I warned you….

not to go past the screen;

I advised you…

not to lift the veil;

I cautioned you

every step of the way…

but

you would not listen.

Nujood Muhammad Nasser is an eight year old Yemeni girl who has made the headlines in seeking divorce from her thirty year old husband Faez Ali Thamer whom she was married to more than two months ago.

Child marriages are not unheard of in Yemen and there is no legislation to prevent it. What makes this case stand out however is the gutsy little girl who went to Court by herself and sought the assistance of the judge. There, Supreme Court lawyer Shatha Nasser took on her case and pushed for the annulment of the young girl’s marriage, on the basis of her not having reached puberty yet. Nujood was lucky that the judge and the activist lawyer were there to fight for her case and stand on her side. Not many girls in such situations are lucky enough to even reach the court house.

Faez, Nujood’s husband (left) and her father (right)

Pressure by the world press may be helpful in bringing these kinds of abuses of young girls to the forefront. It is exposure and a beginning. However, it will take a lot of effort to educate people about why marrying a child bride to an older man is wrong and a form of abuse especially amongst people who think nothing of it or who are too poor to have any other alternatives.

Nujood may have been saved but what about her younger sister? What about other girls like her from poor families in Yemen?

More sad details here:

For the first time in Yemen 8-year old girl asks for divorce in court

Parliament refuses to legislate minimum age for marriage

Yemeni Child Bride gets divorce

8 year old girl’s divorce if finalized

Too pink?

According to The Times, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s new Prime Minister   “……….told a radio station: ‘Zapatero has formed a government that is too pink, something that we cannot do in Italy because there is a prevalence of men in politics and it isn’t easy to find women who are qualified.’ “

(Sounds familiar doesn’t it and something typical of men regardless of how jokey they may want to sound!)

Now Spain’s Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has created a female dominated cabinet. Out of 17 positions, nine were assigned to females and they are all demanding positions. Most intriguing is the position of Minister of Defense assigned to Carme Chacon, 37 and 7 months pregnant! The youngest minister is Bibiana Aido; 31, who heads the Equality Ministry. 

I think it’s high time we turn to younger, more educated politicians and preferably to qualified women. Let’s give women a chance they need in the coming May 17th elections in Kuwait. Support women and make a difference.

At a recent gathering we touched upon the topic of abandoned babies in Kuwait. In particular, we brought up the incident of the two children found abandoned in a walking area in Khaldia (a three year old boy and a newborn). It was mentioned that these children were later adopted by a Kuwaiti family and taken into care.

However, an interesting point was brought up that made me wonder about the intentions of some parents who abandon their children in Kuwait.

According to a woman with a legal background, most cases of abandoned children involve expatriates or non-Kuwaiti citizens. The children are abandoned on purpose in the hopes that they will eventually be found and referred to the orphanage in Kuwait. Since Kuwait is a welfare state, these abandoned children will be cared for and looked after by the state. They are entitled to free schooling and medical care and Kuwaiti citizenship upon turning eighteen. Even when they are adopted by local families, they are still cared for by the state and receive a monthly allowance.

What surprised me is what this woman said next. She said that the parents of an “abandoned” child keep track of what happens to their child. When the child is settled in the orphanage, the parents make their next move. They go to the orphanage and “choose” to adopt their own child.

In that way, the woman said, these people have guaranteed their child lifelong care free of charge and a Kuwaiti citizenship.

Is it possible that some people would go so far as that to circumvent the law and common decency?

I am not sure of what to believe.

Imagine this happening to you at Johnny Rocket’s or Chili’s. Would you summon the manager or would you sit back silently and take it all in?

Threading is a hair removal technique long used in our part of the world to give a clean, smooth look.  Some women do full facial threading and that is removing all unwanted facial hair. Others just opt for shaping eyebrows and upper lip hair removal.

Men also can have some facial hair threaded (if they can withstand the pain of course - most men have low pain threshold). This is performed at most local men’s salons.

When having facial threading done, a woman will be asked to stretch the upper skin of her lips by pushing her tongue against the inside of her mouth. This lessens the pain and ensure a swift and clean hair removal process. In addition, when having eyebrows shaped, a woman will sometimes be asked to hold down her eyelid with one hand and above her eyebrow with the other hand. This is also to ensure the skin is taut before hair removal.

I have noticed at some salons during the hotter summer months, some talc is applied to the facial skin to ensure dryness.

Some salons will offer you rose water or some other refreshing lotion on a cotton pad to apply to the threaded area to soothe sensitive skin, However, this is not always offered and sometimes the rose water is not always the sweet-smelling pure kind but one that has an over-powering perfumed scent.

Threading certainly leaves one with a fresh clean feeling and some beauty artists are so good at it that they leave your face looking radiant.

Some women however suffer from the after effects of threading (break outs, rash) which is why the utmost care should be practiced when selecting a salon: it should be very clean to avoid any infections.

Also, the person who does the threading should be recommended.  There is nothing worse than someone performing threading breathing her garlic breathe into your face or having to smell her unwashed hands as she threads your upper lip. Disgusting.

In Kuwait, Iranian and Indian threaders have the best reputation for shaping beautiful eyebrows and doing a clean job.

Nowadays, with the popularity of laser hair removal, I wonder if this has affected how many woman go to the salon for threading?

Below is an interesting clip on a threading salon in America:

On Friday I went swimming for the first time in 2008. It was beautiful. The tide was full and the water was nippy but refreshing. And all around me, little zoori or fish swam around in circular schools.

The cleansing ritual was long over due; the spiritual encounter shed many undesirable monkeys on my back. I did not emerge as a transformed mermaid but I returned to shore feeling peaceful in the same way I would feel after visiting a longtime friend.

Later on in the evening, the elements would continue to tease this bond with nature. Sitting on the darkened balcony, I watch the storm. Lightning strikes and lights up the shoreline briefly. The tide is far out and the scent of sea permeates the wind that blows forcefully. It is a strange storm, with a gale of dust blowing across the balcony and then moments later, comes the rain in heavy muddy drops.

The purge lasts only minutes and then moves on down the coast line where thunder rumbles and lightning seems to laugh as the wind carries them onwards.

This is the beauty of April and May. Sarrayat. Unpredictable. Sudden. Temperamental. Passionate. Volatile. Dangerously calm. Consummate.

Will macrolane be the next boob enhancer?

A simple 45 minute procedure can enhance breast shape and fill out to a more pleasing size. And the filling is biodegradable so women can revert to a natural looking shape gradually.

Pump Up the Volume with “Boob Job in a Jab”

I saw you at the hospital today, swaying in front of me, pushing an elderly woman, perhaps your mother, your abaya swirled around your lower body and it was sometimes lifted to reveal stupendously thick, ridiculously high white heels, and I wondered as I followed behind you in my sensible sandals made for practicality, I wondered how you would manouevre that wheelchair without falling over, without veering off into some corner, and as I mused about this notion you crashed the wheelchair into the aluminum doors you silly woman, but the interesting thing is I never saw your face for I walked behind you the whole time, but I chortled anyway in my feminine humour, nudging my companion, and we shared a light moment there and then.

The words
descend upon me
as I lay in the total
darkness
of my room;

They swim
into my mind,

like mindless

sperm,

with only one

aim,

and yet

I come away

………..

with nothing;

Simply wishing

for morning to come

soon…

so I can breathe.

I think,,,
and I ponder…

over
and
over
and
over

and
I just can’t
come up with the answer
that I already know
deep down inside.

====

According to Al-Seyassah, the National Democratic Alliance has announced that Aseel Abdul-Rahman Al-Awadhi, Ph.D, will run as a candidate in the 3rd voting district in cooperation with former member of parliament Faisal Al-Shaya and candidate Khalid Al-Khalid. (More here in Al-Jarida interview)

On a side note, former MP Abdulla Al-Naibari strongly urged that Kuwait change to a single voting district or else postpone the elections on May 17th; according to him, it is very likely that five voting districts will not yield any positive results as previously anticipated. Kind of last minute panic I say.

Well, if only everyone would vote for women this time. Perhaps there would be some positive change. Haven’t we had enough of the bickering and shouting matches of having too many men run this country for too long?

I smile at
this positive self,
my positive self,
as stubborn
as a weed
that comes up
time
and
time
again
even
when the
gardener
who means well
yanks it,
plucks it
with an annoyed
swipe.

My positive self
comes up again
like the defiant weed
some days later,
hidden amongst those
dying blooms
so desperate to continue
their spring
show;

and my positive self
grows
in the shade of those
fading blooms
vibrant
small
green
steadfast

and
determined.

This clip is so cute.

I didn’t realize that young camels could be so playful. I have played with kittens and puppies but this is another side to the camel that I had not seen.

In recent years, there has been a trend for offering dance classes in some ladies’ gyms in Kuwait. The hypnotic sounds of tablas is enough to have the ladies stop and stare with amusement into the dance/exercise hall to admire the sensuous belly dancing of participants.

I was pleased to see one dance instructor featured in the Banat W Bass program I mentioned in the previous post: Ebreaza Al-Roomi. On the TV show and in a newspaper interview with AL-NAHAR , she discusses her beginnings as a dance instructor.

Ebreaza says she has always loved traditional Kuwaiti dancing especially the samri and faster nagazi styles and would impress women at weddings with her performances on the dance floor. Because of her reputation as an outstanding dancer, she was asked to train and choreograph schoolgirls in dance performances organized by Ministry of Education.

From thereon, she was consulted to choreograph various dances and bridal entrances for local weddings. As her popularity and reputation grew, she was approached by the owner of Health Spot (Women’s gym in Bneid Al-Garr) to offer dancing lessons to members.

Ebreaza says the most popular dances women like to learn are the samri and the oriental belly dancing and this is primarily for dancing at weddings. In addition, dance classes are more fun than regular exercise classes at the gym.

Ebreaza Al-Roomi traditional dance instructor

(More photos at newspaper site)