Arab Woman Talking

رسالة من بغلة:  في فرنسا، أقر الرئيس اليساري المنتخب بأن ينقص معاشه ومعاش وزرائه بنسبة ٣٠% كخطوة لمواجه عجز الدوله .... ياااه ... تماماً كما هو الحال هنا. تطنش الصحف المحلية هذه الأخبار، وتختار أن تتحدث عن حياه الرئيس هولند الشخصية وحبيبته فاليري - فهذا أهم.  آخ آخ ... عقل العرب بين   ........... (أكمل الفراغ). يا هل ترى ... كم من الملايين قد توفر حكومتنا إن انقصت ليس ٣٠ بل ٢٠% من كل راتب وزير حالي ومتقاعد، من كل نائب وعين .... لو استبدلت سيارات المرسيدس بهايونداي.   إستخفر الله العظيم ... هاذي هلوسات العصافير. حرام الحكومة طفرانة - أما الشعب، فيستطيع أن يتحمل زيادة الضرائب ورفع الأسعار - فنحن لا حمير بل بعير.. نتحمل الكثير في سبيل عيش كريم للقوا... القادة. 

Artemis was born from the union of the nature deity Leto and Zeus, the chief god of the Romans and the husband of Hera. It is said that Leto delivered Artemis without any labor pains. But after she came out, her mother started having birth pangs that lasted for days. In her womb was Apollo, Artemis' twin, waiting to emerge. Immediately after she was born, Artemis helped her mother deliver her brother. A midwife by nature. Later, she was known to come to women in labor to ease their pain, although at times she did that by ending their lives. At three years old, Artemis asked Zeus at Mt Olympus to grant her some gifts. A bow and arrow to hunt with, hunting dogs, and a short tunic instead of a restrictive long dress. She asked for the mountains and forests to be her playground and to be accompanied by beautiful nymphs. Like the moon, she wanted to bring light into the world, and she wanted to remain chaste, a virgin, uncontrolled by men, un-swerved by their love. Zeus said yes, and so...

There are some traditions that are worth upholding, but many have collected thick layers of dust so opaque that we can no longer see what was once beneath them. We mistake the dust for the essence, incessantly complaining about a'raf and wajibat, the rights and wrongs of our forefathers...but we play along to avoid ridicule and choose the chains of cowardice, prejudice, and misconception. Ignorance. I am not saying that all traditions are outdated and useless-far from it, in our Arab culture are jewels and treasures, and I am the first to call for preserving them. But let us stop for a moment and consider what we are heeding, rather than following blindly like grazing sheep. Sheep and goats: I am reminded of kindergarden and a song we learnt in school. The teacher would walk around the classroom singing: Ya Ganamati . And we'd respond: Ma Ma . ...Ghannou waraya : Ma Ma ..and so on and so forth. Very endearing, but also very telling. We grow up, Ma Ma-ing until we reach the gra...