Credit: Cheetah100

Here are your weekly Peace Links!  Lots of news coming in this week – violence in South Sudan, tension is Israel, and more.

• I already tweeted this on Tuesday, but I think it is important news that I haven’t heard much about (too busy covering the GOP contest no doubt!).  Here’s the gist: “…the world’s newest nation is grappling with a virus of tribal violence.” Read the rest of Sudarsan Raghavan’s report at The Washington Post.

• And here is another story we’ve been following – tension in Israel between religious and secular Jews over the public role of women.  Check out this great Gender Across Borders blog on the subject.

• From Australia: Do natural disasters breed domestic violence?

• While the title of this post is a bit over the top, it does remind us of just how dependent Palestinians are on outside aid, as well as the inherent danger in this arrangement.

Mimi, the "Shy Rebellious Arab Girl"

Mimi
Oman

“My eldest sister gave birth to a baby girl a few days ago. The girl is seven or eight days old now. I thought they’d done FGM on her when she was still in the hospital (and I was in Muscat) but today I realized that I was mistaken. They actually did it on her today.”

***

My worst day in 2012 must be today.

My eldest sister gave birth to a baby girl a few days ago. The girl is seven or eight days old now. I thought they’d done FGM on her when she was still in the hospital (and I was in Muscat) but today I realized that I was mistaken. They actually did it on her today.

Women in Salalah spend the 40 days after birth in their mothers’ houses (another bad phenomenon in Dhofar) so I have my sister and her children at home these days.

I knew that my sister had it done on her little baby today when her 10-year-old daughter came to my room and said to me, “Auntie I saw mum tie the baby’s legs.”

When I heard that I really thought I was going to lose my mind! I looked after my baby niece last night. I fed her and carried her in my arms and let her sleep on the bed next to me. I didn’t know my sister was planning to do that to her in the morning! If I knew that I wouldn’t have let the baby out of the room!

Anyway when I heard that I rushed out of my room looking for my sister, but I found mother with the baby in her arms. My mother was smiling when I said, “Are you people still doing this?!”

Of course they’re still doing it, but I just didn’t know what to say, and I was already shedding tears. Mother felt that I was angry so she said, “It’s a Sunna.” She was still smiling. It’s the first time I talk to mother about it. I responded, “It’s not a Sunna! You people just enjoy doing it!”

Crazy answers. I wasn’t thinking when I said those words.

My mother laughed, “So you’re saying you’re not going to do it on your daughters?”

I couldn’t control myself, “You’ll see what I’ll do when anyone of you think of hurting my daughters! I’m going to kill! God will punish you for what you’re doing, and you’ll see!”

Because that’s what they believe. God will punish. I know it was crazy to say that to my mother but I couldn’t control my feelings. My mother didn’t say anything but kept smiling, and I left her with my niece. I went back to my room and kept crying.

I didn’t talk to mother much today. I didn’t even smile at her. I really hate to upset mother because she went through a lot in her life, and I always apologize to her when I say something I shouldn’t. But since this was about FGM I’m not planning to apologize today.

The one who did FGM on my little niece was an old Dhofari woman, as usual. It wasn’t even done in a clinic.

Shortly before lunch my eldest sister called me and asked me to help her with something. She gave me her baby girl and asked me to take her to my bedroom. My niece was sleeping on my bed when my sister came in with the diapers and some other things. My sister wanted me to help change her daughter’s diaper.

I was so sure I was going to lose my mind when changing her diaper. Yes her legs were tied by a piece of cloth. And the diaper was wrapped around her body in a strange way so that it wouldn’t hurt her. And there was some medical cotton in that place. It was full of blood!

I was crying and I couldn’t say anything. The girl was crying so hard! It must be too painful to her! My sister didn’t say anything to me but she noticed that I was really angry. I haven’t talked to her since then. Tomorrow I will talk to her!

My mother’s belief that people should keep on doing this can be justified, but my sisters? They have no excuse to be as ignorant as the others!

My eldest sister, who’s exposed her daughter to this stupid practice today, is a holder of a master’s degree in mathematics. Can you believe she would let such a thing happen to her daughter?!

I have four sisters and all of them are already in their 30′s (except my 24 year old sister, who publishes her videos on youtube). My sisters are really special to me, but sometimes I feel they’re not different from any other Dhofari woman. I mean they have the same mentality as many Dhofari women.

One of them is a physics teacher. She is the smartest sister to me. She has won two scholarships in the UK ,(but she missed them because of my parents’ worries. I’m lucky to be born in 1989 don’t you think so?) and she seems to be always the best whether at school or university or work.

I once talked to her about FGM. I asked her to rethink about it, but I remember that she said and kept repeating things said in the Arabic forums. Contradictory things like: it doesn’t make a difference, or it lessens the sensitivity of that area (which is said to be an advantage in the Arabic forums).

I’m very disappointed and I’m very tired of all this. And I’m sure most of Dhofari girls will go to heaven.

***
This was originally posted on Mimi’s blog, A Shy Rebellious Arab Girl.

 The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.

Wanjiru Kamau

“…These things happened not just because of racism or sexism, but because of ignorance, and [we] help them go beyond that ignorance, to build peace.”

***

Wanjiru Kamau is the founder of the African Refugee and Immigrant Foundation, which facilitates the effective transition of African immigrants to American society and supports their productive, sustainable integration into their new homeland.  She won a 2011 Purpose Prize for her work with the foundation. The Purpose Prize honors someone who made a change late in their career to work for social good.  Prior to moving to Washington DC  to found the African Refugee and Immigrant Foundation, Wanjiru Kamau was a university administrator and adjunct professor in State College, Pennsylvania.

Blog and Social Media Manager Caroline Anderson interviewed Wanjiru about how her work and how it contributes to peacebuilding. 

What inspired you to change your career?  How did you make the decision to do so?

The problem presented itself to me.  When I met with African refugees and immigrants in State College I noticed that some Rwandese people who had been resettled in the US were adjusting badly.  They had not lived in urban areas of Africa, and the United States was very different from their homes.  I felt that they needed help in adjusting to the United States, and that I could help them.  My graduate work was in multicultural education, which sensitized me to valuing difference and allowing differences to exist so that we can all learn from one another.  From this sensitivity I was in a much better position to educate immigrants and felt compelled to help them adjust to their new home while retaining their identity.  My background in mental health also helped.  These refugees had had their emotions injured from devastating wars, family loss, and separation, so learning how to deal with these traumas was also a part of adjusting.

Can you describe some of your work?

The African Refugee and Immigrant Foundation (AIRF) became the bridge between the two cultures. I have lived in the U.S. and in Africa, and I mediate between the two cultures.  I find that people in the United States only know about hunger, malnutrition, and war in Africa.  This also makes it harder for immigrants to integrate.  People don’t know anything about them, so it is necessary to train caregivers – mental health workers, and other professionals who work with the immigrants – in African cultural sensitivity.  We also try to educate teachers, hospital workers, and ordinary Americans.

In addition, we help Africans who are from different countries to better understand each other, train parents to get adjusted more quickly so that they can understand their children (who often acculturate faster than their parents and guardians), and mediate domestic disputes.  The problem of domestic violence is a particularly important one, because what is reportedly acceptable in some African cultures is not here in the United States.  We have established a Council of Elders, consisting of people from different countries who can mediate disputes and cases of domestic violence and explain what behavior is the norm in the United States.  We always make sure to have a man and a woman in the meetings if the trouble is between a husband and wife, and also ensure the mediators are from the same countries as the disputants.  Both of these conditions are important so that everyone is heard and understood.

Where does the Foundation do its work? How do people find out about the services you provide?

The organization caters to people in the DC metro area, but we also get calls from around the country, and from refugee camps in African countries. Our constituents are mainly low income, and our mission is to help make them productive in their new home.  Physical contact is very important to our work, so we focus on the DC metro area where people can meet face to face.

Constituents discover us through word of mouth, on our website, on Facebook, and soon on Twitter.  But most are not computer savvy, so it’s mostly word of mouth and referrals.

How do you see yourself contributing to peacebuilding through the work of the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation?

When people are crossing borders there is so much need to understand one another.  The work we do helps with understanding on both sides.  Endowing newcomers with cultural and linguistic skills empowers them with peacebuilding tools.  When we understand one another we can talk to one another and reduce stereotypes.  It may seem that we are building peace indirectly, but I think we are doing it directly in a variety of ways.  For example, these immigrants are often products of violence, and we help to restore their mental health and find peace.  Our foundation has mediated between Hutu and Tutsi individuals to help them forgive each another.  Even though our focus is not peace, we end up building peace.  Last November we had a conference and taught the youth about African restorative justice.  We showed them how to use restorative justice in cases of school bullying. Immigrant children are bullied a lot because they are different, and we taught them ways of responding and of combating ignorance. This helps to create peace.  All of this builds peace – if you don’t have personal peace you can negatively impact so many others.

What we have been trying to do is to have the very refugees who have been victims forgive those they have left behind, the conflicts they have left behind.  We try to explain to them that these things happened not just because of racism or sexism but because of ignorance, and to help them go beyond that ignorance, to build peace.

What is your favorite success story that has come out of the Foundation’s work?

There are many stories, but one of the most meaningful is about a conflict between a Congolese family and an African American family.  This is an especially fraught relationship because the two groups (Africans and African Americans) look alike but are culturally different – a lot needs to be done to work through and understand these differences.

The story began in 2004 with a fight between the children of two families who were neighbors, one Congolese and one African American. The African American kids could not understand why the Congolese family did not speak English and hence, play with them. They started fighting and the police (all of whom were white) came. When the police arrived, the African American teenagers blamed the situation on the mother of the Congolese children, who could not speak English.  The mother was arrested and it was a very bad situation.  What we did in response was train the police that there was a population in their community who were different, and who might not speak English.  We worked with them to increase their cultural sensitivity to this situation.  You cannot just assume that people who look the same are culturally alike.  We helped the police better understand these cultural barriers.  It just leaves you wanting more to teach people how to understand one another.

Looking back over 10 years of the Foundation’s work and your own contributions, what have you learned?

Any older person who would like to make a new start should turn to something they are passionate about.  Doing this will really give them a love of life.  The kind of successes I have had with youth and families have excited and inspired me.  There are ways to find great satisfaction that are not measured by money. Particularly when you helping others, I have found that it releases you from your personal prison.  You can help yourself by helping others.  I would encourage others to find some service to do. After all, we are here in the world to serve other people.

Find out more about the work of the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation.

The authors of this article will remain anonymous to ensure their personal safety.

Kherrberr logo

***

We are Kherrberr. We are not an organization. Rather, we are a grassroots feminist media monitor. Kherrberr in Arabic means dental drill, and the concept behind it is that it aims to remove cavities from media—specifically, sexism, racism, homophobia, and violence. Our activists are kept anonymous to protect their personal security and safety. The people who we criticize in Kherrberr are usually influential, as mainstream media outlets in Lebanon are owned by tycoons who are very powerful on business and political levels. This monitor began as a personal initiative in 2010 when we as feminist activists noticed a wave of demeaning and sexist songs and advertisements—a wave that reached its peak with Mohammad Iskandar’s song that states that women should not get employed and should instead stay at home and take care of their husbands. We thought we should do something about this, and so we did.

The Lebanese media is rampant with discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The main gender stereotypes include the typical image of what constitutes a “feminine woman” (skinny body, huge lips and breasts, full makeup), the typical gender role of a housewife, mother, stupid girlfriend who knows nothing about anything except makeup and fashion, portraying women as submissive, objectifying women’s bodies and using their sexuality and “sex appeal” to sell products, and portraying women as inferior employees, as ignorant when it comes to sports, and as always looking for a husband. These are just a few among many, and we have compiled a reference list of 2011’s Top 10 Offensive-to-Women Ads.

Footage from January 14 Fight Rape protest in Lebanon

Media in Lebanon is extremely influential on people and on public opinion as a whole, particularly because it reaches out to everyone, everywhere (especially through TV and radio), and it plays a major role in constructing social and individual politics. It deeply impacts the views of the new generation of Lebanese citizens, especially when it comes to very sensitive issues that are not discussed on a daily basis, such as women’s issues and rights, sexuality, and violence against women. Believe it or not, it is under this influence that one of the banks in Lebanon created a loan for plastic surgery! Media should be monitored for multiple reasons, including the lack of laws that criminalize sexist, racist. and violent ads, the  Ministry of Information’s lack of influence on media and its content, and the total lack of awareness in the majority of the media, including advertising agencies, comedy and other TV and radio shows, magazines, and websites. The frequency of sexist ads, songs, and statements that we are subjected to on a daily basis everywhere we go must be monitored.

Kherrberr’s main objective is to point out the negative influence of sexist, racist, and irresponsible media content in TV, radio, newspapers, websites, and pop culture in general. We aim to present a different media approach to and discourse on sensitive issues revolving around women and other marginalized groups. We aim to empower women and strengthen their relationship with their body image and self-esteem by criticizing the mainstream media discourse that stereotypes their roles and objectifies their bodies.

Follow Kherrberr on Twitter: @Kherrberr

Follow the Connection Point initiative on Twitter: @Connection_Pt

The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.

Women in Bakuvu. From right to left: Adele Safi Kagarabi, Liliane Waku, Lili Civava Ntamwinja, and Wilhelmine Ntakebuka

Christina Mitchell
United States/Democratic Republic of Congo

 “A failed state does not mean a failed people or, more notably, failed women.”

***

After three years of preparation, I finally met the women of the eastern Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, regions hosting what has been called Africa’s World War.  These are women who have seen the worst, but work toward the best.  Who have fought and survived despite the too common media story showing them as only helpless, voiceless victims.  I had previously confirmed that the victim narrative was baseless despite the very real vulnerability of Congolese women and the pandemic of rape accompanying the armed conflict.  I arrived to meet these women who had caught my imagination, to hear their points of view and to learn their reality.

Most of the reporting on the women highlights the horrendous accounts and high instances of rape that are instigated as a regular tactic of the conflict.  Although the violence is real, international peacekeeping, aid, academic, and conflict resolution entities represent gendered experiences as homogenous.  Women are victims, and men are victimizers.  Subsequently, the homogenization determines the definition of peace and processes of peacebuilding are developed that exclude the needs and voices of women.  For example, reintegration of combatants assumes that all combatants are male and, thus, does not make necessary arrangements for the special needs of reintegrating female combatants.  Furthermore, abuse, rape, malnutrition, constrained rights, etc., all remain a reality for women long after the armed hostilities are over.  Women are simply invisible beyond providing startlingly high numbers of victim narratives.  A failed state does not mean a failed people or, more notably, failed women.

Too often the relevant actions of Congolese women during decolonization, independence, and the armed conflict are relegated to rumor or irrelevance.  I am just now located again in the United States, beginning to uncover the scraps of written history by and about politically active Congolese women.  Rumor and irrelevance have promoted the victim narrative for the women, subsequently placing them in a secondary (and thus ignored) position in public and political decision-making.  This subjugation occurs despite promotion of equality and/or adoption of politically correct rhetoric. But Congolese women do organize, voice opposition, fight, and become politically active even in the most dangerous regions.

I finally entered the DRC in May of this year after a failed attempt in June 2010.  What I discovered in meeting these women was more than I could have ever imagined.

‘Peace’ for Congolese women is a straightforward concept encompassing basic services, sustainable living, and equal rights.  The most touching definition of ‘peace’ was provided by Liliane as having the stability of “knowing tomorrow.”  The women are aware they are depicted as victims, and find the depiction insulting and without merit.

Women in Goma. From right to left: Alyne Nziau, Charly Katsova Sivihwa, Mamu Bastola, Folestine Mutsinelu

Adèle noted that the international organizations use negative images of the women to justify their presence.  There are a multitude of grassroots women’s organizations operating in the country with little, if any, support or recognition by the government and the international aid, peacekeeping, and development organizations.  With tremendous foresight and fortitude the women have tackled issues as complex as disarmament and as necessary as food cooperatives.  The women desire an equal role in ending the violence and stress the importance of their role in the subsequent development of the DRC.  The women believe they have a say in the operation and running of their country and that their voices should be fully acknowledged.  For the women, justice and equal rights are intertwined.

All of these organizations provide some type of advocacy work coupled with political action (e.g., sit-ins or demonstrations) and conflict resolution practices. Networks of organizations have been integral to providing micro-loans, organizing women’s cooperatives, and coordinating demilitarization efforts.  These organizations also provide legal support for victims of violence, coordinate workshops on rights and gender, and register voters.  Planning relies on grassroots community initiatives called “peace groups” or “peace committees,”  mixed-gender groups of volunteers from the community, police, civil society, and army that produce their own peace-building mechanisms to address priorities set by the group.  They stated emphatically that it is through their successful efforts that the world has been made aware of the situation facing women as a result of the conflict.  The women were cognizant of their invisibility to the international community in terms of acknowledgement of their efforts, and they looked upon the snub with animosity.

The women are not opposed to international assistance.  However, they want international entities to work in cooperation with the government, establish priorities according to the needs of the targeted communities, leave when projects are no longer necessary, and fund and use local organizations to carry out the work.  These women deserve proper recognition, to have their voices made relevant and active, and look to aid groups only for support as they determine their own futures.

The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.

The Mosque of Paris (you can find it on the Left Bank)

A nice mix this week, if I do say so myself.  And not ALL depressing! Why does everyone talk about conflict minerals when they talk about the DRC?  And CAN Europe integrate its Muslim citizens and residents? (Does it really want to?)

• I’ve been fascinated by this Washington Post look at the opinions, desires, triumphs, and fears of African American women today .
• I was pleased to hear the Kojo Namdi show (which usually focuses on local DC issues), talking about conflict minerals (and the overemphasis on them).  With Texas in Africa blogger Laura Seay.
• New York Times on how to integrate European Muslims (Europe’s relationship with its Muslim citizens and residents is always troubling and fascinating to me… you can blame it on all those French lessons on the secularism and scarf bans. This is also why one of the first vocab words I knew was kippa, which means yarmulke.  Foulard is scarf.)
• Another human rights issue in Sudan…broad immunity.  From wronging rights.
• Love it!  Perceptions changed through travel. This gets back to the debate around Ali Mabardi’s “Global Empathy” post from last year – do you have to travel to break stereotypes, learn to empathize with other people?

Aya Chebbi

Aya Chebbi
Tunisia/Thailand

“We, people from 17 countries, speaking more than 10 languages and holding different beliefs, achieved peace at that island, so why can’t we achieve peace in one country speaking the same language, having the same religion and nationality?”

***

The pursuit of happiness is everyone’s quest.  But does everyone know there is no need to look for happiness anywhere, because it exists in their centre? Mankind has tried to establish peace through impressive speeches, international treaties, and peacebuilding operations. However, to make world peace a reality, I believe that we should start within our own minds and behaviour. Recently I travelled to Thailand and was introduced to a brightness of wisdom and a redefinition of life, happiness, and peace. I walked away from the experience with the simple equation that if you calm the mind you can access deep strength, love, and wisdom within yourself.

I travelled across the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Thailand in order to meditate … yes, to meditate. A lot of my friends laughed and said: “You are crazy to go by yourself!” “Do you trust these people?” “Are you going to convert to Buddhism?”

Some of them were supportive instead and said “You’re a brave young lady”… “Proud of you, and enjoy every moment for yourself.” In fact, the driving force for me to go into the experience and trust people whom I’d never met was meditation. Meditation is the moment for everyone’s self-discovering … discovering our inner peace, our strength, our positivity, and appreciating ourselves more. Buddha said: “There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way and not starting.” I started and I wanted to go all the way to Thailand to learn more, to discover more, and most importantly to be happy and peaceful from inside out.

I arrived in Bangkok and the following day I went to the Mooktawan Island. The place was a perfect one for inspiration and relaxation with the sounds of nature. It offered an inner security. The training provided an in-depth introduction to meditation and its applications to nonviolence, peacemaking, and social change. I lived some of the best moments of my entire life at the retreat site. I knew the true meaning of the word “thank you” and the deep meaning of a smile. I knew the importance of one’s smile when one of the fellows, with whom I made friends, gave me a sheet of paper saying “ When I found your smile was lost for about eight hours, I felt like a part of my happiness was gone … but today I saw your particular smile and it enlightened my day. Just keep your smile everyday.”

The group on Mooktawan island

I found myself a global citizen with those unique people and started asking myself: We, people from 17 countries, speaking more than 10 languages and holding different beliefs, achieved peace at that island, so why can’t we achieve peace in one country speaking the same language, having the same religion and nationality? We overcame our differences and found power in our similarities while living together for some days, so why can’t we find this positivity with people with whom we share the same history and the same background and with whom we have lived for a lifetime? Based on the answers I found, I came back to my country with a lot of love and kindness to share, because I found a solution for our peaceful coexistence: simply that we should always think about others because we can’t live without being in a community, and that we should live simply. The simple life clarified my mind and helped me make the right decisions. We usually complicate our lives and forget about the real mission of our existence. I believe that everyone has a mission to accomplish before leaving this world. It could be a small thing but would have a great impact.

The most important thing I learned in Thailand is that life is a continuous journey of self-discovery. This experience gave me, a young Arab-Muslim woman living in North Africa in a post-revolution environment, a driving force to keep my true colours shining and to get involved in my country’s peacebuilding. I challenge you to try this new way of establishing peace.  It’s a new way that can be used regardless of religion, culture, language, or background. Everyone needs a smile every morning to embark on a long day. I recommend that you start meditating this morning. Meditation will give you the power to believe in your powers as a human being with a body and mind that can be used wisely. You’re the only one who knows yourself well and you can let people see your inner beauty and positivity as you try to see people’s inner beauty and positivity. No one is perfect, we all have bad habits, but, as the teaching monks say, we just have to draw the line between “good & bad,” “right & wrong,” “should & should not,” and it will lead us to behave well.

In this new year I hope for freedom for the oppressed, equality for the discriminated against, shelter and food for the homeless, health for the sick, education for the illiterate, and peace for every human being. I wish for prosperity, development, and peace for my country Tunisia, for the neighbouring countries, for Africa, and for the entire universe. And finally, for me, I wish to continue what I’m doing with passion and commitment. Now I’m living more fully in the present and discovering my unique contribution to life.  What about you?

 The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.

Nela Milic's friends in Turkey

Nela Milic
Turkey/United Kingdom

“When you tour Istanbul’s palaces you learn about the weapons of the army as the biggest treasure of the nation.  But women do the opposite – they negotiate, they communicate, they share and collaborate. “

***

Recently I visited Turkey on business and pleasure – I was holding a workshop with my colleagues at the new media conference at Sabanci University, but I came to Istanbul before it started and stayed after it was over with friends.  In the process I got an overview of the city from some of its residents and came to a conclusion that I never expected, that women run Turkey.

Amidst a struggle between the military and the government, women raise children. They invest in the future of the country by taking thought and action for its development, not wasting time on power struggles.  Women also occupy spaces of culture, education, and domesticity, where the structures of progress are planned and made.  But when steps towards progress are attempted in public, male domination overtakes their effort. Women fight for justice:  the improvement of legal systems, the respect of minorities, peace, and all that matters for a healthy and a happy country. Men either consider women’s plight trivial or they want to woo them to their side so they fight for their causes; they humiliate them in the way they treat them, sometimes even through physical violence. Still, the women are better fighters in this place that prides itself with a history of war.

When you tour Istanbul’s palaces you learn about the weapons of the army as the biggest treasure of the nation.  But women do the opposite – they negotiate, they communicate, they share and collaborate. During the two weeks I spent in Istanbul, their daily investment in the positive changes in Turkey was my biggest impression of the country. I did not care as much about Topkapi palace as I did about the peaceful demonstration of Turkish, Kurdish, and other women at Taksim Square.  These women were quickly surrounded by police who pointed water cannons at them.

The tourist sites cannot be compared to the introduction to Turkish and minority culture I got through the music of Kardes Turkuler, where the ladies play the beating instruments I previously saw used only by men.  The Istanbul Biennale was a minor event in comparison to the Fenerbahce football match.  The Fenerbahce team invited only women and children to one of their games as an apology for being associated with paying other teams to lose.  And, from now on, I will watch the Eurovision song with skepticism, because stars like Sebnem Ferah, a senior rocker who can stand above MTV celebrities, isn’t chosen to represent Turkey.

The crowd of women and children at Fenerbache stadium

To me, this women’s strength is more powerful than the army. Women fully occupied Fenerbahce stadium for the game played by the ashamed team. The men were hopelessly navigating the entrance points, but the ladies broke through the gates. Male guards were useless at keeping the order, and even put the ladies in danger as the children got squashed between the crowd, some crying out in distress. The men looked on from a place of safety above them. They leaned on the balcony, smoking and watching this commotion like the women were not supposed to be in a male space.

Rather than football, I imagine Turkish women would prefer to take their children to the Istanbul Modern for the retrospective of Turkish women artists entitled “Dream and Reality.” The quality of these artists’ work shines over the art selected for the biennale and displayed in hangars next door to the gallery of modern art. Local women artists outshone the international arts scene, which this year in Istanbul had a hefty topic – art and politics. Political protests around the city made the artwork in the Biennale seem irrelevant.

As a final reminder of both the power women wield in Turkey and the hurdles they face, the day before I left I met a fellow countrywoman who grew up in Turkey and was imprisoned there for her activism… The women run this country; the men just stand in front of their light.

The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.

Mary Liepold

- Mary Liepold, Editor in Chief

 ”Who knows what’s next? God knows. I’m a little lost, and that’s OK.”

***

Last week President Obama said NO to the dirty, dangerous Keystone Pipeline from Alaska through the American heartland. He has disappointed me and others in his liberal base many times, but this time he came through for the earth, and it lifts my heart.

Now, of course, the powerful lobbyists will shift into even higher gear, aiming to exact the “huge political consequences” they have threatened. And now, God help us, Newt Gingrich is even closer to the presidency. There’s never any dearth of bad news. Still, the older I get the more firmly I believe that grace is stronger than gravity, than everything that pulls our spirits down, and the more I appreciate the Providence that poises us between the two so we can find our balance. It’s a long and demanding process, dear reader―maybe more so for me than for you. My relationship to my place in space is . . . let us say, distinctive.

Up … down … left … right… I don’t seem to have the kind of compass in my head that I assume other people have in theirs. I navigate this city I’ve lived in for 45 years like a tourist from the hinterlands, and I ask for directions a lot. I have a long history of dreams in which I’m lost in a strange place. Lately, though, since I started writing down the dreams I remember, I’ve noticed there’s very little anxiety associated with this dislocation. That’s true whether I’m awake or asleep, and it’s for two reasons. I’ve improved my coping skills. When I know that I have to be someplace new on time, I use online maps and I steer by landmarks. But I also rely on angels. I have experienced the kindness of strangers, and the goodness of the universe in general, so often that I am learning to relax into grace.

Now it’s time to get better acquainted with gravity. I’ve had my share of grief. I’ve even prayed, with Mother Teresa, to have my heart opened wide enough for the whole world to fall in. Since my conversation with Louise Diamond, though, I’m opening to some depths I hadn’t visited before. After a lifetime of leaning to the sunny side, consciously avoiding war movies and accounts of violence from the perpetrator’s perspective, I’m trying to enter the experience of people whose first premises seem radically different from my own. Here too, it’s a matter of trusting that I can expand my comfort zone and still keep my balance. Moving from vicarious experiences to real ones―listening to all the parties in a conflict zone without judgment, as Louise has done―that’s still far beyond me, but I’m feeling some therapeutic irritation.  Who knows what’s next? God knows. I’m a little lost, and that’s OK.

The views and opinions expressed on the Peace X Peace staff blog are those of the individual staff members, and do not necessarily represent the organization.

Dr. Laura Bier

“In a lot of ways the needs of Egyptian women are the needs of all Egyptians.”

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Connection Point Manager Yasmina Mrabet interviews Dr. Laura Bier, professor at Georgia Tech, about her thoughts on the role of Islamic feminism and the challenges and opportunities for women in post-revolutionary Egypt. Her responses are below.

Can you tell us a little about your personal background, how you became interested in studying Islamic feminism, and the role of women in Egypt particularly?

I was getting my MA in Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. When I started there I had almost no interest in gender history or the history of feminist movements. But it was 1993 and so much of the really exciting work in Middle Eastern Studies—in history in general—was being done in the field of gender history. All of the questions you could possibly want to ask as a historian—about social relations, about human agency, about the politics of culture, about the complicated legacies of colonialism for the region—were being asked and answered in new and fascinating ways, in Middle East gender studies. By the time I left the University of Chicago in 1995 to do a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern History at New York University (received in 2006), I was hooked. I had a lot of previous experience in Egypt—both as a study abroad student and as a tourist—and Egypt has a long rich history of women’s activism, so it seemed like a natural focus for me. So I came to an interest in Islamic feminism through an interest in secular nationalist projects and how they position women.

My research looked at the 1950s and 1960s in Egypt and how gender became central to the secular modernizing project of the Gamal Abdel Nasser regime. (This research has just been published as a book, Revolutionary Womanhood, by Stanford University Press.) What I came to find as I grappled intellectually with the legacies of the Nasser regime’s “state feminism” is that the normative practices and assumptions which had shaped the Egyptian nationalist project of modernity—and Egyptian feminist engagements with it—in the second half of the 20th century had also come to be embedded in interesting ways in Islamist projects. For example, Islamist prescriptions on veiling presume, rather than preclude, the presence of Muslim women in a heterosocial public sphere. The Islamist vision of the ideal marriage as focused on couples joined together on the basis of respect, affection, and companionability mirrors ideals of companionate heterosexual intimacy which have structured nationalist visions of marriage since the beginning of the 20th century.  Lila Abu-Lughod’s and Mervat Hatem’s work comparing the gender politics of Islamism and secularism have been invaluable in helping me think about those issues. I’m interested now to see what sorts of things are novel about the ways in which activist Muslim women are engaging the present moment politically and socially.

What do you see as the current role of Islamic feminism in the context of the post-revolution climate in Egypt?

Credit: Myriam Abdelaziz

One of the things which I think is most exciting about what’s happening now in Egypt is that women activists who identify themselves in a variety of ways—whether that be secular or Islamic or leftist or nationalist or whatever—are actively working together in new ways to achieve political demands and to improve the lives of all Egyptians and Egyptian women in particular. I wouldn’t go so far to say we’re seeing a “post-ideological” moment in Egyptian politics, but I do think that if we focus too rigidly on those kinds of categories as the determining factor in women’s activism, we risk missing what’s novel about it, and we miss opportunities to learn from the example of Egyptian women’s activism, which has a lot to teach American and European women about ways of being inclusive and forging alliances across groups of women coming from diverse backgrounds with various perspectives and needs.

That said, I think Islamic feminism has a very critical role to play in the formulation of post-revolutionary politics and society.  For the majority of Egyptians, faith is a fundamental part of both their identity and lived social reality. Any politics which is to be truly democratic, inclusive, and representative must take that as a starting premise.  Interestingly, the changes which would allow the emergence of a powerful, grassroots discourse of women’s empowerment from within an Islamic framework have already occurred. Over the last fifteen years or so, Muslim Egyptian women have increasingly claimed the authority to interpret Islamic scripture outside the boundaries of the traditional, male-dominated religious establishment. One of the most public manifestations of that is the prominence of female writers and thinkers like Safinaz Kazem (who rejects the label of “feminist”) and Hibba Raouf Ezzat (who accepts it). Both couch their gender critiques of society and politics from within an Islamic framework. On a more grassroots level the women’s piety movement, which really gained momentum in the 1990s, has empowered tens of thousands of women to engage in the process of religious interpretation for themselves through Qu’ranic study groups led for women by women. These women have a pivotal role to play in helping to define what Egyptian society will look like and what possibilities for social justice will be available to women within the new order.

Given the gains made by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egyptian elections, many are asking how this will impact women’s rights. What are your thoughts on the challenges and opportunities that women might face in Egypt under the Muslim Brotherhood?

I think it’s still too early in the process to tell. I think the Brotherhood is evolving and changing to respond to a political and social landscape which is itself undergoing rapid and radical transformation. A lot will depend on the results of the election and where the Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party try to position themselves within the political landscape. The Muslim Brotherhood is no longer an outlawed organization operating in an authoritarian political landscape, but is an official political party in an emerging democracy that has to be accountable to the voting population in order to win elections. This may prompt them towards moderation on women’s issues, particularly if they chose to position themselves as a more moderate Islamic alternative to the Salafi Nour party. There’s a tendency to assume, just because the Muslim Brotherhood identifies itself as an Islamic party, that a Brotherhood parliamentary majority will signal some sort of death knell for women’s rights.

That kind of assessment begins with the erroneous yet all too common presumption that there is some fundamental incompatibility between Islam and rights for women, or that there is no way for an Islamic party to present a program which recognizes women’s civic and social rights or accords them any political agency. That’s simply not the case.  Historically, the Brotherhood has advocated for women’s education, recognized women’s right to work, and promoted a vision of marriage as a relationship based on mutual respect and affection. Nor does the Brotherhood exclude political participation of women. One of the few women who will likely be seated in the new Egyptian parliament is a Freedom and Justice Party member, and the Brotherhood’s female wing, the Muslim Sisters, has been taking a more vocal and active role in the organization than they have in decades. It will be important to see if this translates to more women being accorded real leadership positions in the party and if they will be responsive in a meaningful way to the needs and demands of their female constituencies.

Whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood is in power, Egypt is still a patriarchal society. Do you think that challenges and opportunities would be different for women in Egypt if more secular parties came to power?

I think that’s a very important question, one which is not asked nearly enough in the mainstream American or European media. I think there’s a great risk, whether the Muslim Brotherhood gains a parliamentary majority or not, that the question of what women actually need to improve their lives will take a back seat to what women represent politically and ideologically. At moments of heightened political change gender issues often become politicized in ways which marginalize women and are profoundly disabling to a politics which takes the civic rights of and social justice for women as foundational.

The issue is not whether the winning party is secular or not, but will the voices of women remain center stage as they have been throughout the revolution? Does the emerging democratic order accord women—and all Egyptians for that matter—full civic rights, social justice and dignity, including the right to organize and to protest, to be free from extrajudicial detention and torture? We’ve seen over the last weeks that the state has targeted female protesters and activists for sexual assault and particularly gendered forms of humiliation. These are the challenges which Egyptian women will have to face, challenges which transcend individual political parties and lie at the heart of a process of democratization which is still very much contested.  Also I think it’s helpful to keep in mind that revolutions take a long time. In some respects, getting rid of Mubarak was the easy part. The lasting, fundamental grassroots changess that are the revolution’s promise will take much, much longer.

What are the greatest areas of need for women in Egypt, and how can the global community help to support Egyptian women in meeting those needs?

Credit: Myriam Abdelaziz

In a lot of ways the needs of Egyptian women are the needs of all Egyptians. There needs to be a true process of democratization which includes the rights that I talked about above—the right to protest, to have their voices count in a substantive way in the political process, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom from torture. And those rights can’t only be on paper; they have to be an integral part of the practice of democratization itself. The challenges that women face in realizing and practicing those rights may be somewhat different than the challenges men face, but the needs are the same. The actions of the military council which is ruling Egypt have demonstrated that fundamental political changes are hardly a foregone conclusion. It’s important not to assume that the revolution is over just because Mubarak is gone. In many respects, the ancient regime is still in place. Moreover, given the vast social and economic inequalities and hardships which are the reality for the vast majority of Egypt’s population, political rights will loose a lot of their meaning without an equal commitment to social justice.

The case of South Africa is instructive. Apartheid is over and the system of racialized segregation and hierarchy has ended, but to a large degree, it has been replaced by a system defined by the informal barriers of class, wealth, and poverty. If the political system changes, but the economic and social system do not, then the revolution will have failed. The best way for the global community to support Egyptian women is to respect and support the process of democratization in all of its messiness.  There are those who caution against true democracy in Egypt on the grounds that the strong showing of the Muslim Brotherhood would mean the oppression of women, Copts, and other groups. I’ve already pointed out the problems inherent in such a view. Instead of using a liberal vision of “women’s rights” as a marker of whether Egyptians deserve political freedom, we need to be asking Egyptian women themselves what they want and need, with the understanding that there’s no necessary agreement between Egyptian women themselves. Being in solidarity with Egyptian women and their revolution means doing the hard work of recognizing and valuing those differences.

If there was one thing you could highlight to the world about Islamic political movements and the role of women, what would that be?

This is a moment of great potential for women and women’s activism in the region. Islamic political moments, far from being a hindrance, have helped create the conditions of possibility for novel and potentially revolutionary forms of women’s agency, empowerment, and participation within an Islamic framework. For millions of women across the globe, Islam contains the possibility for radical, positive change and affirmation.

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The views and opinions expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Peace X Peace.