Thursday, June 28, 2007
Not Yet In Syria
So I'm all like, I'm gonna start a blog about Syria! When should I start it? How about THREE MONTHS BEFORE I GO. And then shit, I totally am not yet in Syria so writing seems pointless or whatever. But stuff is happening rather related to my future journey there, both involving the all-important world around me and my own self-centered life. So I should like write about. So I fucking will. Maybe. Unless I'm tired or Top Chef is on or I'm going to see the new DIE HARD again. Seriously that movie kicks ass.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Freedom through Hijab?
In last weeks's Saturday New York Times (May 26 front page) there's an article on Algerian women on the front page. [A Quiet Revolution in Algeria: Gains by Women by Michael Slackman - if you have a .edu address you can get TimeSelect for free by the way]. It talks about how women consitute the majority of University students, as they do in many countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran, but in Algeria they are also coming to dominate professional and administrative jobs and contribute more to family income than men. This is all very cool, but the reason I bring up a week-old article (news on the internet goes staler quicker than baguettes) is this:
"Sociologists and many working women say that by adopting religion and wearing the Islamic head covering called the hijab, women here have in effect freed themselves from moral judgements and restrictions imposed by men. Uncovered women are rarely seen on the street late at night, but covered women can be seen strolling the city after attending the evening prayer at the mosque."
In the hijab "debate", many people have a knee-jerk reaction: see a covered woman, scream "oppression!". The hijab has become short hand for all that is wrong and backward about the Arab world or Islam (take your pick). Just look at the Turkish army freaking out over the possibility of a woman who wears the veil in the presidential palace.
But obviously it's more complicated than that, which is why both the West's and Islamists' fetishization of the veil is so frustrating. I can understand why many people object to the veil. In a way it defines a woman's body purely by its sexuality, which of course must be hidden away. Of course, in Iraq now men are getting killed for wearing shorts so it's not always such a double standard.
I'm hardly one against sexual liberation, but we need to remind ourselves that wearing a bikini in public isn't the only type manifestation of liberation. Clothing in some culture is more conservative than in others, but you never hear any one making a fuss about Tibetan women's modest clothing. Women in Algeria chose to wear the scarf or not, and some of those that chose to wear it do so because of the freedom it grants them. In Egypt, I was told that no one would touch a muhigaba (woman in hijab) so I stuck one in my purse in case I went home late at night. I hardly ever used it, though my arrival back home often coincided with the morning call to prayer (around 4am).
Women are gaining more access to school, government administration, and law (the article states that 70% of Algeria's lawyers are women and 60% of its judges). I don't give a shit if they're doing it in a hijab or naked.
"Sociologists and many working women say that by adopting religion and wearing the Islamic head covering called the hijab, women here have in effect freed themselves from moral judgements and restrictions imposed by men. Uncovered women are rarely seen on the street late at night, but covered women can be seen strolling the city after attending the evening prayer at the mosque."
In the hijab "debate", many people have a knee-jerk reaction: see a covered woman, scream "oppression!". The hijab has become short hand for all that is wrong and backward about the Arab world or Islam (take your pick). Just look at the Turkish army freaking out over the possibility of a woman who wears the veil in the presidential palace.
But obviously it's more complicated than that, which is why both the West's and Islamists' fetishization of the veil is so frustrating. I can understand why many people object to the veil. In a way it defines a woman's body purely by its sexuality, which of course must be hidden away. Of course, in Iraq now men are getting killed for wearing shorts so it's not always such a double standard.
I'm hardly one against sexual liberation, but we need to remind ourselves that wearing a bikini in public isn't the only type manifestation of liberation. Clothing in some culture is more conservative than in others, but you never hear any one making a fuss about Tibetan women's modest clothing. Women in Algeria chose to wear the scarf or not, and some of those that chose to wear it do so because of the freedom it grants them. In Egypt, I was told that no one would touch a muhigaba (woman in hijab) so I stuck one in my purse in case I went home late at night. I hardly ever used it, though my arrival back home often coincided with the morning call to prayer (around 4am).
Women are gaining more access to school, government administration, and law (the article states that 70% of Algeria's lawyers are women and 60% of its judges). I don't give a shit if they're doing it in a hijab or naked.
I'm going to Syria...
I love saying that, but I shouldn't. I was at a hep rooftop party in Soho (okay, hanging with kids that lived on my floor back freshman year of college) and the conversation turns, as it does, to studies and future plans. This conversation is one I have had many times, with the parents of the kids I tutor and babysit, random men at bars, my friends parents, my podiatrist, others, and is one I am likely to have again - and love.
The other participant inquires about my studies - Politics and Middle East Studies. Since the latter is not a common major, something along the lines of "We could sure use people to fix up that place" or "that's a useful major nowadays!" is said. I ask about their studies, or job, or life, depending on their current phase of life.
"So, where are you living next year." And then, I get to say the delicious words themselves: "Oh, I'm going to Syria for a year."
"Syria??" Then I get to hear about how crazy I am, or was North Korea too tame, or why not Iraq? Cocktail in hand, I can regail them with stories of renting a car and driving through Southern Lebanon - Hezbollah country - before the 06 war or "almost getting kidnapped" at the Syrian border or of protesting with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. And my political opinions on various Middle Eastern governments, movements, or foreign policies are respected (despite my sometime unpopular positions) because I am a crazy motherfucker who is going to go to Syria for a year - I must know shit.
I shouldn't like the reaction I get from "Syria" because it reveals how the media here makes us believe the image of angry mobs of Middle Easterners is the only one. True, a lot of people in Syria (and a good many other countries) are not fans of our government, as are many people here. But as an American in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan I heard much more about the cousin in Virginia and the brother in New Jersey than rants about America. People know that venting such feelings to me is not going to change shit since I'm a lowly backpacking student with no hand in American foreign affairs - at least not yet.
So I shouldn't enjoy the adventurous and brave image of me people create when I tell them I'm going to Syria. Rest assured, I'll get sick of it soon, just as I got sick of telling people that no, I didn't have to wear a burka in Egypt. But for now, I'll enjoy it. And I promise that this will be my first and last intentionally pretentious entry.
The other participant inquires about my studies - Politics and Middle East Studies. Since the latter is not a common major, something along the lines of "We could sure use people to fix up that place" or "that's a useful major nowadays!" is said. I ask about their studies, or job, or life, depending on their current phase of life.
"So, where are you living next year." And then, I get to say the delicious words themselves: "Oh, I'm going to Syria for a year."
"Syria??" Then I get to hear about how crazy I am, or was North Korea too tame, or why not Iraq? Cocktail in hand, I can regail them with stories of renting a car and driving through Southern Lebanon - Hezbollah country - before the 06 war or "almost getting kidnapped" at the Syrian border or of protesting with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. And my political opinions on various Middle Eastern governments, movements, or foreign policies are respected (despite my sometime unpopular positions) because I am a crazy motherfucker who is going to go to Syria for a year - I must know shit.
I shouldn't like the reaction I get from "Syria" because it reveals how the media here makes us believe the image of angry mobs of Middle Easterners is the only one. True, a lot of people in Syria (and a good many other countries) are not fans of our government, as are many people here. But as an American in Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan I heard much more about the cousin in Virginia and the brother in New Jersey than rants about America. People know that venting such feelings to me is not going to change shit since I'm a lowly backpacking student with no hand in American foreign affairs - at least not yet.
So I shouldn't enjoy the adventurous and brave image of me people create when I tell them I'm going to Syria. Rest assured, I'll get sick of it soon, just as I got sick of telling people that no, I didn't have to wear a burka in Egypt. But for now, I'll enjoy it. And I promise that this will be my first and last intentionally pretentious entry.
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