Forty Women May 20, 2008
Posted by jewaira in Kuwait, Life, Women.trackback
Forty women waiting in a classroom. Chairs against the walls, lined around the room. The curtainless windows are covered with badly cut white poster paper. The white-board still has May 13th English lesson on it in flamboyant handwriting. Twin towers. And then some boy’s name scratched across the board. AlKlaib.
I look at the classroom floor. It is a filthy mess with old layers upon layers of dust. Old stains. There are a few candidate cards dropped on the dusty floor. The walls are bare. The arms on the ceiling fan are somewhat warped - and I wonder how anyone could reach up there to bend them. Boys must be very destructive. The voting centre is in a boys’ school.
I guess no one is paying attention to the horrible state of the room. At least the classroom is cooler than the open hallways outside. Besides, the women are impatient for the queue to move on; they want to vote and leave. On my right, on my left, women are on the phone to their spouses, telling them to wait a while; they are still in line. One woman arranges lunch with the cook. The other woman tells her husband to come back for her in a while. Another woman asks about the children at home.
It is a Saturday and a holiday but today we are back to voting again for parliament members after a frenzied two months of campaigning that was held in check the last few days by the death of the Father Amir Sheikh Saad May 13th.
As I entered the classroom, there was an older abaya clad woman giving a lecture but all of us were oddly quiet and just looked at each other across the room. I pulled out my novel from my little handbag. I was finished with the very last chapter before I got halfway around the room. The queue moved slowly.
Tucking the book back in my bag, I cast my eyes around the room. We are a cocktail of every thing in this classroom. Young girls in cropped pants and Katie Holmes hairdos. Abaya clad women in niqabs. Abaya clad women with faces showing. Hijab wearing women with trousers and high, high heels. Women with uncovered heads. Women of all ages.
All women are relatively quiet and non-complaining. There are many, many LV handbags here today. There are many over-sized designer handbags here today as well. I think about what they might be keeping in them. They would make excellent baby-changing bags with enough room for a diaper, a change of clothing, a rattle or two, and other necessities.
In my bag, I have my mobile, my book, my camera, my documents, and ooops! I have forgotten my little notebook… the one I write my observations in! How can I make notes about everyone though with the women on either side looking on? We are squeezed together here and have to get up and move along the line every few minutes..
As I near the exit and am close to making it to the next queue outside the classroom, I talk to the woman who is monitoring our queue. I praise her for her patience and pleasant attitude despite the crowds and the long hours ahead of her. My words please her and she smiles. With her greyish blue eyes, she reminds me of a fair version of Najwa Karam.
The overall feeling is one of anticipation and quiet organization on everyone’s behalf. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room with so many women where it was so hushed.
سامعة بحركة كفاية؟
أنا أقول كفـــــــــــــــــــــاية! حريم، انخابات، حريم، انتخابات، بابا فين، بابا أهو،خلصنا و و ارتحنا من مسجات الطرارة، و انتي للحين ويمنز و علقشينسز
isn’t it time for your London vacation ;p
=================================
Dear Purgatory
of elections but these are mere observations .
I know you’ve had enough
London again?
Can you recommend another vacation spot?
Jewaira
Oh, and Purgatory,
This amusing male clip is for you since my elections posts are not agreeable with you
http://www.sharenator.com/Flying_penis/
************************************************
*Thanks to readers who send me special links
Hushed? The one I was in had woman shouting in it. One was complaining about how reckless the youth is today the other was I dunno what she was talking about and the third had to intervene and put in her own input and I sat there wishing they invented conveyor belts under us instead of standing up every 2 seconds when the cop walks in and tells us to move it.
===========================
Lol at to move it
Conveyor belts are a great idea
I know that not all waiting rooms were hushed
and I know how some women love to lecture in such gatherings. As I mentioned, when I walked in there was a woman going on and on about something but no one gave her face 3a6oha bo labbas >
Jewaira
OMG, Jewaira, you have my purse! Oh! Wait, no, you don’t have water, my purse always has a small bottle of water . . .ooops, sorry, so sorry!
==================
I forgot the water bottle this time
Besides, the candidates’ committees were passing out free bottled water too.
Jewaira
What beautiful writing! Wow. Extremely vivid.
I put some pics from a post of yours up on English Sabla, an Omani forum, and a link to you. Someone tried the link and I was told you are blocked there!
================================
Thank you Jeff
It’s good to see you here
I’m glad you linked to this blog and shared the photos with other forum members (all photos are the rights of newspapers linked to in this blog and not mine).
Yes, my blog seems to be blocked in Oman; I was informed a while ago by wardatkhaleej.blogspot.com
This is because my blog does contain some explicit and adult content at times.
Jewaira
I think it was the feeling of anticipation and something different that is bringing people together for this event, but I think it didn’t have the same turn out as before, the results were a bit disappointing, but what can we say about the majority of people in Kuwait. We will know in due time what will be the results of these actions.
======================
I try to remain optimistic despite what others around me are saying. It seems like such a waste to go through all that hype last month and then have the same old quibbling and squabbling over pointless issues.
You say majority Marzouq and I say yes, a majority of those who voted but there are many I think who did not vote:
- because they are fed up and think voting is useless
- because they are traveling or living abroad
- because they are naturalized citizens but do not have the right to vote until 20 years have passed
Jewaira
hmm, you can try the Netherlands, in case you did not like it, UK is a step close by
======================
Why not
Good for bicycling
Were you amused by the link I posted?
Jewaira
And would you try some space cakes too?
That must have been a pretty sight: 40 women.
=================
lol
glad you enjoyed it
We are used to seeing lots of women.
Jewaira