By: O. Al-Jaber

O. Al-Jaber — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 08:38:04 +0000

As a manly Qatari man with a 5 o’clock beard shadow, I do understand that I have some sort of privileges merely on the basis of my biological sex. I am privileged because if you look at history in general you will see that men have been privileged; more money, more right; more everything; even getting to keep their names in marriage! The thing about privilege is that it’s tricky. This is because often the reward can seem small; (e.g. I am getting promotion at work fast). I mean sure this is because of my hard work and talent, but chances are that some part of the reason is due to the fact that I am a guy who is looked at as a leader or a more reliable-harder worker. What I am trying to say here Amal is that privilege is by no means a single thing. Not all of the men have the same advantages or privileges; example- straight-white-Qatari men usually have more advantages than say, black men, lower class men, or “less straight” Mr. softie-type-of-men. Gender is just one portion among many in determining advantages. The real challenge when it comes to male privilege is that it is usually so difficult and vague to demonstrate its dynamic function. It’s actually based in thousands and thousands of years of culture and that is hard to simply change. As a man, I guess what I can do to help the struggle for gender equality is to recognize that, in some ways, I have certain advantages because of my sex. By recognizing that, I guess I can take some good actions, they maybe small, to highlight this gifted privilege, and make discrimination based on gender more visible. What do you think? Another thing that I can do that I think is equally important to the biological gender to support feminism is to listen to you and respect what you say as a woman. It is indeed a common courtesy to respect and listen to what anyone has to say, but once again, history sadly shown that some voices get heard a lot less, and even when they’re heard, they are often not being taken seriously. So in general, what I think I should do more is to listen more carefully and value what women around me have to say even if it is a topic that is not related to cars or “flan & 3lan”.
The final way in which I believe I can support feminism is maybe by actively speaking out when seeing or hearing an outrageous behavior that is sexist or in somehow denigrates women – you know just say something about it and not be that “Shitan Akras:. I think this is very important especially in male dominated places (like al majalis) where women voices are not heard. I personally find it really difficult to speak up in this kind of environment, especially among family members and friends who I value and respect. You know Amal- sometimes I feel if I do this I will cause some sort of a deep shift in behavior in attitude, people will look at me like an outcast and some would say something like what’s with this dude-let’s kick him out”! Nevertheless, I think it is crucial that we stand up for women whenever the opportunity arises.
So, here you go Amal, above are some ways I think I can do be support the drive of feminism. This is just my personal opinion and ideas. Your feedback is appreciated. O

By: Amal Almalki

Amal Almalki — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 13:13:54 +0000

Your support is very crucial. All of the successful women I have met until this day refer their success to the support of a father, brother or a husband. I totally believe that “Behind every successful woman, there is a man.”

By: O. Al-Jaber

O. Al-Jaber — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:10:06 +0000

Islamic feminism is not an easy breezy concept to tackle. It is like democracy- hard to sell in many places of the world, especially the Middle East. We are suffering from social conservatism. Women live under the iron fist of men who don’t believe whatsoever in feminism. It is a complex dynamic of gender struggle in the Islamic countries that needs analytical focus. Unfortunately, the majority of Middle Eastern men still underestimating the value of females in their society looking at them like they are only good for cooking, cleaning up the cave, looking after baby Mammoths, caring for the children, and of course, providing pleasures for men! It would be a true challenge to change this anti-feminist-indoctrinated mentality! I myself am a pro-feminist who believes in women like yourself Amal who are able to compete with men for high level leadership and management positions. The million Riyals question remains “what is it that I can do as a man in this society to dismantle this gender injustice? Is this a one man voice or does it takes more?

Comments on: “Feminism permeates through religions and cultures”, by Marium Chandna

By: O. Al-Jaber

By: Amal Almalki

By: O. Al-Jaber