International Women’s Day
Papers by UJ Students & Responses by UNC Students
- “The Perfect Woman” by Ghufran Shehadeh
- “Americans’ Perspective on the Palestinian Case” by Sabreen Saleh
- “Hypersexualization of Women in American Society Today” by Wesam Wekhyan
- “UNESCO, NATO and U.S” by Aya Abdel Kareem
- “THE SUPERIOR GENDER” by Ghufran Shehadeh
- “Arabs” by Sajeda Dabbas
- “Between Marriage and Dating” by Hala al Ma’ani
- “America Nowaday: Racisim-Free or Social-Clash!” by Shahd Atieh
- “Honour Crimes” by Haneen Amireh
- “The Foreign Intrusions in the So-called “Arab Spring”” by Arene Al-Sharah
- “Virginity, Honor & Perceptions” BY Hala El-Othman
- “All are One and the Same” by Reham Al-Sayed
- “Arab Portrayal in Movies” by Rowan Haddad
- “I am not Who You Think I am” by Reham Al-Sayed
- “Honor’s Custodians!” by Rawan Al-Damen
- “The American Dream” by Hiba
- “Correcting common contraception” by Lujain Al Ayyoub
- “Women in the Arab Spring” by Abeer
- “Dating in the Arab World” by Leila Daas
- “I refuse to be a statistic ..” by Tamara kilani
- “I Am a Terrorist” by Leila Daas
UJ: I Am a Terrorist
For those of you who havent read the post “Americas’ Perspective on the Palestinian Case”, this here is in reference to the Palestinian-Isreali conflict.
If an army came and killed members of your family, took away your home and the few things that you owned, and you did not have an army to protect you, would you fight back? Or just let it continue to happen until everyone you know is dead? Would you call yourself a terrorist for standing up against this army? Or would you live on your knees awaiting your own death? Would you join together with your neighbors and try to stop this genocide? Or would you look away as a coward? Would you give your life for justice and righteousness? Or would you apologize for taking up space on this Earth? Would you speak out against the mass majority in order to show the truth? Or would you accept the label that the world has given you?
I am a terrorist. I do not want to wait until I join my family in heaven. I do not want to wait for people to realize the injustices that have been brought upon me. My aim is only the people in the military that has done this to me. I do not want my people to be extinct. I do not believe that we are not worthy to breathe the same air, nor shall I believe that they are better than me because they spent centuries to become a strong power. I do not ask that you must all die. I do not want to cause you the same pain that I have felt as well as a mother who holds her dead child in her arms.
I ask that you let me live. I ask that you do not kill all of my kind for they have done nothing to you. I ask that you apologize for being wrong. I ask that you are not bias in your media. I ask that you remember what has been done to your people. I ask that you remember that the world took too long before intervening. I ask that you remember that you were given my land for the world felt pity for your kind. I ask you to realize that we were not the ones that were so cruel to you. I ask you to stop doing to us that of which has been done to you. I ask you to not steal our petty resources which you have consumed. I ask that you not try to justify the killing of my kind. I ask that you review the numbers of the deaths on both sides. I ask you to realize that you have taken only civilians for we do not have an army. I ask you to understand that those who answer to your force with force of their own, are nothing more than civilians who have lost everything because of you.
If these requests make me a terrorist then consider me the greatest terrorist of them all, but unfortunately for you, my spirit will never fall.
Leave a replyUJ: I refuse to be a statistic ..
My name is Tamara, I am 25 years old, and throughout my teenage years and becoming an adult I have experienced many forms of judgment. A lot of the questions I get asked by people is why am I not yet married? What am I waiting for? And why am I not pulling my weight in making it happen faster?
And with my answer to that question comes a strange look, almost like people feel sorry for me. Yet ironically people believe everything is “naseeb” or God’s will. I have nothing against marriage; on the contrary I respect the institute of wedlock and whoever chooses to take apart in it. But the thing is, I don’t want to get married for the sake of it, or because people believe it’s the right thing to do. What is the point of getting married if it’s not with someone who is right for you? Women get pushed into all kinds of arranged marriages just because “it’s time” yet the family members fail to see or deliberately ignore the elevating divorce rates that are sky high! Our culture has for centuries believed in arranged marriages and though I can’t delete it from society I can choose not to be a part of that particular game where every decision is made for me as soon as I say yes. I don’t want to be a statistic of failed marriages nor unhappy ones. I am an adult and I am not getting younger, but I can safely say that any decision I do make now with the experience and mentality I gained will guide me into making a better and healthier choice than any I would have made when I was younger, but our society unfortunately doesn’t accept it, I’m proud of being different but nothing comes cheap in our society
My question is, do females in the US feel pressured into getting married just because they are the right age? Is it a choice taken solely on your own? And how influential are parents in affecting your choices.
UJ: Dating in the Arab World
In an Arab society, dating is something frowned upon and not taken lightly. This is so, because in the Arab culture there is a lot of emphasis put on family honor. So what does this have to do with dating?
There are those who argue that dating is not allowed on the premise that it inevitably leads to premarital sex. You might now ask, what’s wrong with sex? Well in the Arab world, a woman’s body is for her and her husband’s eyes. By maintaining and protecting herself, there will be no confusion between families in the community. The family and men in particular have the responsibility to defend the honor of ‘their’ women and it will be protected at all costs. Unfortunately, in some areas of the Arab world, it is taken to the extreme where honor killings take place. Here in the city of Amman JO, it is fair to say that the situation is better than other places such as Afghanistan or Iran, whom are not necessarily Arab countries but are largely Muslim and therefore share similar ideas. The culture is majorly influenced by the dominant religion of Islam, and in Islam, one should marry as a virgin. In Jordan if a girl stands with a boy, walks and speaks with him in public, then suddenly she is no longer considered ‘bint 3alum w nas’ – (an Arabic saying translated as a respectable woman). This sort of talk put’s a woman’s honor at question and may have an effect on the number of potential husbands that will come and ask for her.
As you may have noticed, much of American culture conflicts with the Arab/Islamic way of life. There is much freedom being experienced in America, especially by the young generation. This can be alluring to young Arab Muslims who aren’t allowed to behave in such a way thus having a negative impact on their identities. We as Arabs are not encouraged to date or experiment because sometimes you’ll have live with the mistakes you may make for the rest of your life. More than 50% of the babies born in the United States are illegitimate. The ripple effect of that is there is no family, and in the Middle East family is everything. Clubbing, drinking, dating and gambling are just some of the things we mustn’t indulge in for they are major sins and socially unacceptable. Yet here in Jordan we are beginning to see more and more of it everyday.
I understand it may be difficult for people such as you to understand this way of thought. But try looking at dating in general and forget about culture or even religion. It’s a game and people get hurt. On the contrary, let’s say we have here a young couple in love. It’s beautiful and they have the right intentions, but marriage is still a few years away. Should they enter or remain in a relationship? I don’t believe they should; because with dating there is no contract, no rules, no regulations or responsibilities. So how can you take the risk of starting an emotional relationship with somebody who isn’t ready for marriage? The heart is a fragile organ and if it gets hurt, the soul can go into depression. It’s so much better to remain emotionally independent and strong!
Looking at dating from a religious point of view is quite easy. In Islam, there is no dating, period. There is the right way of approaching marriage and the process of looking for that special someone, but that’s it. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said “whenever a man is alone with a woman, Satan is the third among them.” While dating, there is the possibility of falling in love, and once in love you forget about limits, beliefs, self respect, and so on. Temptations and desires lead us to do things that are no permitted in Islam. Surely God understand his creation best and set out these restrictions for good reason. Besides how can I have any other opinion when this is the word of God (s)?
My questions to you are: how do you feel about the dating experience in your society and what do you think is the most important aspect of dating? Is it just getting out there and meeting new people or is it all about the emotional connection? Is it the experience of learning how to be better bed?
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