What does the West really know?

Recently, I participated in a weekend class through American University’s Women in Politics Institute, Women in Foreign Relations. The class explored the influence and the role of the United States Congress in foreign relations, through pieces of legislation that have been recently introduced. For example, S. 2982, the International Violence Against Women Act, and H.R. 2214, the Afghan Women Empowerment Act, would develop a role for the United States in the international arena, by providing aid, resources, and educational programs, among other things. However, the legislation introduced to the U.S. Congress is an interpretation by the United States as to how certain situations should be handled abroad. Legislation introduced in the United States is not necessarily a reflection on how the people in these countries would resolve or cope with their struggles. Although hearings are held to get the opinions of people on the ground and experts on the issues, it is difficult to account for cultural and traditional differences.

I think there is uncertainty as to what should be the roles of Western countries and organizations, especially the United States and the United Nations. The United Nations World Health Organization is the leading force in global health matters, by creating programs, setting an agenda, offering resources and technologies, and setting standards. Recently, the World Health Organization in Afghanistan hosted an International Women’s Day and a campaign to end violence against women. The World Health Organization on the ground in Afghanistan seeks to incorporate the Afghan people in their movements, but how is participation received? How do the Afghan people see the presence of the World Health Organization?

After having studied gendered struggles in the Middle East this semester, I think it would be interesting to dive a little deeper into how the United States and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Health Organization are represented in Middle Easter countries. It would also be valuable to see how the interaction between Westerners and those in the Middle East play out on a daily basis and to see if the efforts made on the ground are effective.

The World Health Organization in Afghanistan

WHO Afghan Reproductive Health

Afghan Ministry of Public Health

"Rana's Wedding"

Rana’s Wedding (2002), directed by Hany Abu-Assad tells the story of a young woman in Palestine, who is given a choice by her father: either pick a husband from the list of men, who have already asked for her hand, or leave the country for Egypt with her father. In the morning Rana wakes up and sneaks out of the house to search for Khalil, the man she loves and wishes to marry. Khalil is not on the list of men her father has given Rana, and because she not yet twenty-one she needs permission from her father to marry Khalil. Searching frantically, Rana has limited time to find Khalil and the Registrar, before her father takes her to Egypt later that afternoon.

Throughout the film Rana must deal with both figurative and literal roadblocks to reach her lover. In one scene Rana, alone, is walking down a narrow passage, between tall, thick walls. Upon reaching a crossroad, Rana is faced with fierce barking dog. (Scene pictured upper left). Not only does Rana need to overcome the military roadblocks and those formed by people, mourning deaths and fighting to for their lives, she needs to overcome the boundaries set by society and the city walls.

Foucault looked a representation with a lens focused on the circulation of power. In Rana’s Wedding, various forces of power affect how Rana sees life and how she goes about getting what she wants. Her father may exert power by forcing her to choose a husband or go to Egypt, but Rana exerts power by challenging his ultimatum and searching for Khalil on her own. Similar to the discussions we’ve had in class, time is also a force that has a lot of power. The camera angles and shots influence the spectators’ perceptions of urgency, as the characters race against the clock to find the missing pieces to the puzzle.

The confines of the city walls, the minutes on the clock, and in one scene, the entrapment of the car, all seemingly powerless forces exert the most force on Rana’s existence in the film. She is forced onto a narrow path, on this day in her life, and her only way of fighting back is to race the clock, overcome the roadblocks, and find her lover. Rana refuses what society and her father has offered, and she seeks the path to her own future.

Caramel

The film Caramel explores the lives of five unique women, searching for love, acceptance, and affection. Through their wardrobes, habits, and language, the spectator learns about the women, rather than blunt introductions explaining their stories.

Rima, usually dressed in loose, faded jeans, an oversized shirt or hooded sweatshirt, wears her face clean of makeup. As Stuart Hall explains, Barthes described semiotics in two parts: denotation and connotation. Rima’s clothes signify casualness, and when compared to Layale or Jamale’s clothes, they do not signify femininity. Additionally, Rima always wears headphones around her neck, which denote music to the spectator, but also imply her detachment from the outside world because when she wears them, she cannot hear what is around her.

The relationship Rima has with the customer that always comes in to have her hair washed my Rima is quiet but intimate and sexual. They become closer through their time spent together; however, it is clear that there is a power struggle between them and societal norms. Keeping their sexuality a secret and using the back room where the sinks are as a buffer between their experience together and the rest of the world. This representation explores Foucault’s theories of power and interpretation based on personal meaning in representation.

The entire film expresses knowledge about society, its expectations, and norms. Highlighting the very core of Foucault’s theories on representation. Through Jamale the spectator understand that youthfulness is important. It can be seen through her lies about her period, her cosmetic changes to look younger, and how she acts when with the other women. Layale signifies the taboo of affairs and sanctity of marriage and pure relationships. Nisrine also signifies the importance of pure relationships through her struggle with having pre-marital sex with a man, who was not to be her husband. These representations of society also explore the personal struggles women feel in this society. The film is both of a macro subject and individual stories.

Controls of Sexuality

Viola Shafik’s Planting of Girls is a representation of the controls religion and society have over Egyptian girls. Circumcision is vastly popular for girls under the age of twelve for various reasons: cosmetic purposes, sexual controls, religious beliefs, and cultural tradition, among others. Just like in Egypt, other cultures have different reasons for circumcising girls and boys. In Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries “women are main targets of control,” and circumcision is one way to control sexuality (Shahidian, 105).

When mothers were interviewed about circumcision practices, it was evident that the knowledge about risks and medical concerns associated with the practice were not understood. There was a clear lack of education, but in like other areas of life, religion is seen as a tool for education, perhaps the only one, through which many see circumcision as important and sacred. One woman said that not circumcising her daughter was viewed as a sin in the eyes of the prophet. In Shahidian’s chapter, “Contesting Discources of Sexuality in Post-Revolutionary Iran,” he discusses the Islamic discourse of sexuality, which is similar to the religious reasoning behind circumcision in Egyptian.

In Iran, “sexuality is treated as one among many issues of material life” (110). The discourse illustrates the divisions between men and women, where men are the subject of sex and women, the object (118). These divisions oppress women’s sexuality and belittle their sexual desires and needs. The figurative divisions taught, in Iran, and the literal control (circumcision), in Egypt, are both ways of controlling women and oppressing their human needs. In a world where a solid marriage is based on harmony, not love, it is near impossible for a woman to express her sexuality.

The importance of purity and modesty prevent women from expressing themselves, even in the confines of their own homes. Feminist discourse discusses the power of sexual jokes that lessen the seriousness of the issue, avoiding the big problems that do exist. Because religious teaching are contradictory in terms of women’s roles, it is difficult to find a balance between a modest woman and sexual woman, in the eyes of society. On one hand, “a woman who disdains and refrains from sexual intercourse is indeed not a woman” (120). On the other hand, women are seen as having more sexual power, more beauty, and the “potential to destroy humanity,” if their sex lives are not balanced (120).

Women’s sexuality is about control in all realms. The Islamic discourse talks about the balance they must maintain between surrendering to their husbands needs and maintaining the modesty and harmony necessary to be a good wife. The scientific discourse controls women through sexual standards and classifications of normal or regular sexual behavior (122). The feminist discourse discusses the control patriarchal language and teachings have over sex education.

Silent Agreement

“Silence means granting permission if it [said silence] is considered consent according to ‘urf” (Sonbol 48). Amira El-Azhary Sonbol discusses the implications of remaining silent, even in marriage contracts. Without voicing their opinions and objections, Middle Eastern women are bound by contracts to uphold marriages and other decisions that may not be favorable, not to mention harmful. However, in some cases if women raise their voices or talk back to a court official or family member, the consequences are far worse than agreeing through silence.

In Divorce Iranian Style, the court often asked why the woman wanted to be divorced and why she had not given her husband another chance. Questions addressing mediocre relationships, even abusive relationships, encourage women to give their husbands another chance in the name of family honor. What about the woman’s happiness and well-being? Although the number of prerequisites for women to file divorce in court has declined, and the option of a “no fault” divorce has surfaced through reforms, it is still difficult for a woman to succeed in court: “Most divorce cases initiated by women have languished in the courts, take as long as eight to ten years to resolve” (Singerman 165). Men, on the other hand, “have a unilateral right to divorce that they can exercise without being obliged to enter into a court preceding” (165).

Family law and personal status laws have evolved other the years, but there is still a long way to go. When a woman has to choose between a marriage, including the right to her dower and abuse, and a divorce, including shame, potentially losing custody of her children, and a lack of financial security how does she decide what to do? In the film, a woman was struggling to keep custody of her children because she had lost the right to them when she remarried. Regardless of the reason for divorce, the laws keep the woman from her children.

In the family court in Iran, divorce is so much of a he-said-she-said game it’s hard to determine truth. Then when the courts call for arbitration with family members, the woman is often left to fend for herself in a room full of male family members, determining her monetary worth and if she could possibly get the dower, which she gave up rights to by continuing with the divorce. Even if it’s not the woman’s “fault” for the divorce, she is left paying a price for a decision to marry a man she probably did not choose.

There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

- Anais Nin

"A Way of a Woman is Beyond Our Understanding"

Western interpretations of the Middle East, as explained and depicted by Homa Hoodfar, and Tania Kamal-Eldin, have objectified and degraded Muslim women. Hoodfar, through “The Veil in Their Minds and on Our Heads: Veiling Practices and Muslim Women,” discusses the ignorance the Western feminists have towards Muslim traditions and society: “As Muslim feminists have often asked must racism be used to fight sexism?” (422). Just because there is a lack of understanding, Western feminists judge Muslim women for their traditions, specifically their veils. Rights and suffrage are different to everyone, men and women, people of different races and beliefs.

Hollywood Harems depicts Muslim women as exotic and provocative, enjoying the constraints placed on them by patriarchal society. Even the relationships between men and women are misconstrued, portraying a fantasy world. Hollywood used Middle Eastern plots to bend sexual censorship, like in Arabian Nights and Cleopatra. The damsels in distress scenes heightened the view of white, Western males as saviors. Hoodfar also touches on the falsification of Middle Eastern traditions and women’s roles. In many cases women live in rural areas, working in the home and fields, but travelers claim those instances are the exception and the elitist habits are actually the norm (426). Similarly, the traditions and styles of the veil have changed, but Western media has not changed its interpretation of the veil.

Western interpretations of the Middle East do not recognize the differences in value systems and traditions. Feminism has a different meaning to every woman in the West, just as it does around the world. To judge how a woman views her equality and rights without understanding her daily life, traditions, values, and religion is ignorant and degrades her since of self.

"When you are silent, it speaks"

Rhoda Kanaanen prefaces “We’ll Talk Later” by saying, “To any Palestinian women who read my tale in this form, I do not speak for you. Speak for yourself” (264). The concept of having rights is different for everyone. As individuals we prioritize the importance of certain rights over others. For example, for one individual the right to vote may be the most important, but to another the right to leave the house without permission may be the most important. When Kanaanen says that she is not speaking for any other woman, she is expressing her personal view as to what is important as a woman’s right.

Women’s Chit Chat explores the struggle women in the Middle East face when deciding to work. Prioritizing their family and their job can sometimes bear more weight in oppressing women, than giving them the opportunity to step outside the house. In many cases, becoming a professional does not mean that household duties are cleared from women’s list of responsibilities. Having to deal with a career and household duties is a large, tiresome, and time-consuming weight to bear.

Kanaanen retells her aunt’s story in “We’ll Talk Later”, including her own asides and conversations with her uncle. When he asks her why she wants to retell the story, Kanaanen responds with, “I want those traditions to be traditions of hope and triumph, not submission” (263). Through Sackcloth she is able to express femininity without oppression, submission, and dependence. The notions of femininity and masculinity tie individuals to larger groups, dissipating any independence or individuality, which is largely depicted quite literally through stories and films. In the chapter on “Violence Against Women,” Gonul Donmez-Colin refers to the story of Fatma and Osman, in which Fatma is repeatedly kidnapped and tied to Osman.

Donmez-Colin discusses the idea that “men do to women as the state does to them” (89). The reason for the rape and abuse, the yearning for submission is because the state has ultimately raped males of their own freedoms and self-control. Lina Khatib also talks about the depiction of political statements through the relationships between men and women: “The way masculinity or femininity is represented can dictate political statements” (102). Women’s lives are also dictated; they are dictated by the nation and by men. Unable to break free of femininity, they are left with internal emptiness. Cheng-tao-ke describes the intangible femininity women experience:

You cannot take hold of it,

But you cannot lose it.

In not being able to get it, you get it.

When you are silent, it speaks;

When you speak, it is silent.

Out of reach, femininity no longer belongs to the females. It is a product of national and male dominance that cannot be escaped. Careers and education do not mean freedom; they mean more work, more ties to the nation and to males. For ties to be broken, women need to speak up as individuals part of a larger group, and they need to recognize that opinions differ, but if they can find one common goal, maybe they can take the first step as women and as a woman.