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Incandescent
Since then I have always worn a headscarf, only taking it off at
home. This is not good enough, however, for certain people. A few of
my colleagues at the university have taken my presence as a personal
insult – they either patronise me or make advances, and then have the
nerve to be angry when I stand my ground and rebuff them. One in
particular, an Eli Wasim, is a problem. He is younger than me yet
because he is a man he seems to think that grants him power.
He confronted me once.
Dr Fulani is telling me heartily about his opinions on my thesis over lunch.
The university cafeteria is cool and loud. He is an extraordinary man, rare in his
positivity toward women, and insists that my potential theories could help
revolutionise the Middle East. He also appears quite protective, meaning he is
aware of the ripples I am inadvertently causing.
Wasim and his friends are sitting on an adjacent table. I can hear them
discussing politics in Arabic. I purposefully ignore them and begin to excitedly
talk about why I am doing my thesis. I’m no more than three sentences into my
little speech when Wasim decides to take offence.
He begins to accuse me of interfering where I am not wanted, his voice
growing louder. I flinch as he throws ‘the white man’s burden’ argument at me.
I angrily reply that I am doing no such thing, simply researching, and
certainly not inflicting my opinions where they are not wanted. Appallingly
enough, he begins to reply that my very presence is doing exactly that. I sit for a
moment, shocked. Disgusted. I can’t seem to find any words, my rage has paralysed
me. Thankfully, Dr Fulani begins to rebuke Wasim and he wisely shuts up,
turning back to his friends.
In the last few weeks there has been more bad press about Women
Walking Free than usual. Many powerful men are saying that we are
encouraging blasphemous ideas about a woman’s place in society
and should
at least
be advising these women if they
have
to go to
university that their opportunities should be limited to
appropriate
courses, like midwifery, gynaecology or administration. I know that
Amira, the woman who founded and runs
WWF
, has been receiving
threats against herself and
WWF
unless we stop our supposedly
illegal activities (usually they are quoting
sharia
). I have a great deal
of respect for Islam, especially for the knowledge, architecture and
music that it has inspired, and it’s a great tragedy that only the angry,
noisy minority get media coverage – but in my opinion, government
should be separated from religion, to prevent the widespread
oppression under which so many women in this region suffer.
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