Ayoon Wa Azan (The cause is us and only us): al Hayat

When I was young, I used to read Al-Hilal magazine at my grandfather's. I still recall a series of women's stories under the headline "Souar min Hayatihnna", "Images from their Lives" by Dr A'isha Abdel Rahman (Bint Al-Shati'). As an adult I read her report entitled "Risalat Al-Ghufran", The Forgiveness Letter", "Tarajim Sayydat Bayt Al-Nubuua", "The Biographies of Women in the Prophet's House", and others.
Those were tragedies, not stories. After decades I recall the story of a female peasant who was tried for having flipped over her baby in her sleep and suffocated him to death. She used to return home exhausted after long work days in the tillage and to drop almost dead in her sleep.
I do not think the status of Arab women has made much progress since then although the education of women represents one of the rare Arab successes in recent decades. Yet, education has not led to empowerment and women are still second-class if not third-class citizens.
A year ago in June, six female Nobel laureates from around the world met in Dublin to participate in an international conference on Arab women's empowerment and on advancing the peace process in the Middle East. A seventh winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, was supposed to participate, but she was under house arrest like all the people of Burma whose borders have been closed on them despite recent catastrophic hurricane. Even if she had attended, she would not have made any difference. Arab women have not made progress nor has the peace process which I think has regressed as a result of the Nazism of the Israeli government and the secession of Gaza a year ago.
There are those who persecute women and try to deprive her of her role in the process of nation building in the name of religion. In doing so, they offend both women and religion. Earlier this month, we saw deputies withdrawing from the opening session of parliament because of the presence of two unveiled ministers although the veil is a tradition rather than a religious duty.
Had Bin Al-Shati' still been with us she would have painted new pictures of the lives of Arab women. The whole world is changing but the life of Arab women does not. Today I am writing after following up on the Dublin conference which I was reminded of by statement made to my wife by a friend from the Gulf. She got married and divorced a few months later but did not get married a second time despite our attempts to persuade her to give it a second try since she is still beautiful and young and she may have better luck. However, she replied saying: "They ( men) want a slave, not a wife."
They do not know how to treat wife or a slave properly, and the worst among them are those who commit "honor crimes" that have nothing to do with honor. Day after another, we hear of the murder of a wife or a girl at the hands of male relatives who may be a husband a brother. I read in the London dailies about the tragedy of a Pakistani girl whose mother joined the father in her murder. The worst news I have read has been about Pakistan where according to Human Rights Watch Commission 70 to 90% of 83 million women are subjected to domestic violence.
There are similar stories in every country, from Iraqi Kurdistan to the south, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and others. Since these crimes are restricted to women, should we infer that only women have honor and that men are without honor?
Early this month, the Observer published a horrible story on Leila Hussein, an Iraqi woman from Basra, whose husband Abdel Kader Ali killed their daughter Rand for befriending a British soldier. The relationship was innocent because the medical examination proved after Rand's murder that she was virgin … This means she was killed for only looking and smiling at him.
The mother could not remain silent over the loss of her daughter, so she spoke critically and the Observer reported her sad words in late April, but the mother was threatened in turn and she hid in search for safety. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic husband found her and killed her. Where does the occupation stand with respect to her love for her daughter that is considered a crime, and all the disasters it has brought? (Interviews with Iraqi women are posted in the Washington Post blog)
Mistreatment of women in our nation involves everybody, especially Asian maids and their famous stories, as if they were not subjugated or oppressed enough. These maids might have the chance of having their stories written one day. I used to know a maid working for friends in Beirut who sent her entire salary to her parents at the end of the month. If she took a vacation once every two years and visited her parents, she would go back to Lebanon battered and her body would be full of bruises. Despite this, she would send her entire salary to her parents at the end of the month.
A year ago, Nobel Prize women laureates stood up for Arab women. Now I am in Jordan attending a conference on Nobel Prize winners which is held for the purpose of advancing peace in the Middle East. The winners will fail as the women winners have failed. The cause is us and only us, not any other party (even if it were Israel) we have used as a pretext since A'isha Abdel Rahman started to write until now.