One female Kuwaiti-American spoke up next, “Some women in Kuwait do very contradictory things. They campaign loudly against women’s rights and vote against the rights of others. Yet, those same women are, in fact, using those rights [that they protest against].”
This Kuwaiti-American continued, “These women should shut up and go home if all they want to do is take away the rights of others—and oppose others using their rights!”
Zeinab Al-Suwaij again concurred, “All women have voices and [do] use them. Women need to recognize this. The problem is that so many women’s voices are not heard. The model I am suggesting [for women] is a more balanced model than has been common [in the West, especially].
“If we look at the women’s movement in Kuwait in the 1970s and again compare it to the movement today, we see distinctions that show a balance. In the 1970s, the women’s movement here was more affected by the language, images and clothing attire found in the West. Nowadays, the focus here is on balance among their own cultural and social identities. One sees this in the clothing and in the language used in electioneering.”
One final Arab listener spoke up and asked what Al-Suwaij advocated for younger women in Kuwaiti society today.
Al-Suwaij stated, “They need to find a voice.”
“This is one reason we collect writings from all over the world and then mentor women on how to tell their stories internationally and locally. We teach them a bit about organizing and ask them to share about their particular living and working contexts.We also promote interfaith dialogues. In Kuwait people need to ask how they can realize a balance, i.e. that would be different from how women communicate and carry out their programs of development and rights.”
“We also need to move beyond stereotypes, including such questions as ‘Do you always wear your hijab?’—a question used by profilers at the airport all the time--and [graduate to more developed] relations among the differing peoples and faiths”
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
