Women without chains...

(Copied from my facebook post)

This note is just a thought, and nothing anyone should be offended by. I like observing especially when I am in place where the culture is completely different from what I am used to. So this is just to challenge our self-judgment and instant reaction to things we’re not used to, it is not a research of any measure, simply an observing thought by me. The title was inspired by one of the organisations we work with in Yemen "Women Journalist Without Chains". 

Have you ever caught yourself seeing a woman in a burqa, an abaya with a hijab or a niqab, thinking ”I’m so happy and thankful that I am not her”? You probably have, and it might be a very common thought when we have pre-judged the situation to something it doesn’t have to be.

I am in Yemen at the moment, invited by a project, to support and advice the financial officers of their respective partners. I was talking to one of the journalists of “Women Journalists Without Chains”, and she asked me what I think of Yemen, and how I imagined it would be prior to my arrival.

I told her I am very surprised by their beautiful architecture, and had never imagined that this is one of the significant things Yemen is known for and because we were talking in a car I said and the traffic in the city is really scary, as it is in other capitals too, she laughed and agreed. Of course, prior to my arrival, I had asked people I knew had visited before, what I could expect.  A lot said it’s beautiful, some said the food is great – but all in all I tried not to have any presumptions, just to have an open mind at the same time be aware of how the circumstances are in general in connection to the control risks.

I love travelling and it’s good to know some things about where you travel to, depending on your agenda and what you wish to achieve while there. When you’re Christian, and even brought up Catholic – Christian countries are easier to visit, partly because of the historical value they may have to a certain religion while touching history in a significant manner. I am not too familiar with the general history of the Islamic countries, but vaguely I have read and heard of the different developments of respective cultures within the specific geographical area of the Middle East. Of course politics make a huge difference here, the Middle East would for the most surely not be such a foreign and intimidating place to visit if government, media, the political situations explicitly and repeatedly tells us not to.

My only real concern was actually, the possible situation of sitting in a meeting room with a group of women wearing clothing that would cover their faces and maybe even their eyes. The thought of sitting in front of women, talking to them and having a dialogue for several hours while not being able to see who they are, worried me – in the sense that I wouldn’t know beforehand what my reaction to this would be. Well, I could imagine I would feel uncomfortable and anxious as I am not used to the situation or because I have a pre-judged these women already.

Saadah, the woman journalist expressed her understanding, when I told her this. She did explain that not all women wear burqas or niqabs in Sana’a, that there actually is a choice for women to wear this or not. She then gave examples of how Yemen or  Sana’a in some aspects still are not as strict in these terms, compared to the lack of women’s freedom seen in Saudi Arabia. Saadah wears an abaya with a hijab to cover her hair, but her very pretty face is uncovered.

For those who watched “Sex and the City 2”, yes the movie, remember they go to Abu Dhabi and find that some of the women wearing burqas, are actually very fashionable underneath these heavy looking black clothing. Saadah also mentioned that a lot of these women, even in Yemen are completely different when they are in their homes, and yes many are fashionable and into different high-end brands. (I am not sure how long ago) but she also said that Yemen, or in the villages outside Sana’a women used to be more open than they are today, she then goes that the development over the years of the state of mind within the Muslim countries in general, has not bettered, on the contrary the lack of general knowledge that people living outside the bigger cities has, has resulted in people limiting themselves even more.  Meaning people in general have easily been succumbed to a modified version of “Islam”, creating a culture that may not have anything to do with the religion, and because of this, it seems from an outsider, who doesn’t have a clue that this is just how it is in the Middle Eastern region. Women wear burqas and that is scary. Period.

If you think about it though, what does it mean to wear a burqa, or an abaya with a niqab covering a woman’s body and face? Covering the body and the hair is part of the culture most often, by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, privacy, and morality. In a very direct way you can say it is for the woman not to show any of her body parts in order not to invite any man who is not her husband to look at her in an unclean way? Yes, and in many other parts of the world this way of thinking could be of well-use, not saying I think every woman should cover their body, hair and faces, but many times the weak husband being tempted by other women, is really not uncommon in the world where women do not cover themselves or act with modesty, privacy and morality. I will not come into details about what I really personally think of this matter, in terms of the men’s role in this, what the Qur’an may state and not and all the politics that follows too.

So if we just go further and look beyond how “devious” women are portrayed as culture “force” them to wear burqas or niqabs, let us think about what role they actually take on. Again, not to support the way things are done, but just to create a kind of respect and superficial understanding to show these women empathy as a contrast to sympathy. These women are also intelligent women, beautiful women, strong women, many are mothers, all are daughters, and some are sisters and of course wives. Their action of wearing a burqa or niqab is showing respect to their culture, maybe even religion, to their family and to themselves, and merely to take on their role as a woman in this part of the world.

I do not think that all of these women think that their freedom is taken away from them because of this. This may just be a part of their identity; maybe it may even be a relief to be seen as a woman, without being judged to whether you’re beautiful, ugly, white, black, yellow, red or whatever you may look like.

And just for that I could respect it.

At breakfast today, I saw a Caucasian woman eating by herself, smiling at me, as I was also eating alone. I noticed she didn’t wear something to cover her bottom, as I was told to cover my arms and legs, and not to wear anything tight-fitting, and preferably and upper part that covers the bottom well. Funny what you start noticing in this place.

I am born and raised in Scandinavia, I am not a tall blonde, blue eyed girl on the very contrary I am a small, black-haired, chini-eyed Asian. My parents are from the Philippines, but I look more Japanese, Chinese or even Korean (yes in that order) I was not too worried going to Yemen, because of that. The people who are most sought for – in the kidnapping industry – are the Caucasian looking people, who in most naive minds – are from countries with wealth. So pre-judging the situation, who wins? - The burqa/niqab-wearing woman or the Asian girl, who is from one of the wealthy North European countries, but who is just considered a local nanny or cheap labor for the Chinese local workers.  Who is the woman without chains?

Hehe.. you’re most welcome to comment, add, argue or even “judge” my note.. Again, it was just a thought I wanted to share…