[View the story "Article on women in the Middle East triggers debate" on Storify ]Article on women in the Middle East triggers debate Netizens praise and criticise journalist Mona Eltahawy’s piece “Why Do They Hate Us?” Storified by The Stream · Tue, Apr 24 2012 17:17:18
Mona Eltahawy responded to some of the criticism:
As a writer, it's my job to poke the painful places. So agree/disagree w/what I write, but if it makes u think and pisses you off, then goodMona Eltahawy
Wow. What's going on with our revolution if we can't tweet openly because gang attacks will try to shut us down? The revolution continues!Mona Eltahawy
Patriarchy & misogyny are alive and kicking in the Mideast; among "activists", "revolutionaries" and even "human rights activists". Sad.Mona Eltahawy
My favourite RT @THE_47th @monaeltahawy made everyone discuss women's rights. That's sexist.Mona Eltahawy
Many netizens reacted to the article, which turned into an online debate.
However, immediately, the title sets off an alarm: the use of the first-person-plural. The first-person-plural can be appropriately used when the speaker has been elected to speak on behalf of the group they are speaking on behalf of. In this case, the “They” being Arab societies and “Us” being Arab women. Mona’s self-appointed representation of Arab women is neither professional nor accurate. While I sincerely value the freedom of self-expression and have not one single problem with her expressing her views, doing so on the behalf of all Arab women is enraging.
@PrinnyMan Just because it was written by an Arab woman doesn't justify its insanely sensationalist and orientalist nature @FP_MagazineSamia Errazzouki
Extremely disgusted and offended by @FP_Magazine's cover photo choice http://bit.ly/IKVF9D Very disappointing.Samia Errazzouki
Mona Kareem also wrote a blog post
in response to the article. Here is an excerpt urging the media to highlight voices from other Arab women.
I think someone like Eltahawy has been working for women rights and had many chances to present her thoughts. If western publications, including Foreign Policy, are interested in spotting the light on the so-called Arab Feminism, then chances should be given to other names as well. Media has been writing the stories of different women from the Arab world after the uprising yet they rarely give them chances to speak about their experiences and of their opinions (and I do not want to get into the whys.) Women like Manal Al-Shariff, Rasha Ezzb, and Samira Ibrahim are not less feminist than any prominent figures in the world. The veiled Zainab Al-Khawakja, for example, can speak well of the women struggle as she protests alone in the street and gets arrested for the sake of her detained father, whom am sure does not hate her!
Your article paints a picture of the Arab society that matches the images of the article: black, bleak, depressing, a painted black body. You have reduced the problem of the Arab woman to the feelings of men; while the image of Arab women was reduced to the image that the West has of her. What you have tackled is true, and we have a long road ahead, and the revolutions have not achieved anything for women or for any one else when it comes to societal demands, and we have not yet been granted our basic rights, as women or as men. Like you, I felt a huge shock when the new Egyptian parliament was elected in front of my eyes while I was in Egypt, with women representing less than 2% of it. But the picture in your article is incomplete and gives the impression that we are all miserable, helpless female beings. Arab society is not as barbaric as you present it in the article.
While I agree with @Monaeltahawy on the issues, facts and problems she highlighted, I disagree on the framing, presentation and analysisDima Khatib أنا ديمة
some of the evidence Eltahawy relies on, such as virginity tests, criminal codes, etc are problems of undemocratic governing and have nothing to do with hate of women. These are problems that also impact men. There are numerous accounts of police brutality in Egypt, where men have been beaten, sexually abused or beaten to death. Have we forgotten about Khaled Said, the young Alexandrian, whose brutal death sparked the Jan25 Revolution? Or how about Essam Atta, the young man who was tortured to death in prison? Why do we always have to focus on violence against women? And if you are going to mention unfair criminal codes, then out of fairness, let's examine Egypt's child custody laws, laws that empower mothers but are ridiculously unfair towards fathers.
It can be argued that Mona Eltahawy’s piece superficially condenses a complex subject into an easy-to-swallow ‘them vs. us’ dichotomy, where the role of totalitarian leaders and authoritarian politics are both grotesquely marginalized in order to mournfully examine the cruelty of men, purposefully grouped into one easy to attack assemblage. They hate us, she laments, in a most puerile manner. Men hate women. A dichotomy which not only appoints Mona Eltahawy as the representative for all women of the Middle East-North Africa, but has caused many of her backers to argue that women disagreeing with her premise are suffering from a sort of internalized oppression, brought about due to a stigmatized, negative identity they have come to accept due the reoccurring torment women face at the hands of men.
Hossam Bahgat
tweeted at Eltahawy his thoughts on the piece:
@monaeltahawy with respect, most feminists around the world would find your piece anti feminist, even anti womenhossam bahgat
Sincerely. Happy to recommend some basic readings about feminism, power and social change and critiques of essentialism @monaeltahawyhossam bahgat
@monaeltahawy Those fighting for gender justice in Egypt know how bad things are & have been struggling for over 100 years to change themhossam bahgat
@monaeltahawy but we see feminism as an analytical framework to understand the why not just the what in terms of power and social changehossam bahgat
@monaeltahawy feminism enables us to see women not as submissive victims of a male hatred that is inherent in the arab/muslim mindhossam bahgat
@hossambahgat Hossam thanks for your tweets. Good to read your views. We obviously disagree.Mona Eltahawy
Other netizens pointed out what they saw as flaws in the article.
I'm pretty sure we should be very wary and reject anything that reduces complex social problems to a matter of a 'them' hating an 'us'.Yousef Munayyer
When Muslim/Arab women admonish Eltahawy's recent piece, they're criticized for not being able to take in the truth. No one see the irony?Sana Saeed
After reading @monaeltahawy's article, can't disagree more w/ its title summarizes it all in hatred, yet agree w/ article & examples there!Tarek Amr
"The hatred of women goes deep in Egyptian society." The hatred in your analysis is flawed Ms, it is not love or hate, it's exploitation!Gigi Ibrahim
Orientalist narratives of the Middle East minimalize Arab women's resistance to patriarchy & turn them into silent victims of oppression.Tasbeeh شرقاوية
However, some took to the web to defend both Eltahawy and her article:
Girls ready for marriage at 10, says Saudi grand mufti, but yes, let's talk about how @monaeltahawy is an Orientalist http://www.arabianbusiness.com/girls-ready-for-marriage-at-12-saudi-grand-mufti-455146.htmlBlake Hounshell
So let me get that right: @monaeltahawy is orientalist and our religious scholars who sanction misogyny are what? Liberal westerners?Nervana Mahmoud
can't believe the attacks on @monaeltahawy article. only goes to prove that women's rights issues remain taboo even during revolutionLin Noueihed
How can one solid critical article on Arab men oppressing women cause more controversy about the author than about the oppression? #EpicFailJonathan Moremi
the smart thing for all the Arab feminists angry at @monaeltahawy to do would be to write a #Thisiswhytheyhateus that goes where she didn't.Austin G Mackell
