This video reminded me of a trip I took several months ago to Dubai, the “Las Vegas” of the UAE and a city that has been in the news much of late, mostly because it has had money troubles and would have defaulted on a bunch of its financial obligations had not Abu Dhabi, the Emirates’ more sedate capital, come to the rescue. Anyway, on my way to Dubai, I had a brief stopover in Manama, Bahrain.
I wanted to blog this clip because I found the woman featured in it, the feisty Latifa Al Qari, to be the perfect poster child for the new breed of woman coming to power in the Persian Gulf. Most folks who’ve never been to “the Gulf” have this idea that all local women, those covered head to toe in abayas, are meek creatures who are afraid to voice an opinion and have had all of the ambition squeezed out of them by the culture. I think it’s hard to have such a stereotypical view of female Bahrainis (and Qataris and Emiratis and Omanis and Kuwaitis and so on) after watching this video.
Certainly women are discriminated against in the Gulf (and the Middle East in general). Also, it goes without saying that some women have unfortunately been utterly demoralized by their surroundings and the strict code of conduct that is often forced upon them in this part of the world. But this region is a funny place that defies oversimplifications. For every woman in the Middle East who has given up, there are several indomitable “Latifas.” I’ve seen them with my own eyes and had them as students in the classes I’ve taught during the ten years I’ve lived in the region.
The clip ends with Ms. Latifa declaring her love for Bahrain and talking about how she wants to play a role in helping the country thrive. After seeing her behind the wheel, it’s easy to believe that she’s on her way to making a pretty important contribution.
Tags: Women's Issues
April 3rd, 2010 at 6:25 am
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