Local Girls in the Big Apple
This is yet another story involving local women, though this is more spicy and interesting than the boring surveys and academic studies. It’s here, in the reality of experiencing another culture and testing one’s own and other people’s ideas and prejudices that local women, at least some of them, show a different side of their selves; not totally different, but more like a hidden side that needed to blossom under the right conditions and the extra bit of fresh air. They impress even the most hardened New Yorkers, smoothly navigating the cultural divide and reconciling the conflicting demands of their identities and those of an alien city. And as they taste the Big Apple, their spirits soar, their dreams take wings, and they shine as bright as the stars of a clear night in the Arabian desert. They are perhaps the best ambassadors to their country and culture, shining through the dark perceptions and false images and finding their modern voice. Freedom is truly infectious!
Sadly, the Aussie who chaperoned them was fired and deported, apparently over the publication of this article (though other theories are abound). The piece appeared in the New Yorker magazine
here.
It's the Final Countdown!
There is a peculiar breed of creatures who are now awakening from a 4-year slumber, wild-eyed with excitement, and ready to enjoy their most riveting life span of four weeks, before they burrow back into oblivion once again. No, they’re not a local type of the North American periodical cicadas who spring to life from underground every 17 years to flirt by singing noisily for weeks, before they mate and die. As you may have guessed already, the breed I’m talking about here consists of humans united by their mad love for football; or to be more accurate, their unmatched yearning for the Football World Cup, the undisputed king of all mega events. With the games just 12 days away, members of this large cult, (certainly larger than any religious or ethnic group in history) are counting the days, discussing the venues, debating the groups composition, memorizing the games schedules, and reminiscing over brilliant flashes of history from previous championships (including ones they never watched but describe vividly and passionately as if they were eye witnesses!).
The FWC is so popular that it dwarfs every other team sport spectacle, including the Olympics. The final game of the 2002 (Brazil vs. Germany) was watched via live broadcast by an estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide. It’s probably impossible to find a corner of the world where people aren’t so transfixed on the games for the duration of the four-week tournament; and Dubai is no exception. I’ve been discussing with my friend D our “preparations” for the upcoming drama, namely the question of where in Dubai we should go to watch the most anticipated games, i.e. those featuring the world’s greatest football titans. So far the plan is to sample several of the top candidates and then decide on a semi-permanent location, though we’re both inclined in favor of Spikes at Nad Al Sheba. The place is almost ideal, with its layout, atmosphere, multiple screens, plus its relative accessibility and availability of parking.
But just like the outcome of the games themselves, plans and expectations can be easily foiled or disrupted without warning, and we won’t be surprised if we end up watching any number of games at the Aviation Club, Harvester’s, Aussie Legends, or the Red Lion. In other words, we may have a plan, but there’s no need for a back up plan, and it’s highly likely that we’ll just follow the prevailing winds of the football season. For one thing, we learned the lesson from the 2002 World Cup experience; even finding ourselves once (we still don’t remember how) watching a game in the Ajman Kempinski; and yes, the bar there, by the way, is called the
World Cup Bar.
Pious Jeans
Hot on the heel of the special wudou' sink/washer we read about not a long time ago comes the news about the special Islamic prayer garments for men: Designer jeans that are made to feel and look authentically Islamic:
Designed by an Italian company and named after the Arabic term for Jerusalem, Al Quds Jeans are baggy with a high waist to allow freedom of movement during the repeated kneeling for Islamic worship. They have extra large pockets for glasses, trinkets and prayer beads and also feature discreet green seams at the top of the belt loops, in honour of the faith's sacred colour.It's a welcome change, though obviously a very tiny one, in the struggle to modernize Islam. However, it seems there is more progress in the realm of rituals than in the more important world of ideas. The stretching that is more desperately needed is in the understanding and the interpretation, and not simply the trousers; and that's one innovation that no Italian or Western company will be able to provide. It’s ironic, but the prayer pants now are definitely way ahead of the praying mind. And that only underscore the intellectual and theological crisis within Islam. Basically, Muslims can't live with proper prayer jeans alone!
More about this story
here.
About UAE Women
Since my first test post Summer has arrived in Dubai with vengeance. And with that, it seems posts on local blogs (many are
here) dealing with hot local topics (labor, women, politics, etc.) are getting hotter! Bloggers are battling it out, mostly with pure opinion versus pure opinion. Nothing of course is wrong with that, as long as all remember that what they have to say is just a freaking opinion and not the final truth of the matter. Yet, the lack of factual support for personal perspectives (occasionally with hysterical fixation or abusive vehemence) is, to say the least, quite surprising. It’s not only the dearth of reliable literature on local issues that is to blame, but also the intellectual laziness of many fellow bloggers. This means both lack of facts and lack of willingness to question one’s preconceived ideas and skewed theories. Some recent posts on local women have generated debate and controversy. Trying to look for more reliable information on this issue, I came across an interesting study from two years ago. The author is Sara Sayed and the title is, “Women, Politics and Development in the United Arab Emirates.” It’s rather long (100 plus pages) and can be too academic, but it’s worth reading. No time to read the whole thing, I’d say at a minimum read the conclusions; some very interesting and debatable results. This is the link to
the study.
And here are two teasers (from the conclusions section):
“
Women overall, are segregated but not isolated as they are surrounded by a large social support network…mainly family members…Families protect their female members from what they consider to be a predatory environment. This protectionism is strongly supported by interview participants as well as survey participants.” p. 88.
“
Women are generally content with their status within the family. They overwhelmingly agree that the actions of women within the family are unconstrained as long as these actions do not jeopardized the health of the family unit. They do not feel devalued by the patriarchal system, and they support its protective function” p. 89.
