Not-So Happy International Women's Day

The International Women’s Day website says that women’s day “has been observed since the early 1900’s”. Throughout the rest of the page, it goes on to chronicle some of the milestones in women’s fight for their rights. I do not have any doubts regarding the life-changing achievements of those great women. But my question is what took them so long? Why does it seem that the last century was the only time in history when women dared ask for equality? Civilizations, at least the well-known ones, have been patriarchal throughout thousands of years of human existence. Is that an indication of women’s real place in society? Are we getting it all wrong?
Our daily language and lifestyle has been so entrenched with feminist rhetoric that no one dares ask these questions out loud any more. It is considered so un-PC to question women’s rights that even ultra-conservative Muslims in God-forsaken deserts would try to disguise such insinuations under subtle patronizing tones. Yet history, religion, and even biology seem to conspire against women. I have yet to hear of a male colleague calling in sick because of a really bad PMS!
So fellow feminists, if you will excuse me, I really want to know whether we are doing the right thing or not. I do not mean to snub years of struggle and suffering to enjoy the rights we currently do. I am simply wondering for the hell of it. After all, freedom of thought is what you worked so darn hard for, right?
Of course, this does not mean at all that I will give up driving that monstrous truck any time soon. Nor will I stop going to work, studying for grad school, caring for my lovely 2-year old, or doing house chores. But at the end of one of those daunting days, I can’t help but wonder.

(Painting by Sara Shamma)

Arab Unity after Gaza?

On 15 February, the Doha Debates in coordination with the BBC hosted a heated discussion on whether Arab unity after Gaza in dead and buried or not. A whopping 77% of those who attended the debate voted for the claim that we should start offering our condolences; while only 23% still had a flicker of hope.
I was among the 77%; not that I believe that the recent bloodshed in Gaza is what caused the split among Arabs. The split is merely a symptom of a chronic disease which has roots deep in history.
Arab states, as of their political borders today, were sliced up by the colonial powers mid-twentieth century without the slightest regard for the varied ethnic and religious groups that lived in the region. As a result, these groups found themselves confined within artificial borders, and asked to identify with their newly-created states and governments. Naturally, whenever an Arab state was not gripped by a despot, people busied themselves with fighting each other for power, for land, or just for the heck of it. Lebanon and Iraq are perfect examples of countries that came tumbling down after autocratic regimes were ousted. No, I’m not promoting dictatorship in any way. What I’m saying is that Arab nationalism is still an unripe concept, and sectarian violence will continue to prevail at least until a firmer sense of patriotism is forged. So how can Arabs unite when oftentimes they lack a sense of affiliation within their own tiny artificial countries?
If you think about it, Arab unity is not really dead. It hasn’t been born yet. Yes there were periods in history when some sort of unity prevailed in the region under the Caliphate rule of Umayyads, Abbasids, and Ottomans. But the Caliphate of those times ruled their people under the name of religion not nationalism. And even then, things did not always flow smoothly as some group was always fighting another for power, for land, or just for the heck of it.