I refrained from writing about women on International Women’s Day, observing what had been written about them before March 8th, and on March 8th. The discourse was traditional and emotional, not touching the core issues of women such as:
The woman who rocks a child's cradle with her right hand rocks the world with her left, and the woman is half the society and raises the other half!. Thus, they spoke about women but did not speak with her. Their talk was far removed from seeing the woman as an independent entity!!
(1)
What did they say about women?
In one of the local newspapers, I followed two articles by important writers; the author of the first article talked about the family's role and its importance in motivating the woman, elaborating on the father’s role in educating the woman, the brother's role in supporting his sister, and the son's support for his mother, appreciating her role, thus portraying the woman as a weak entity begging for support!.
The other article was more scientific, as the writer endeavored to present data about women’s participation in the labor market, the severe decline in their presence in the private and productive sectors, far from health and education. Thus, the woman is treated as a tool and a means!!
(2)
Women’s discourse on Women’s Day!
I followed two feminist speeches on Women’s Day, the first talking about women in the Gaza war, and the impacts the war had on them, and the other speech in a sophisticated literary language, talking about what women have provided to men like:
_ She who refined your discord, and pruned what repelled from you!
_ She who trained your steps, comforted your loneliness, softened your harshness, stirred your stagnancy, and spoke your silence…
And he who has a woman, he is among those not wronged!
Thus, was repeated a miserable discourse saying: the woman is the sister and the daughter of the man and added to it the task of reliever of the troubles suffered by the man
Thus, she is always appended to a man and does not have any independent entity!!!
As a third discourse strayed from the topic when its writer talked about the importance of studying law and rights, the importance of justice, and the supremacy of law…
These speeches reminded me of the discussion on women's issues at UNESCO in the late twentieth century!
(3)
Discussions at UNESCO
I speak about the discussions at the UNESCO Executive Board in 1988,
Europeans said:
That the problem with women is their low participation in higher leadership levels.
Africans said:
The problem with women is the high rate of illiteracy among them.
Dr. Abdel Salam Al-Majali tasked me,
being a member of the council, and I being his deputy by virtue of my position, to give Jordan’s speech!
I said: The problem with women is not their leadership positions, as the Europeans said! And it's not in the high rate of literal illiteracy as the Africans said!
Despite the importance of what was mentioned, the problem with women is an existential cultural issue! So what is this problem?
(4)
The Problem with Women!
I said in my speech at UNESCO
during the Executive Board session:
The problem with women is what I saw
two days ago on the face of my twelve-year-old daughter Lubna when she answered a phone call from a colleague of mine:
Give me "Father of Tareq"!!
My name back then was "Father of Lubna", and
I had just been blessed two days before that with a boy named "Tareq"!!
My name changed, and my daughter's name was erased merely with the arrival of a son!!
This is the problem with women!!
Do you understand me?!
