Sunday, March 14, 2010
NATIONAL
3 Struggle to continue: Dashti
Opponents of women freedom under fire By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: Parliament member Rola Dashti rebuked opponents of women’s freedom, and declared that the struggle will always continue until women are granted all their civil rights. “I thank all the members of the women’s soccer team, and I thank their parents for supporting their daughters’ aspirations and dreams,” she said. Dashti was speaking during a panel discussion that took place over the weekend at the Women’s Cultural and Social Society. The MP insisted that the score of the soccer match does not matter. “What matters is their contribution, and we will support them all the way,” she said. Dashti noted that many of the greatest teams began their journey in sports with losses, but what matters is their persistence and their dedication to their passion.
KUWAIT: As people enjoy the spring season at this time of the year, mother nature has also joined in with their enjoyment. The country has been blessed with scenic splendor that has turned this year’s spring season into one of the most bountiful ones in recent years. The pleasantly warm weather, has made it possible for Nuer and other Kuwait natural flowers to bloom. Swarms of butterflies perch among the country’s gardens and streets, a sight that is rarely spotted in Kuwait.— Photos by Joseph Shagra
connect the dots
‘Tripping’ on freedom of speech By Meshary Alruwaih
A
bout a year ago, I wrote an article expressing my satisfaction with the decision of the British authorities to deny Wilders, the producer of the documentary ‘Fitna’ entry to the UK. Just few days ago, however, he managed to overturn the ban and got access to the UK where he screened his movie at the House of Lords, and even had a discussion afterwards where he repeated his demands that the Quran should be outlawed. Wilders called this episode of spreading hate towards Islam “a victory for freedom of speech.” To be honest, I was angered by this piece of news, which was followed by another regarding the sexual abuse practiced at a number of churches across Europe including the Vatican. For a second, I thought “I’m going to write ten articles about this...if they call us terrorists then I will call them child abusers...and more.” But then, I remembered the following verse from the Quran: “Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through ignorance. Thus unto every nation have We made their deed seem fair. Then unto their Lord is their return, and He will tell them what they used to do” (chapter 6: 108). So I refrained. But this is me, I’m a Muslim who has been introduced to the ethics of freedom of speech since I was a child. I know the difference between freedom of speech and freedom
of rudeness! The movie Fitna, the Danish cartoons, and the likes are not about freedom of speech. They are about loss of ethics of speech. Who said that issues like violence, women rights, democracy cannot be debated between Muslims and others. Be as critical as one can be, but not in a disrespectful, silly, stupid or cheap manner. Freedom of speech does not teach you the difference between being critical and being disrespectful, but ethics do. In other words, freedom of speech is a necessary but insufficient tool of communication used by cultures. What we need is ethics that give freedom of speech the needed decency and respect that allows members of two different cultures to set and negotiate a common, normative ground based on areas that overlap values and respect for differences. In this light, ethics of freedom of speech is more fundamental than other issues that need to be discussed between the Islamic world and the West: Violence, human rights, and democracy. Speech, in itself, is the medium where all of these issues are debated. In other words, if we are to talk about these issues, and I think we should, then we first have to agree on the ethics of interaction, the ethics of communications, the ethics of speech. I understand that the Muslim world and the West, both have their own traditions and standards for freedom of speech. Yet, that does not preclude the two sides from agreeing on a certain level of politeness, decency, respect and seriousness of engagement. The problem is that some in the West assume the
superiority of their standards of freedom of speech and try to impose them when communicating with others without a second concern as to how uncomfortable these standards might make the ‘other.’ For example when it comes to religion, here in the Islamic world, we do have ‘red lines.’ These are not necessarily imposed by a religious establishment, as they call them in the West, or political authority. These are voluntarily set in the hearts and minds of individuals, when it comes to religion, we voluntarily accept our red lines, we adore our red lines, we are even in love with our red lines, not because we are not critical thinkers or rational beings. Remember, those red lines do not constrain thought. They ensure decency of expressions and elegance of words not only towards one’s own religion but also towards those of others; those red lines do not only apply to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), but also to Jesus, and Moses, and to any other religious figure that is valued in any society that we happen to be engaged with culturally and intellectually. Remember the verse! Muslims are not after a ‘victory for freedom of speech,’ that is easy, just take two pills of ecstasy before midnight, and by 2:00 am you are the ultimate hero of freedom of speech. Muslims are after ethics of freedom of speech, something that you cannot pursue unless you are morally and culturally sober. Otherwise, you are free to spend the next hundred years calling me a terrorist and I’m free to spend the next two hundred years calling you a child abuser! meshary@kuwaittimes.net
Commenting on the harsh attacks of Islamist MPs and figures on the participation of women in sports, Dashti said that the team did not break any rules or laws, and that Kuwaiti women’s participation in sports is not something that is new to the society; women have been participating in sports since the 1950s. “We will always be there for your defense,” she promised, urging young girls and women to keep fighting and to not give up. Dashti said that women’s struggle to earn their political rights took decades to finally pay off, and warned against giving up. MP Maasouma Mubarak, echoing similar sentiments, said that each blow that the Kuwaiti woman receives should make her fight back harder. “We are always asked a question by those who don’t believe that we should be in Parliament. The question they pose is, ‘What have you done so far? You have not participated in bettering the situation; you have failed.’ They say this knowing that we are going through crisis one after the other in the Parliament. Between interpellations, parliamentary queries and more interpellations, MPs barely have time to discuss anything productive,” she noted. In women’s struggle to earn their rights, Mubarak says, they were accused of being morally wrong, corrupt, degenerate, but fighting the fight is what led them to gain their political rights in the end. She urged the Kuwaiti
MP Rola Dashti women not to let others control their destinies. “We have brains and we can think; we are capable of making choices, and we are mature enough to take responsibility for our actions. We don’t need to be told what to do by others,” insisted Mubarak. She told the audience that Kuwait needs the efforts of each and every one of its people, and urged people to be positive and hope for the best. Talking about the situation of women in society, political
activist Dr Ebtehal Al-Khateeb said that what is happening today is an attack on women because they are women. “Women are being objectified, treated as second-class citizens. When they talk about segregation and co-education and the negative impact they have on society, they always use phrases like ‘This will produce children born out of wedlock, it will make our girls become indecent dancers.’ But the blame is never put on men,” she said. Al-Khateeb noted that
women are brainwashed to believe that being in public is shameful. During the previous elections, many women were against female candidates because they are taught to believe that women are incapable of being in any leading position. This extremism is leading to more destruction in society, and pitting people against each other. “Our submission to their wishes is our loss. They say that they want to protect women, that they care so much for women and want women to be put on a pedestal, but what they want to do is render women useless, immobile, like the myth of Pygmalion,” said the English literature professor. Speaking on behalf of the women’s soccer team, member Shahad Al-Enizi said that women’s sports have existed in Kuwait during the 1950’s, and the attack on women playing sports is very discouraging. “Our country has a lot of capabilities, but the government bodies do not care about our role in sports,” she said. Asking for the support of the people of Kuwait, Al-Enizi said that other teams who are now considered difficult competition, have begun from zero and made it to the top. “We are determined to bring life back into women’s sports. We just need you to give us your help and support,” she concluded. The discussion concluded with an awards ceremony to honor the women’s soccer team.
Gulf states celebrate Nursing Day RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states celebrated yesterday the Gulf Nursing Day under the theme ‘Gulf Nursing: Care, Uniqueness and Giving.’ Celebrating the day came in implementation of a recommendation issued at the 71st Meeting of the Executive Committee, said Director General of the Executive Office of the GCC Health Ministerial Council Dr. Tawfiq Khouja in a press release. Nursing is a major part of medical serv-
ices, as it carries both behavioral and humane aspects to it, as well as inclusive knowledge and experience required to deal with those in need of healthcare, Khouja noted. He added that out of such significance, nursing institutes were established in Gulf countries during the second half of the 20th century, starting with Saudi Arabia in 1958, Bahrain in 1959, Kuwait in 1960, Qatar in 1969, Oman in 1970 and finally the United
Arab Emirates in 1973. Dr. Khouja commended efforts by the technical nursing committee, shooting off the executive council, in holding eight seminars in this regard, with the ninth to take place in January 2011 in Muscat, Oman. He also pointed out that the committee had convened 25 times and issued a number guide books and glossaries on nursing, as well as allocating prizes for best male and female nurse. —KUNA