Does my head look big in this

Does my head look big in this was a little cute story about a girl and her struggle with wearing a veil. I have to say its not my kind of story because i would have wanted to read a more intense story about these struggles for women whom actually are killed and abused for wearing them not a westernized drama of a high school girl. I mean dont get me wrong it is compelling to read her story of how she had to make a decision on the veil. But nevertheless its a nice drama story, when i read it i laughed not at the story because it was good but it reminded me of a Taylor Swift video.

What the novel did best was provide a depiction off how many of these girl that live around the world are Muslim and have to make a decision on wearing the veil or not, it was refreshing to read a more drama filled story not a bloodshed or cruelty story. Its a little more passive and relaxed story compared to many of the films we watched and the stories we read but nonetheless it is important to read what many of these girls go through in high school and even college. We had a nice discussion where Sara's speaker told her side of the story a teacher that has had many students ( i cant remember her name) nevermind i remeber Monica i think. Well she explained that she had many students that went through this one even missing her graduation because of the veil. Which is sad. But the story is solid i felt sometimes that the novel stepped away from the important parts and sometimes filled it with a little drama on the side but overall i liked it not my cup of tea but still good

Escape from Saddam

I read Escape from Saddam and i must say this short story was very good, its pretty graphic and you feel the realism in pretty much every word. Its one of those stories that make you ponder and think about different situations specially the situations in the Middle East. It crazy how they are forced to join the army or have a very harsh punishment i would say, cruel. Join or not join you will die and its quite a powerful message, families have to endure this!? Nobody should endure this no family should.

i wouldnt say the training was harsh i mean the going through the barb wire, the crawling the live shooting it is intense but i have seen it before im pretty sure marines endure that kind of training too. These men had to be turned from soldiers to devils. The transformation was fascinating though some methods were a little 2 intense. The visits to their family members probably helped out a lot of soldiers cope with the training and the daily life of being a soldier.

This story was one of the best i read i enjoyed it all i learned so much 2..

Guantanamo Bay

In class we read an interesting story of an innocent man Murat Kurnaz, detained and sold to Guantanamo for three thousand dollar. Its quite a story, very harsh. The abuse this man took for years is outstanding. There are not to many men that can take the beating the drowning, the electric shocks and the hanging by the arms the way he did. A tourist, the day he was going back home to Germany was detained at a check stop in Pakistan apparently he was detained because of the way he looked pretty much. Transferred and sold to Guantanamo all because they thought he was a spy of some sort. The way he describes his experience is crazy. He saw with his own eyes the cruelty of Guantanamo's soldier towards its inmates. He saw a man beat to death blood all over, and the soldiers didnt even move the body for days, Murat could see the body how it lied there for days. I ask myself if these soldiers that are at Guantanamo have any remorse for what they have done or what they will do!?

Though im not saying that all inmates in Guantanamo are innocent, i bet there are a lot of inmates that are "evil" and are terrorist and the world might be better offff without them. But cruelty these soldiers show to the inmates, no man deserves that, not even how bad or evil or what they have done in their past, torture is never the answer.

Honor Killing in ummm CANADA!!!!!!!!

I recently found this shocking piece of news about how immigrants are bringing their Honor killings to the west in this case Canada.. It pretty messed up and i wanted to share the news papers aritcle with you guys....

This is part of the article news letter you can read the rest of it here >>>http://www.canada.com/news/Honour+killings+females+rise+Canada+Expert/1821831/story.html <<

As many as 5,000 women and girls lose their lives — most at the hands of family members — in "honour killings" around the world each year, according to the United Nations.Up to a dozen have died for the same reason in Canada in the last decade, and it's happening more often, says Amin Muhammad, a psychiatrist who studies honour killings at Memorial University in Newfoundland.One of the earliest honour killings involving a Canadian occurred in 2000, when Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Jaswinder Sidhu was murdered in India in what police called a contract killing, after she married a man she met while travelling.In 2003, Amandeep Atwal, 17, died after her father stabbed her 17 times. The Kitimat, B.C., teen had been secretly seeing a boyfriend.Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez's father and brother are currently awaiting trial for her strangulation death in 2007, and friends said the Brampton, Ont., teen had been clashing with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab.In May, an Ottawa man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance."We cannot say there's a huge number of cases, but now the cases are increasing, and very soon we'll have a problem in Canada," says Muhammad.

You can read the rest on the link above... I found it crazy that its happening in Canada so when i found the article i had to put it up on blogger.. The question is if it happens in Canada what would stop immigrants from bringing it to the United States.....

Talk to an Iraqi

We watched a short film in class called "Talk to an Iraqi" this short film (very short) is about an Iraqi immigrant that comes to the United States and using his little man - made hut tries to talk and converse to different Americans about the situation in Iraq, and see the point of view of Americans when it came to the war in Iraq. In the short film we see various point of views of many Americans, often time these views were ignorant and without facts. This short film like many film before tries to exploit the ignorance of many Americans that quite frankly dont know anything about Iraq and its situation. I understand that the film is suppose to be spontaneous but i feel that quite frankly it exploited many ignorant thoughts and quite absurd thoughts that many Americans have towards Iraq. Ofcourse this has been done before, where a director or camera crew has the opportunity to speak and ask an American difficult questions about many issues this may be war in the middle east, foreign policies, political scenarios etc.. etc.. Sometimes you get to see a lot of ignorant and stupid answers from americans which depicts americans as "ignorant and idiotic" people. The truth to the matter is i wish that the film director of "Talk to an Iraqi" would have taken the time to actually talk to a Professor or a professional about the situation in Iraq. I guarantee you that he was not going to get an ignorant answer. But i was thinking if an American goes to Iraq with the same exact idea of bringing a little hut with a sign that read "Speak with an American" what kind of reaction would the american have gotten in Iraq??

Operation Peace For Galilee: Israel invasion of Lebanon

Because i will be showing the film Waltz with Bashir in class i want to shed light about the films war, and what war they are talking about throughout the film. I had no idea that this war ever took place if it wasnt for the film Waltz with Bashir.

This is the basic description from http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/1982_Lebanon_War
The 1982 Lebanon War, also known as the 1982 Invasion of Lebanon, and dubbed Operation Peace for the Galilee (Shlom HaGalil in Hebrew) by Israel, began June 6, 1982, when the Israel Defence Force invaded southern Lebanon in response to the Abu Nidal organization's assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, but mainly to halt Katyusha rocket attacks on Israeli population in the northern Galilee region launched from Southern Lebanon. Israels objective was to push out PLO militants about 40 - 50 kilometers to the north. But during the whole raid many things happened the creating and slaughter/massacre of refugee camp Sabra and Shatila among others. In the film Waltz With Bashir we will be able to be enlightened more on what really happened in those refuges camp..

Waltz with Bashir film

Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary directed by Ari Folman. The movie has been recognized of one of the best films of 2008, also one of the best Anti- war movies to come out of the Middle East. The movie is a documentary, it is a journey made by the films protagonist Ari Folman and his psychological journey of war. He participated in the 1982 Israel invasion of Palestine. But somehow he does not remember any detail of it, he is haunted by this dream and tries to find meaning behind this hallucination. Through out the movie we see him interview many of his friends that went to the same war, and piece by piece he attempts to remember the war.

The war happening in the film is the Israel invasion of Lebanon where the Israeli invaded Palestine through the south of Beirut to push out PLO militant. In the film its also shows the massacre of Sabra and Shantila, which were little towns used as refugee camp and how the Lebanese Christian Militia, also known as the Phalangist massacred innocent Palestinian civilians these include; children, women, older citizens, male, etc..

This movie is quite the psychological journey its puts you into the soldier situation and it ridicules war and depicts it as a stupid entity and that war isnt necessary and often time most of the soldiers are un aware of the situation at hand and are just told to shoot anything that walks by you, it shows the ignorance and irresponsibility of war. It also shows how many of these soldiers often time dont remember what happend during a long and gruesome war because their minds push out the intense memory. It is quite frankly one of the best Anti War movies in the last 25 years. I will discuss more in class..

Pakistan, land, gold, women

A little old but i was reading it and found it interesting...

From The National February 28 and March 1, 2006

Correspondent: Terence McKenna
Producer: Michelle Gagnon
Consulting Producer: Nazim Baksh

There is much about life in rural Pakistan that has not changed for hundreds of years. In the countryside, you can still find tribes of nomads, the families of shepherds who range back and forth over the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The children don't go to school; most are illiterate.

In the rural areas, the predicament of women is especially precarious.

Young girls are routinely sold off into virtual slavery by their families. They are sometimes offered up to settle a dispute over land or insults to family honor.

Women are often raped to settle a score.

Mukthar Mai

That is what happened to Mukhtar Mai, now one of the leading crusaders for women's rights in Pakistan.

She was living a poor but happy life in the small town of Meerwala in Southern Punjab.

The trouble began four years ago when her younger brother, Shakur, was accused of making improper advances towards the daughter of one of the feudal landlords in the area, the Mastoi family.

Mukthar Mai was ordered to apologize for her brother in front of a panchayat, a local tribal council set up to mediate disputes. These panchayats are usually dominated by powerful feudal families and mete out justice according to their own rules.

Mukthar felt that she had to go.

"People who don't listen to them and don't obey them will be beaten up...or sometimes even killed," she says.

Maulvi Abdul Razak

The imam in Meerwala, Maulvi Abdul Razak was a witness to what happened when Mukhtar Mai was summoned before the tribal council.

He came over to the Mastoi family house when he heard there was trouble. He says that when Mukhtar arrived at the Mastois to apologize for her brother…they attacked her.

"The girl was dragged to a room in that house. One Mastoi brother named Halik was holding a pistol. First she was beaten and then she was raped several times by them. She was kept in that house for four days."

In Pakistan, tradition dictates that a woman who has been raped is forever shamed. Mukhtar Mai says that her first instinct after being gang raped was to commit suicide.

"There was pesticide spray. I was going to drink it, but my mother stopped me." Mukhtar says. "At that point I said either you have to let me die or you have to help me seek justice. My mother said, ‘Whatever you want to do I will be with you.'"

Our speaker guest Pakistan Women issues

I must say i did enjoy last class session when a Pakistan women came and talked about Pakistan and the treatment of women. I learned a lot about Pakistan and how Pakistan is moving forward and everyday women are moving up and taking control of very important political positions. I also learned about the Quran in more detail and how it really protects women and how it vouches for women in Islamic religion and culture. In the Quran their are passages that prove this for example:

" Surely women are the twin halves of men"

" O mankind, we created you from a single pair, of a male and female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may get to know one another."

So Quran teaches equality of women and the better treatment of women. The speaker Mrs. Gulnar she was great in many ways, but in some cases i found her rants a little two biased. I learned plenty but not as much as i thought i would. The main thing i learned is that the Quran favors women greatly and protects them, that was something i did not have knowledge of. But i had one big problem that quite frankly she did not answer well or with any facts at all. If you want to prove your point to me bring up facts dont try to justify the issues of pakistan and how women are really treated. I asked a question to the speaker and it goes a little like this " The Quran advocates the equality and treament of women, then why are women being treated with abuse and inequality, even if the Quran tries and tries to stand up for the rights of women ( 95% of Pakistanis follow the Quran as their guide and rules) why are women still beat, raped, and just treated like dogs. It seems that the women follow the Quran way more than men do it seems that men follow the Quran when it only is beneficial towards them.." She tried answering it but really didnt bring up any facts in some way she brought up excuses in my mind. I did bring up facts like that over 70% of women are being abused, beat, raped in Pakistan. I also said that 14 percent of young girls are not as nurtured and healthy than boys.. 14 percent girls more than boys, among other stats i brought up. So i asked why did this happen? She quite frankly brought up weak excuses that did not defend her point. She said that more women are getting and achieving more rights and are protected more. She also said she never heard of that stat that 70% percent of women are being abused she thought it was drastically less than that. But the facts are their. There are about 178 million people that live in Pakistan a little more than half women, so about 85 million Pakistanis are women if you take 70% of that 85 it would roughly give you 65-70 million women are abused and here is a link to prove my fact >>>http://www.ansarburney.org/womens_rights-violence.html

So it seems that she did not know her stats about Pakistan was well as the research i did before class. I was prepared quite frankly she was not. If she thought i was going to ask the easy cultural questions about her country then she was quite frankly mistaken, i wanted to ask the important questions, so i can have good answers. Another speaker also a woman from Pakistan joined in at the end and we kind of went back and forth with my question. She said that women are abused because of a cultural habit not a religious belief. She also said that 20% of men do not speak Arabic so they can not read the Quran becuase it is written in Arabic. She also did not believe my stats and facts. The main thing is i found some of their answers quite weak with no real substance to them. I smiled the entire time because they were having a little hard time with my long and repeated question. I know they are from Pakistan and they wanted to defend their country and justify the reason behind men abuse over women in Pakistan. I understood that 20% of men cant speak Arabic, also that men abuse women in a cultural and not religious stand point, quite frankly thats pathetic and this is why i say this. Ok 20% of men cant speak Arabic fine, where do you leave the other 80%???!?!?!??? Its ridiculous. Also she said that is it more tradition and culture when it comes to the treatment of women. Ok cool traditions.. But young kids will see how their father acts and treats their wives, they will imitate it continuing the "cultural custom/tradition" and they in a future will beat and abuse their own wives. So if the mother really has the power over their children in Pakistan (which is what the speaker said) why dont they go up to their sons when they are young and beat them upside the head and tell the " You see what your father just did to me, don't do it its disrespectful and your father was just angry, dont you ever hit a women" and then hit the upside the head so they remember. Kids will immitate and repeat women in Pakistan must chance their child view and imitation of women.

Their is one thing i learned above all in last lectured class, which was not said be neither of our special guest/speakers.. And it was that women in Pakistan its not that they are illiterate (cause a staggering number of women are un educated) or they dont know their rights quite frankly women in Pakistan are ignorant! And i dont mean to be rude but it is quite frankly the truth you dont have to stand up to society to teach your own kids what is right and wrong you teach your child how to treat women how to cherish women how to grow up a man not a coward. And i hate absolutely hate these little excuses by the speakers.. I dont need to read a piece of paper of a book to know and understand how to treat women i know whats right and wrong! (going back to the relation of 20% of men cant read the Quran because they are illiterate and cant speak the language) I dont need to read any material to know that!!! Thats the bottom line!!

Women are the most important thing on the face of this earth men are nothing without women, women are Gods greatest gift to man, and they should be treated like Queens. I am all for women and their right. But men in Pakistan seem to not follow their own religion and the Quran. Men are quite frankly disgusting (but im not going to put every pakistani man in this category, some are actually good, but most are not) they are stupid. But im not going to let the Pakistani women of the hook either. Women is Pakistani seem to be ignorant to the facts i undertand that they are many that cant read and dont know their own rights but bottom line is if women have all the power to raise the kids inside the household then women should break this evil cycle of beating up women through raising their young boys to know what is right and wrong what is ethical and not. Women are ignorant and are quite conformed with the way they are treated and that is sad, very sad, and i take pity on them for it. Hopefully this can change sooner than later.....

My little rant English class

Im so grateful for my english class where i have learned more than any of my other classes. I love the people in it i enjoy the professor, and by far it has been my favorite class. I enjoy how every student gets a chance to speak out their mind and their opinion about the middle east and what we are learning. Its refreshing that you get to interact with students at this level, i havent had a class where you really get to meet your fellow classmates, where you get to listen to their most intimate opinion about hard subjects. You get to know everyone on a different level. Big lectures, they dont have the ummm humanizing aspect to it, you dont get to appreciate the students opinions, its just slide after slide after slide you dont really get to learn anything just write down whatever the teacher say bottle it up and be ready for the test. It reminds me a little of community college in grand rapids where professors really get to know you on a first name base. And you do get to interact a little with the students 2. Its a smaller class, a little more intimate. Which is what i love about community college, people hate on it a lot i never did i learn a lot in that year i was in community college. This class reflects a lot of my community college years the education is refreshing and exciting, i think the class is wonderful. And this is the honest truth i woke up today excited about todays lecture. I also like the students taking over the class aspect, its cool when a fellow student presents a book or a movie it feels like the fellow students have fun and enjoy doing the research and presenting good arguments and topics.

The environment is just awesome. And yes i had like 3 redbulls this morning and i feel energized lol.. So i wanted to rant about the class a little. But i believe the most important thing is how our professor Dr. Webb cares about the students his leniency when it comes to writing papers, or things due on time is so fuckin awesome. You get the sense that the Professor knows how much pressure their are on students to do good so he doesnt care about grades as much as how much you learn every session, its not a sign of weakness by the professor (the leniency) but a sign of him being human, i think most professors forget that they were once student and that they had hard time with school work, im happy Dr. Webb didnt forget that he was once a student and realized that its not all about grades but what you learn and what you take from it. Most professors are kind of tyrants, dictators in a way that dont care about the students they dont get to know the student, but its how the system has always been and its worked so far. I have always been a grateful person and i am grateful for this class, and i think more classes should be like this one, where the professor knows the student and worries about the student, its just more of a relaxed environment.... Plus i love movie days cause it gives me a chance to talk what i enjoy and love and its my hobby and that is watching films!!! So i get to show off a little of my knowledge about movies cause its one of the only things i can really brag about lol... But the students are great, the professor is cool and its just the best learning environment i have been around.. And i hope i get to take another class like this one day..

The teachings of Dr Mirzeler

Last week a special guest came to talk to us. His name Dr. Mirzeler, and professor at WMU a man quite full of knowledge. He can speak nine language which is quite impressive. I can speak two and a thought a was some hot shot. But born in Turkey Dr. Mirzeler tought us Turkey and its culture talked about his up bringing, how Turkey has changed throughout the years. I learned a lot of things like the castles in his small village, changes in the country and its land scape. The evolution of people and their thoughts. One thing that i learned the most is not what he said but how he transcended his feelings with his words. I am a person that noticed details in people, their voice patterns how they feel about certain subjects etc.. And when he talked about his village and past it was like he traveled back in time you could feel how he really enjoyed talking about the old days, how he misses the Turkey days. But ofcourse what we were all looking forward too was the "Honour Killings".. He told a deep and moving story of how when he as a kid of ten years old his family (the males) told him and in way forced him to kill his sister because she disgraced the family by divorcing her husband. He remember that one time they had a tree behind their house and he went outside late at night to be in shock of what he saw. He saw his father crying, and in pain because of the pressure he was feeling about killing his daughter for "honour killing" he was clearly in a lo of pressure to make the decision of this kill. He was torn up inside and a young Dr. Mirzeler didnt understand it at the time but he realized what his father was going through after all these years, he also remembers sleeping next to his sister that night in a way the executioner spending his last night with the soon to be victim his sister whom he loved. When Dr. Mirzeler said this you can see how his voice cracked for a split second, but i cought it, it was not an easy story to tell but he did it because he is a strong man. I thought for a second that he would have cried but he didnt which i found amazing, but he was clearly sad about the entire ordeal. But his story ended in a happy ending his mother, aunts etc.. Found a solution to marry his sister away to another man and ship her out so she wouldnt have died in the hands of her younger brother Dr. Mirzeler. The plan worked and a young Mirzeler did not have to kill his own blood, his own sister. I can only imagine how Dr. Mirzeler is haunted by those nights when his father came up to him to ask him or force him to kill his sister, and seeing his father and family torn up because of this. I learned a lot from him. But one thing i did also notice that he did not clearly say was that he was proud of his little village, he said when he was young that the government tried to help the village because the village was "poor", but in his heart he was not poor. He had his family his friends and his village and the amazing beautiful sorroundings that he showed in his slides. He said that one might see it like a poor village but he has everything he wanted and he was happy with it, he never said these things but you could see it in his body movements in his voice he was excited like a little boy re- living his childhood.

The lesson i learned from Dr. Mirzeler was the poorness has nothing to do with your economic status. He taught me how humbleness comes into effect. He taught me that a man that has everything may not he as happy as a man whom has nothing. He didnt have much growing up, but his childhood was rich in good memories (for the most part) he lived humble but his mind and heart was filled with happiness and endless adventures. You see you dont have to have it all to be happy in heart and mind. You only need to look around and see that you have it all and thats what i learned most from Dr. Mirzeler appreciate what you have because in one way or another we are all blessed with beauty and happiness and i know that Dr. Mirzeler didnt take anything for granted and he has lived a wonderful life because of this.. Thank you so much Dr. Mirzeler for your teachings i will take them into heart, and those lessons i learned that day i will keep with me for a long time.. Thank you..

Battle over face veil brewing in Egypt

Yahoo news reported this today. We were talking about this last thursday in class, i think its really interesting..

By Mariam Karouny Mariam Karouny – Mon Nov 2, 8:33 am ET

CAIRO (Reuters) – Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism in Egypt.

Egypt's state-run religious establishment wants teachers like Mohamed to remove their veils in front of female students, sparking a backlash by Islamists who say women should be able to choose to cover their faces in line with their Islamic faith.

"I have put on the niqab because it is a Sunna (a tradition of the Muslim prophet Muhammad). It is something that brings me closer to religion and closer to the wives of the Prophet who used to wear it," she said.

"I know what makes God and his prophet love me, and no sheikh is going to convince me otherwise. I would rather die than take it off, even inside class," she added.

Egypt, the birthplace of al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri, fought a low-level Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, has faced sporadic militant attacks targeting tourists since then, and is keen to quell Islamist opposition ahead of parliamentary elections next year and a 2011 presidential vote.

The spread of the niqab, associated with the strictest interpretations of Islam, is a potent reminder to the government of the political threat posed by any Islamist resurgence emanating from the Gulf, where many young Egyptians go to work.

Controversy over the niqab flared last month after the state-appointed head of Egypt's al-Azhar mosque asked a young student to remove her face veil during a visit to her school.

Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Mohamed Sayed Tantawi later issued a religious edict or fatwa barring women and girls from wearing the niqab in all-girl Azhari schools, saying there was no reason for girls to cover their faces amongst themselves.

An Azhari research center later backed the ruling, saying the face veil should be removed when a girl is in an all-female class with women teachers, in all-female exam rooms, and in all-female dormitories.

Egyptian state-run media have also called for women to show their faces, citing the "damaging" effects of niqab on society.

GULF INFLUENCE

While a majority of Egyptian women and girls consider it an Islamic religious obligation to cover their hair and neck with a scarf, few Muslim scholars say the full face veil is mandatory.

Yet growing numbers of Egyptian women are abandoning the simple headscarf in favor of the niqab, analysts say, reflecting the growing sway of strict Saudi-based Wahhabi ideology on an already conservative and Islamized society.

"It increased mainly because of the major influence from the Gulf. This habit is not from the heart of Egyptian society. It is imported from the Gulf," political analyst Hala Mustafa said.

"(Extremism) has been increasing in Egyptian society for the past 30 years and therefore Egyptians are accepting more extremism and becoming more closed off," she said.

Egypt, unlike other Muslim states Saudi Arabia and Iran, does not require women to cover their heads with a scarf. But the millions of Egyptians who have lived or worked in Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia are believed to be a source for the spread of Wahhabi ideology.

Just 30 years ago, women attended Egypt's flagship Cairo University wearing miniskirts and sleeveless tops. They strolled along the beaches of Alexandria in skimpy swimsuits at a time when society was seemingly more liberal and tolerant.

Analysts say the headscarf, or hijab, was seen as a status indicator and was prevalent among lower-income classes. Women from upper and middle classes rarely veiled at a young age and those who did usually followed fashionable interpretations of hijab. The niqab was uncommon at that time.

NIQAB MORE PREVALENT

But the niqab has become more prevalent. Women in flowing black robes are a common sight strolling through Egypt's fanciest shopping malls and five-star hotels, as well as in shanties.

Analysts say challenging the stricter interpretations of Islam could be a long journey that requires, in particular, introducing reforms on an educational system that has allowed women in niqab to teach small children.

"These decisions have to be accompanied with ideological procedures and requires challenging the ideology so there will be moderate ideology," Mustafa said.

Egyptian courts have a history of ruling in favor of women wearing niqab inside universities. In 2007, a court ruled that the American University in Cairo, seen as a bastion of Western liberal education in Egypt, was wrong to bar a female scholar who wears niqab from using its facilities. The court cited personal and religious freedom as grounds for its ruling.

Ordinary Egyptians on the streets of Cairo have conflicting feelings regarding the niqab. Some say it should be banned on security grounds because it can be used by criminals to disguise themselves and escape police searches.

Others hail it as the right way to fulfill religious duties or as the best way to protect women from sexual harassment, although a recent study showed veiling had little effect on harassment rates in Egypt.

"When a man cannot see a woman, then what is he going to harass her for? Nothing," said Abu Donya, a taxi driver, whose views are shared by many Egyptians. "So imagine if all women wear niqab, things would be better," he said.

Killing in the name of Honour: An unethical/barbaric treatment of Women

My classmates today brought in a documentary on honour. But its not like any documentary ive seen that involves honour. The movie is called "Killing in The Name of Honour" it chronicles a Turkey reporter who exposes a very sadistic, evil, tyrannic, and just plain brutal and disgusting way of how women are bring killed!!!!! Let me right that again killed!!! All in the name of honour. So how are these women being killed in the name of honour? In Turkey women are killed so that families can regain or keep their honour in society. Fathers, are killing their daughters and wifes to regain honor in the community. Sons are killing their mother for the same exact reason. Its a sickening act, unfortunately the victims are all women because in the Turkey only women can disgrace their family, men can do no harm. In many cases these men are being forced to accomplish these disgusting acts, just to not look "bad" or "dishonored" around their community and society. So what is the consequences to murdering women in the family? You get time in prison for what it seem the government are trying to raise the amount of years and harsher punishment for all these vile acts. It has gotten so critical that men in the family force and try to convince these women to commit suicide just so that they dont receive any prison time at all!!! Suicide is increasing (for women) in Turkey from 44 to 2006, to 85 in 2007. So why is suicide increasing in Turkey? Simple, more men forcing these women to commit suicide just to obtain more honour!!! More honour!!! That is disgusting.

You can make the case that suicide is not connected to killin in the name of honour, but for such a religious country who holds religion higher than pretty much everything. The Islam religion and their bible the Qur'an life and living are regarded as the highest gift giving my Allah (God) their is a passage in the Qur'an and i quote "And do not kill yourselves. Surely, Allaah is Most merciful to you. And whoever commits that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire" [al-Nisa' 4:29-30]. Yes suicide does happen in every culture and religion, but to think that 85 women committed suicide in 2007 is staggering, why? The key word is "women".. How many men are committing suicide? Far less than women. This killing in the name of honour is vile, disgusting, unethical, and inhumane. The Turkish government has to address these problems seriously and quickly because women deserve better, women deserve everything and anything men have and more, and it pains and bothers me that this is happening in such a culture...

Paradise Now Analysis and Criticism

"Paradise Now" is a Palestinian film nominated for best foreign picture in 2005. The movie involves two days in the lives of Said (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), two Palestinians, garage mechanics and best friends, who are recruited to cross into Israel and blow themselves up. They are not shown as fanatics. They prepare for their task as one would prepare for any difficult assignment. The organization that supports them provides training, encouragement, praise, shaves and haircuts, suits and ties, a ceremonial dinner, and a chance to make videos that will be shown on television. The movie is straightforward it is not meant to teach you anything new about Palestine and their economic and social problems. It doesn't even prove or make a case that Israel is an evil regime that tries to oppress palestine with their military and economic power. The movie is as direct as can be, the director does one thing brilliantly and that is he tries to humanize and put a face on suicide bombers. The director show the process and planning out on what takes to be a suicide bomber. The director even brings in a "westernized" character Suha the female lead that romantically falls for the protagonist of the film Said. Suha who doesnt believe in suicide bombing or terrorist tactics/methods tries to convince and get insides Said head she uses word of reason and compassion to get to Said but it ultimately fails. Ofcourse she is the westernized character in the film A Palestinian born in France and raised in Morocco, she has great status in the Palestinian community because she is the daughter of Abu Assam, a revered leader, influenced no doubt by the skepticism of the West, she questions terrorist acts on both theological and practical grounds but with no really knowledge or experience of what happens in the everyday Palestine she has one hope "Eventually everything will get better" But Said is not driven by future hopes or miracles he is driven by 2 things his religion and "honor" lost by his family due to his father being an informer or collaborator. He grows angry, so angry that he tries to blow himself up on top of his fathers grave becuase of the resentment he holds against his father. Though he holds anger and resentment to a father that he never really knew example of this can be seen when Said asks his mother to tell him about his father, the mother refuses calling it silly question, stupid question. Which tells me that he didnt know his father, he didnt know his fathers motivation, his fathers reasons, or/and his fathers beliefs. At the end of the movie Said does complete his mission and goes to Israel to blow up himself and taking as many Israelis as he possibly can. Finally gaining back some of what he lost when his father died. Gaining respect from his fellow terrorist peers but he fails to gain respect to the two most important people (to him) in the film his mother and the woman he was falling in love with Suha. In a sense he did it more for himself that Palestine. His best friend Khaled miraculously changes his mind because of a few words Suha said, you can see how Said was a strong minded person unlike his friend which looked more driven but in a way didnt have an opinion of his own he just followed the "trends" around Palestine. It is a great film in many ways, it humanizes and puts a face on suicide bombers, but in what it fails is that you can not sympathize with the characters you can only pity them, the movie is sad because you feel that Said wasted his life, funny how you waste your life on people who send you to die but not send themselves.. We can put religion into play in this movie but Said is not really motivated by religion or lack of knowledge after death we see in the film how religion can be dangerous and objective.

"So what happens after death?" Asks Khaled..

"Two angels will pick you up"...

Khaled - "Are you sure? "

"Absolutely"

Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni

Gold Dust is Al Koni’s second novel It was first released in 1990 in Arabic as “Al-Tibr”. Its main theme, the hero Ukhayyal’s deep attachment for his Mahri, a thoroughbred camel. The hero of the novel Ukhayyal attachment to his camel Mahri was quite surprising to me specially how the hero often talks about his camel he makes the camel into a human figure with personality, and wisdom. Its like the camel is in some way a mystical being. The novel is mystically poetic. He also brings the desert alive in his description and mystical meaning. Like he did with the camel the author makes the desert into a beautiful and complex being he does it by incorporating God's presence into the desert. Other examples are how the desert cleans the soul in ways that only a desert can. The novel read like a poem not a novel. But while reading the novel I researched a little on its inner poetic meanings and i found this passage which i wish i could take credit for but i thought it describes this novel perfectly, "Gold Dust gives us the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful novel and discover an outstanding writer. Its lyrical prose exudes the unique breath of desert life and a mystical taste of the afterlife. " - Anonymous (i think)

Pride of Baghdad an original graphic novel

• As an avid graphic novel reader i own dozens of graphic novel. And "Pride of Baghdad" is one of the most fascinating i have read in a long time. A powerful graphic novel that follows the story of four lions who escaped from the Baghdad zoo into the chaos of the 2003 invasion of Baghdad. The story begins in the zoo and ends on the bloody streets of Baghdad. Throughout the story, the lions discuss ideas of freedom and what it means to be caged and tamed as they work to survive. This is not an easy story and the illustrations don't stint on showing the violence of animals and of war. The characters are as complex and deep as the story you have Zill the pride leader and alpha male a smart and wise lion philosophical in many ways, he does have an aggressive side that will stop at nothing to protect his pride(my favorite character). You also have Safa, an old lioness, blind in one eye, who has become accustomed to captivity and views the human advantage of their new freedom there are other characters but these two are my favorite because they are easy to relate too. Even the antagonist of the story, Fajer, a blood thirsty bear who comes to challenge the pride, and this bear aint no push around. The story may come off at first as a child graphic novel but if you know a thing or two about Vertigo (Pride of Baghdad publisher among others.) who published mulit layered stories for aimed at mature readers then you know this is not a book for the novice reader or squeamish reader. As you turn the pages, you can feel the heat and desolation, the sand and dust coats your skin. Niko Henrichon’s drawings are amazing. The colors are both muted and vibrant. You feel as though you’ve been transported thousands of miles to the Middle East the interior pride of Baghdad Henrichon’s art is matched in skill by Brian K. Vaughan’s storytelling. It was Vaughan that was inspired to write the story of these four lions. And Vaughan one of my favorite story tellers who has won many Eisner Awards and has written stories for Marvel and DC comics like The X - men, Y- The Last Man, Captain America, etc. I believe it is a must read for any graphic novel reader or a person whom is interested in the middle east. I recommend it to mature readers, Adult in nature, thought-provoking about the price of freedom and the nature of man.
  

Alimony and Maintenece in Egypt

After reading "The Lawsuit" by Naguib Mahfouz i went on and researched the laws and rights of women receiving alimony or maintenance and this is what i found:

This law has given to the first wife the right to divorce without
proof of damage, if she requested to do so within a year from
the date she knew the new marriage. The new wife has the
same right if the husband lied about the another marriage so
as the husband who wants to marry another would be honest
to face the situation and divorce his first wife if she wishes so
without the need to prove the damage.
According to this law, the wife is punished if she disobeys her
husband by losing her right to alimony unlike the previous law
that required the police to force the implementation of the rule
of obedience.
The law also stated the independence of the divorced wife in the
marital home until the end of the custody period, unless the
husband provides alternative accommodation for her.

This is the most interesting thing that i found I believe that in the book Naguib might have fictionalized the alimony right to the woman of his " The Lawsuit" book though im not 100 percent sure. But times have changed and so have the laws, specially in Egypt. But i will point out the the laws and rules in Egypt regarding alimony and woman rights after marriage changes depending on your religious background. The one above which explains some of the notions and laws given to women after matrimony i believe is the Islamic laws and rules not the chrisitan though i might be mistaken. I just found it so interesting that in the short story " The Lawsuit" the women was granted pretty much all that she asked for which i found preposterous and sad. So i did a little research.

The Lawsuit: An Analysis

"This women robbed us and deprived us of our legal rights". The narrator says this to his lawyer after finding out that his father's widow was demanding maintenance in other words money. If one reads this short novel one does not know anything about his fathers widow by reading this first statement declared by the narrator. The interesting thing about this first quote is that it entices you to learn more about this women whom apparently is desperate for money or maintenance. Once you read the novel you are dealt with two cards. A) Is this women just money hungry or "gold - digger" who just cares about herself or B) She has the right to ask or petition what is rightfully hers. The truth is the depiction of this woman in the short story is quite one sided. The description given in the story is that she married his father in her 20's (the father much older 55 i believe) she is described as beautiful, young, etc. It seems that the father was quite mesmerized by this woman and didnt see past the truth of the matter. This woman was not the narrators real mom in the story the father and the real mother separated which gave the father opportunity to find another love. In this case a younger woman. But the father was no dummy in the novel he is described as a brilliant accountant who knew how to handle his money. The thing is he was quite over powered by this younger woman. The illusion of love can bring any man to his feet and thats what happened to the father. So she sues the family because she deserves what belongs to her after the father died but this didnt happen right away it took years for her to finally sue which is the odd part if you though. If you deserved alimony or maintenance should have claimed it as soon as possible not when apparently you are broke and need it because of your current economic status. That sounds cheap and absurd. She needed it badly and we can assume this by the lawyers quote " Necessity has its own rules" a powerful and clear quote which sums up the "mothers" (quotes cause its not the real mom, the real mom passed away in the novel) intention and desperateness. She seems weak and apologetic for what she is doing to the narrator like she didnt want this to happen but it was the only way.

This story comes down to karma which is what Naguib Mahfouz writes a lot about. Is that karma will come bite you back in the ass. And apparently karma hit this woman hard, very hard.
At the end she seems to get what she wanted (though it left me in a little cliff hanger) but the narrator after being furious throughout this story seems to be at peace with himself and with the decisions made. Yes he is the victim not her, but he felt an inner peace and at the end he tell her "dont worry - let the lord do as He wills" In other words not caring anymore and living it all on karma. The last quote "Why not? Even a farce must continue right to the final act". I took it as a revelation from his part he realized the truth of the matter he pitied her and yes she was a farce. We all know that the law is blind and in this case it was not only blind but, deaf, unreasonable, and ignorant..

Day of Ahmed's Secret Review

The first part of the book "The Day of Ahmed's Secret" is a children book set in Cairo, Egypt. Ofcourse as the titles suggest Ahmeds does have a secret. He plans to tell this secret to his parents but first he must go through a long day in the everyday life of people whom lives in Cairo, Egypt. It is told in the first point of view i believe because for kids and younger readers could relate easier how Ahmed lives in Cairo. It is also vastly illustrated for younger readers to kind of take an understanding of how Cairo looks inside and out. The illustrations are photo-realistic illustrations, which captures the bustle of the crowded marketplace. My favorite illustration are the simplest - pyramids in the distance across a wide desert. The pale colors of the sky seems peaceful after the busy marketplace, and there's a comforting feeling in the cool darkness when the day finally ends. The pictures in the book are quite significant for the reader it gives it an added dimension to what the reader pictures is Cairo. The book does describe how Cairo does look with camels, pyramids etc.. But for the younger reader whom has little or no knowledge at all of what Cairo looks like the images are a great reference for these young readers which in a way is what i think the author tried to do, probably because of its complex descriptions.

I truly believe that the best way to read this book is quite frankly to ask yourself before reading the book "What is Ahmend's secret? It kind off gives you a more interesting perspective because of the awaited answer of his secret. The book is a perfect start off for children that do not really know the history or the significance of the every day life in Cairo, Egypt. For a more mature, older reader the books has plenty to offer because of its many lessons through it, at first not quite visible but if you read it carefully the book has plenty of lessons for the everyday life. Like responsibility, the importance of taking advice from parents, and even the most underrated is patience. Specially how Ahmed is so patient through out the entire day. Its a great read for children and mature readers.

Unethical treatment of Pigs in Egypt

Egypt ordered the killing of 250 thousand pigs to prevent the swine flu epidemic in Egypt. The swine flu has affected every country around the world. But there is a difference in the killing of pigs compared to the slaughter of pigs. Pigs are "being killed in extremely inhumane ways ... We request that all slaughter be ceased until guidelines can be put in place to regulate the killing," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in a letter to the Egyptian government. All of this was discovered after an Egyptian civilian posted disgusting and unethical killing of pigs. Although no case of A(H1N1) swine flu has yet been detected on its territory, Egypt is the only country in the world to have decided to kill all its pigs, estimated to have numbered around 250,000 before the cull began. You can watch the unethical treamtent here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMIlw7rCSc&feature=related

One clip posted by independent newspaper Al-Masri Al-Yom showed gory images of pigs being beaten with iron bars, piglets being stabbed with kitchen knives and animals being kicked alive into bulldozer buckets. The clip sparked horrified reactions from Muslims and from the Christian Copt community, who are the main rearers of pigs in Egypt as Muslims do not eat pork. The slaughter caused controversy from its start on May 3, when riot police clashed with stone-throwing pig farmers trying to prevent their animals from being taken away.The authorities have said it will take six months to complete the slaughter and announced plans to import three machines to boost culling capacity to 3,000 animals a day. It is sad how Egypt can slaughter so many pigs with knives, kicked alive and even pouring them into bulldozer buckets.

Blood and Oil: Analysis

Oil is the most important mineral in World History. The more oil you have the more powerful of a nation you become. The United States consumes more oil than any other country in the world. The U.S is 5% of the world population but consumes nearly 25% of the use of oil around the world. The U.S uses 20 million barrels a day while the whole world uses 80 million, exactly 25%. So in other words the U.S is more dependent in oil than any other country or nation. But it gets crazier and more drastic than that... About 98% of of transportation (trains,planes,cars) energy comes from oil, for what it seems without oil we become useless. Petroleum oil affects everything, even agriculture... Agriculture? How? Without Oil, bigger agriculturist whom use heavier machinery could not produce the amount of goods that the people need, even factories that make and produce dairy, vegetable,meat, fruits are worthless without the amount of oil energy it is needed to create these mass productions of food. But how did we become so reliable on oil? In the early 1900's we did not rely on foreign oil, we produced our own oil for the vast majority of this century, but for the last 10 years we have relied more and more on foreign oil. The more oil one consumes the more oil one will need, and by 2025 the US will depend on foreign countries for about 70% of its oil, an outstanding and alarming number. In other words we Americans are Oil junkies that cant get enough, we need it at all times more than anyone else in the world. Even when it comes to war oil has played an important part. Without oil we could not have won WW II, we won because if yes strategy, leadership but also because we could produce and manufacture more planes, tanks, submarines than any other country in the world, we could build them faster and better. Even so the American produced 6 out of 7 barrels used by the allied forces during WWII. Unfortunately the US used up 1/3 of its oil reserve during WWII which now has come back to bite us in the ass.

But the questions is when did we start getting this oil hook up from the Middle East? It all started during the 1940's where one of the greatest presidents ever FDR! Became aware of the oil problem that the US was going to hit because of its mass consumption so FDR made a deal with the King of Saudi Arabia (at the time) the deal was simple.. Saudi Arabia will let us Americans find and evolve this oil while the Saudi Arabia had full protection from the US, not a bad deal. But what did this protection consist of??? Easy, the US would pretty much give the Saudis military power by giving them hefty weaponry big tanks, big planes, big guns, in exchange for some of the dark liquid goodness. In other words the US created the Saudi military (jaw opens drastically).

Now one can understand why it is that the US goes to war in the Persian golf war, the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq etc etc.. Not because we are buddies of the Saudis but because the resource of oil is too important we will sacrifice anything and everything to protect and control and obtain all the oil we can muster. We sacrifice troops after troops after troops just to continue our dominance over the "Oil World". How easy we have forgotten about the 1980's all the way through the early 1900's where president Bush (the older one) clearly would say and i quote " We must protect the Oil, we can not allow these evil nations from taking our oil that we have worked hard for", well not exactly the quote used but you get the idea. It is so funny how the oil talk was so casual presidents would talk about it all the time and how they would defend it to the end, but now oil talks are forbidden its all a denial now. No president since first Bush had admitted that we love Saudi Arabia because of its oil. Now every questions the press asks the president about the oil they get easily shut down by the prezzident, now the excuse is nuclear weapons. We must stop all these terrorist because of their nuclear weaponry that is the words from the white house in recent years, but the truth is we dont care about no nuclear weapons we care about the oil. Why dont we care about all these dangerous weapons? Because the US is the biggest exported of weapons around the world so most of those dangerous weapons will read very very very tiny on the lower corner " Made in America". One of the reasons the US won the cold war was because we would give and sell all these weapons to the Saudi rebels to protect Saudi Arabia from the Soviets they used the weapons to fight back and one of it main rebels whom was working for the CIA at the time was Saudi Arabia biggest star Osama Bin Laden. So nuclear weapons or any other weapons are not really our concern the oil is. The US will always have bigger guns than any one else in the world, but we dont have the biggest Oil reserve in the world the Middle East does, which is why we are so interested.

Osama Bin Laden was fueled because of the oil hunger the US has which in turn he became one of our greatest enemy. From ally to enemy, from being on the pay roll to being on the run. The terrorist will stop at nothing to stop US from achieving and getting oil we need it for energy we need it form about everything. The US has one big problem.. It needs oil more than anyone else and the rebels and terrorist will stop at nothing to negate that. That is where the big beef comes from not any nuclear weapons but control of oil. So the truth is what is the US without oil???? Just a big chunk of land.

Aunt Safiyya and The Monastery:

As i read the novel "Aunt Safiyya and The Monastery" I see the difference between how women are brought up compared to men. It baffles me how different men and women are brought up in this little village just outside of Luxor in Upper Egypt. Women in the village are brought up as women of servitude, they have a specific pattern on what they must do which is to follow their mothers orders to the T, and get married with the man approved by the parents. Women do not decide whom they want to marry and spend the rest of their lives with. In the village outside of Luxor women have a specific order of when she should wed, starting from the first born all the way to the youngest female in the family. Another thing that caught my eye was how the worth of a female in the village is solely based on how beautiful the female is. It seems that there is no indication of how smart or intellectually fulfilled the female is. It turns by spine on how the female are judged by their looks. I noticed the envy their is between the sisters toward Aunt Safiyya and how there is a love/hate relationship between these girls. There must be quite a psychological rift between all these girls. Think about it this way, you are part of this family described in the book, you have an older sister whom is more beautiful than you are your parents favor her in every way and form. How would you take it? Knowing that you will be second best for the rest of your life just because your sister is more beautiful.

So feeling undermined is a constant in many parts of this book. I feel strongly against how women are raised just because of the favoritism of parents over their children, even to the extent that parents control if they should or shouldnt go to a higher learning like college. I guess what im trying to say is that as an outsider looking in I do not agree with the favoritism of the parents toward the daughters or how these women are raised. But every culture is different and its all about ethics, and there is a term called Cultural Relativism which describes how one can not judge on a different culture just because their views are different.

Reel Bad Arabs: An Analysis on Arabs Depiction in Hollywood Films

As an avid movie lover I enjoy every kind of movie. From Hollywood to Bollywood, from Independent to huge studio movies. Hollywood movies are quite influential, they influence what we believe about many things including people, culture, race, etc.. The depiction I will focus on is Arabs and their depiction in films. The short film "Reel Bad Arabs" makes some outstanding point on how Hollywood films scrutinize and depict the Arab people and their culture. In the movie the author of "Reel Bad Arabs" Dr Jack Shaheen claims that Arabs are the most maligned group in Hollywood history. They are depicted as incompetent, one dimensional, and/or used as comic relief for movies. They are depicted as evil and vile people, who carry big swords, and love their belly dancers. They are also shown as people who defile and mistreat their women often enslaving their women. This is true for movies like: Sahara(1983), Jewel Of the Nile (1985), Protocol (1984), Never Say Never Again (1983) so on and so forth. And even in movies that have nothing to do with Arabs or the Middle East Hollywood chooses to put in scenes or "inject" random thoughts about Arabs usually in a very demining way. Most often slurs are used in these situations, again comedic relief for me film that quite frankly had nothing to do with Arabs or their culture. For example in Back to the Future (1985), at the beginning of the film Arabs randomly shoot and kill the protagonist of the film Dr. Brown who is played by Christopher Lloyd. These two Arabs come out of nowhere in a white van and use a machine gun to kill one of the protagonist no reason is given for this scene just a simple way for Hollywood to "fill in" a scene by using Arabs. Even the women are depicted as terrorist in movies like Never Say Never Again, and Death Before Dishonor. So in other words women (as depicted in films) are belly dancers or terrorist. Hollywood should be more responsible and aware of how influential they are not only around the United States but also around the world. Ignorance creates more ignorance, and Hollywood's ignorance is just creating more ignorant people who watch these films. The sad thing is if the movie sells studios don't really care what they are showing in their films and how they are dimining many cultures and stereotypes which include the Arabs...

Traditions and Unwritten Rules Overpowering Enforcement Of Laws

Traditions are often view as a cultural beauty in which. This is true of most nations. Traditions help us remember the past with clarity and love. There are many kinds of traditions; Family traditions, Holiday Traditions, and even religious traditions. But in Iran not all traditions are positive. The question i pose to you is... Can a tradition or traditions over power rules and law enforcement? It seems that in Iran this is true, specially for women rights. It seems that traditions in Iran over power women rights. Women in Iran are dealing with specific challenges. Iran is going through a hard transition (specially during this war) from tradition to modernity and from lawlessness to legalism. We know that in the Middle East religion is a hot commodity and widely respected, religion is as sacred to the Middle East as Sunday football for some. Religion has always played a role in the condition of Iran and been inextricable from its social norms. Women's legal inequality originates not only from shortcomings in rules and regulations, but also from unwritten rules originating in social customs and traditions that often make the enforcement of laws difficult or virtually impossible.

We can all relate on how hard it is to shake off a tradition or even an unwritten rule. But in Iran traditions should atleast be modified for not only the protection of women but also to establish a social order and equality between males and females of Iran.The basic true of all this is that women in Iran do not have to education to promote and fight for what is correct and ethical which can be said about most Middle Eastern countries. Iranians (and the Middle East) must understand and learn that all individuals must be protected and promoted regardless of culture, language, race, nationality,TRADITIONS, religion but most importantly GENDER! Human rights should be a universal practice and should be taught in every part of this beautiful place we call Earth..... The great english poet, essayist, and politician Joseph Addison once wrote:
"Tradition is an important help to history, but its statements should be carefully scrutinized before we rely on them. "

Unethical Treatment of women in Iraq..

One of the hottest topics in the Middle East, besides the war is the unethical treatment of women. Women rights are being taken away more and more everyday. Let me drop some background history of women rights before Saddam took power. In 1948, Iraq became one of the first Middle Eastern countries to have a women judge. Also in 1968 the Ba'ath party took control of Iraq their main goal was to achieve economic growth in achieving this goal it meant that women were allowed in the work place/force. The government even passed labor and employment job for women in Iraq to protect women rights in the work place. As a result women in Iraq became more independent socially, and financially. Ofcourse women in the work place meant better education for these women which is why the government (at the time) pushed for education in Iraq. Both women and men had to have atleast a primary education (reading, basic education) which in turn would diminish the illiteracy in Iraq. Even though all of these rights given to women was all part of politics, this was the Ba'ath way to achieve their goal which was to remain in power. Though they did help women tremendously. Women were even allowed to run for office something that even in the United States took time to achieve.

Here comes the dawn of the 90's for women in Iraq. Nobody hates the 90's more than women in Iraq. The Gulf War pretty much reversed every right women had achieved and gained in the past. To keep "order" the Iraqi government began their run at amateur magic. What was Iraqi stronghold when it came to their magic act??? Making people disappear. Wives, daughters, and many other female relatives began "disappearing" not because these women opposed the government (which probably some of these women did), but because husbands, fathers, the men in the family opposed it. Which makes perfect sense in a culture where men are so dominant in terms of power one must fear the male society more than the female society in terms of an uprising against the government. So how can the government hurt most these males? By taking away what it seems they would cherish more, not their own lives, but the lives of the women they loved. The government would take these women away and rape, torture, beat, and/or murder these Iraqi women. Saddam took women rights away from them all to achieve his goal of more and more power (like every other dictator). But while i compose this i wander to myself does WAR create opportunity and chances for government to take away rights away from the people they are sworn to protect? Seems like WAR is the perfect excuse for government to take control of their people.

In December 30, 2006 Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging if i am not mistaken this would give women all their rights back!!! Nope, not really. Because of the WAR in Iraq the Iraqi government has become extremely unstable. This mean that the government has no desire or time to try to give atleast some of women rights back, it just won't happen during such a climactic war. I am not saying this is the right thing to do, but maybe just maybe can ending the war in the Middle East atleast in Iraq give back women some of their basic rights? Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope that in the future when this WAR is over women not only in Iraq but all over the Middle East can get and achieve all their rights back.........