Stories about Women & Gender from May, 2007
More on Representation in Morocco
“Sometimes, a scarf is just a scarf, it's not a symbol for a country,” says Laila Lalami, recounting a reading she recently did of her book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, at one of Morocco's more conservative universities in Kenitra. While discussing the characters with the audience, the author found...
Morocco: How to Best Represent One's Country
With the increasing popularity of blogging comes a debate about how to represent one's country, or in many cases, the country in which one is currently living. This week, Jillian York takes a look at the current discussion in the Moroccan blogosphere about how to best portray Morocco.
Libya: Dangerous Eyeliners
“Most Libyan women don't feel complete unless their eyes are lined in dark black kohl. It makes them look beautiful and exotic – their dark eyes shining and the whites of their eyes appearing even more so with the effect of the kohl. But these products are really dangerous! Most...
D.R. of Congo: Congo's forgotten women
A post about Congo's forgotten women in the Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable: “In 2001, after a disastrous misadventure in the Congo, Ugandan troops trekked back home with a cargo of hundreds of Congolese women they had “married” while fighting in that country. Most of them ended up in northern Uganda where...
Lebanon: Arab Women in Photographs
An exhibition of photographs of Arab women leaves Lebanese blogger Leila Abu-Saba scratching her head. “I do scratch my head, however, at the breathless description of the purpose of the show. See Arab women cross-dressing! Unveiled! Scantily clad! Those poor Arab women, they used to be liberated and now they're...
Bahrain: The Never-Do-It-Yourself Culture
From dirty politics and squabbles between 'politicians' over peanuts, to corruption at the Traffic directorate, the Bahraini blogosphere is buzzing with commentary this week. Ayesha Saldanha walks us through some of the outstanding posts, which include a suicide pledge and a rant about lazy inconsiderate men.
Hong Kong: Guilty for Hyperlink and for Sex Talk
The Hong Kong government is encouraging family to have three babies, at the same time, it is so keen on censoring away information concerning sex. Of course sex is not all about giving birth, but how can we have babies without sex? Guess the government will advocate test tube babies...
India: Are we born women?
Hip Hop Grandmom attempts to answer if one is born a woman. “The couple meant well and they had probably done so for their daughter. My opinion in the matter was different. I had decided that I would rather invest in her education and let her buy gold or silver...
UAE: Video on Sexual Education
UAE Students post a video clip of part of a debate on sexual education in Islamic societies. “Sex education is a hot topic in the Middle East. In some regions sex education is available on Television programs. In other places it’s forbidden. Most of the students in this class didn’t...
Arabeyes: Jordan's Open Air Toilets
Jordanian blogger Sha3teely is fed up with a new phenomena cropping up in Amman. He catches the violators red-handed here, explains the menace and comes up solutions for it. He also calls upon authorities to make public toilets available.
Nicaragua: Open Source Software, Machisimo in the Park, and an Immigration Rally
Members of the Ubuntu Group in Nicaragua recently provided a free interactive workshop on the use of open source software. Even though the event did not touch on all of the subjects that it could have, many applauded the effort as the first of its kind in Nicaragua. Other blogs discussed shameful machisimo attitudes, the use of bio-fuels, and a firsthand account of an immigration rally in the United States, where the police used excessive force.
Saudi Arabia: The Death of a Prince, Water Shortages and Making a Splash
Saudi-American blogger Rasheed Abou-Alsamh sums up a few developments in Saudi this week. They include the death of a Saudi prince, water shortages in Jeddah and criticism of a BBC report on the status of women in the Kingdom. “Finally, I'd like to nominate the BBC's Rachel Reid for writing...
Saudi: Cooling off in a Swimming Pool
Saudi-based blogger Nzingha ridicules a report by a BBC correspondent about life in Saudi. “You will all be happy to know that as you plunge yourself deeply into the pools across the country to escape the summer heat you are not only cooling off but you are part of a...
Morocco: Backstreet Viagara
Moroccan blogger Samir takes us to the bazaar in Fez, where you can buy a traditional composition of the impotence drug Viagara over the counter. Don't miss the exciting photographs Samir has in store for you. “Now, you probably think that Viagra is not a usual item on a tourist's...
India: Donuts and Orkut for married women
Sunny Days is puzzled by someone who scraps telling her that married women shouldn't be on Orkut. “What could I say? I pointed out that people who wished to stay anonymous really have no place in a networking site. I know a whole bunch of people who use pseudonyms, but...
Morocco: Linguistics, Music Videos, and the Merits of Hymenorrhaphy
This week, the English-language Moroccan blogosphere discusses diverse issues such as hymen reconstructive surgery and Arabic music videos. Jillian York summarizes this week's posts.
Jamaica: Homophobia
Francis Wade examines the issue of “homosexual hatred” in Jamaica.
Bahrain: Unpleasant Encounter With Landlord
Bahrain-based blogger Bint Battuta has an unpleasant encounter with her landlord. “Once again I feel totally frustrated at the problems I face just because I am a European woman in this society. It only takes a few idiots to make me feel quite overwhelmed, even though I know the majority...
Korea: The Kaesong Industrial Complex
Jamie from Interlocals.net has written up his visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea. The complex is a result of the Korean government's unification policies. It is also designed to benefit small and mid-sized Korean firms having trouble competing with low wage light manufacturing firms in China and Southeast...
Peru: Culture and Gender in Advertising
Luna Antagonica [ES] writes about her anthropological study that looks at gender and cultural identity issues in advertising in Peru. A related protest will also take place in front a department store to “show that in Peru that one cannot only associate images of beauty, success or prestige only with...
Iran:Just a Kiss
Zahra says[Fa] Hezbollah in Iran criticized Iranian president,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for kissing the hand of his primary school's teacher recently.His teacher was an old woman and wore gloves. The blogger says why he did not choose a man.You can see the photo here.
