prominence of sexual harassment in Israeli politics (i.e. - nasty flirting, ramming one's tongue down womens' throats, and even rape).

Nevertheless, it leads one to wonder: How many other Israeli laws out there are merely 'symbolic'? I bet at least 20% of Israel’s population can think of a few…

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Wow, A Muslim Woman Can Surf

The caption reads:
Sama Wareh walks along the sand dressed in swimwear designed for Muslim women, Newport Beach, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007. Muslim girls and women are increasingly participating in athletic activities, especially as second and third generation children of immigrants grow up surrounded by American influences. But doing so requires them to overcome a seemingly large obstacle: Islam's traditional emphasis on modest dress. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

I am kind of fed up with these "watch Muslims woman do normal things" kinds of stories and images. Maybe it's because I grew up being beaten by covered girls in foot races, I am just not impressed that a m'hajibiyya does things that others do. The only way this is interesting is if you subscribe to the notion that all covered women are treated as sub-humans with no agency -- a common, ignorant perception in the United States, and one that spawns stories like this one.

They make it seem like being Muslim and modest is a barrier to participation, when quite clearly, it happens all the time. That said, there are repressive forces, of course, but they can be overstated in the American media and imagination.

Should I attribute this to cultural chauvinism or sexism? After all, it is not as if the American model of female presentation offers liberation. Though it grants agency to women to choose, boundless pressures push women in a way that can be very damaging. The AFP reported about a new study on the damage of the pervasive sexualized images in US media:

Inescapable media images of sexed-up girls and women posing as adolescents can cause psychological and even physical harm to adolescents and young women, a study in the US has warned.

The pressure of what experts call "sexualization" can lead to depression, eating disorders, and poor academic performance, said the report, released Sunday by the American Psychological Association.

The study found that sexualization occurs when "a person's value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior," when sexuality is inappropriately imposed, or when a person is sexually "objectified."

Sexism is the main problem, but it is not total in its oppression. Religious women can still empower themselves with modesty just as some others can empower themselves by owning their sexuality -- both can defy the respective pressures and images around them though these cultural norms weigh heavily.

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