Wadjda: A production of the Rentire state

 

Haifaa Al Mansour 

The Saudi state strives to promote the movie as a story about the society's lifestyle, regardless of the state crucial role in constructing the patriarchal system.  Al Manosur might be an excellent example of The Reinter state production, where people are “subjects” not full citizens due to the absence of taxation. Hence, individuals become grateful for the royal family instead of being demanding citizens. Therefore, it was not surprising to me to see a scene where the Saudi royal family was inserted into the narrative. Once Wadjda rides her bicycle, we see a bus with a large sticker that shows images of senior state figures.

First Published at the Daily Danish Newspaper, Information.

read the whole piece @ sharnoffsglobalviews


One should discuss Al Mansour’s claim that her movies only tackle social themes; hence they should not be given a political dimension. The current system of the Kingdom was a result of a theocratic marriage between the political elite and the religious institute. The first accepted that the conservative Islamic branch, Wahhabism, became the dominant religious power in society, in exchange for the latter’s support for the royal family’s claim for political power.  Al Mansour movies tackles women’s situation in her country. Hence, to call the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia a “social problem” is a total disregard for this historical division of power and that women have been the central to both the religious and political projects. On the contrary, the royal family has actively supported the Wahhabi conservative movement, since its socially oppressive version of Islam fitted extremely well with a political regime that too relied on political oppression in order to stay in power. Disregarding these historical facts, throws Al Mansour at the side of the state’s official narrative, which claims that what happening in the country, is due to people will not the elite will. Thus, the movie is against the society not the state.

I met Al Mansour personally in 2010 and interviewed her twice. Most importantly, I followed the controversy that her movies caused within the Saudi society. Despite the absence of actual theatres, Saudis watch movies on TV, DVD and through the internet. The views from her country about her work ranged from alarm and indignant rejection to sincere empathy. 

Al Mansour's plan to direct her first feature film was disclosed in an interview in 2010, and was scheduled to be released in 2011. However, they had to postpone the project as she faced difficulties in convincing producers to shoot the film in her homeland. After years of struggle, Wadjda and her green bicycle transcend continental boundaries in 2013. What makes this movie unique is that it was filmed in Riyadh “the capital of Saudi Arabia” and the birth place of the conservatives. Nevertheless, there are a number of questions spinning in my head. How come a movie which tackles taboo issue as Women’s status quo, could be supported by the same oppressors?” The Saudi government has allowed the director to film inside the country, a wealthy prince has partially funded the film, and at last her film has been selected as the Saudi state official submission for the Oscar’s foreign-language category 2014.  


Paradoxically, the oppressors who constructed the segregation system is maintaining to oppress half of their population on one hand and celebrating the movie internationally on the other. Al Mansour expressed several times that she didn't want to rebel or harm her own people’s feelings. However, her fellow citizen, professor of anthropology and religion Madawi Al Rasheed, in her book A Most Masculine State, considers Al Mansour and other Saudi women as “part of the state-sponsored feminism, in order to fight political dissent and appease the west”.  

The Saudi state strives to promote the movie as a story about the society's lifestyle, regardless of the state crucial role in constructing the patriarchal system.  Al Manosur might be an excellent example of The Rentier state's production, where people are “subjects” not full citizens due to the absence of taxation. Hence, individuals become grateful for the royal family instead of being demanding citizens. 

Therefore, it was not surprising to me to see a scene where the Saudi royal family was inserted into the narrative. Once Wadjda rides her bicycle, we see a bus with a large sticker that shows images of senior state figures. 

The Green Bicycle is a close-up of an isolated state. It offers a visual insight of the life in Saudi Arabia. I encourage everyone to see it with critical eyes. In the public debate, especially in the west, Saudi women and Arab women in general have been trapped within the duality of being survivors,-need to be saved- or victims. Therefore, it is important that the story of Wadjda will not be caught up by misconceptions and just plain ignorance. Therefore, let us keep a professional distance from Al Mansour’s work and not get overwhelmed with the title of “Exceptional first female director from oppressive Saudi Arabia”. If we forced Al Mansour into this presumed image and duality, we also “in the west” would be projecting another form of negative discrimination against Saudi women. 

Drones attacks de-humanize and de-individualize Yemenis!

One September, 30 organizations in Sweden have assembled to arrange a peaceful demonstration in protest against American administration policies. I participated in the demo representing The Yemeni Salon. I spoke on the policy of drones warfare, that de-humanize and de-individualize people. You can find the speech below in English and in Swedish.

In English: 

“I was sitting with my friends there, and we were going to play football, when suddenly we were shaken by the sound of a violent explosion. I looked in front of me and saw a car  burning. A missile had struck it. Shrapnel hit me in my foot, but I did not feel any pain, and I ran towards the house with blood flowing from my injury. I saw the car burning beside me and one of my friends lost consciousness. Someone came with a car and took us to the hospital.”*

This is a terrifying story by a 13 years-old boy from Yemen called Amin Ali Hassan Al-Wisabi, 

Ali is one child of many other hundreds children that were targeted by American missile strikes. 

Today we are here to say that our improvised country –Yemen is not the terrorism capital of the world. we are here to say that the only terrorism we see right now is the multiple US drones flying over innocents civilians, 

Obama administration is running an assassination program. American war machine and  he drones warfare is a blind machine that kills without any proof or fair trials.That kills and  violates state sovereignty.

Everyone knows that Al-Qaeda was an American made enemy and now they are making  their own enemy again.  The America administration policy gives reasons for civilians to be radicalized and to be terrorists. 

They don’t understand the simple equation: drones doesn't make anyone safer, and “when a U.S. drone missile kills a child in Yemen, the father will go to war with US and this has  nothing to do with Al Qaeda,”

              Dear Friends, As we gather here under to protest against the violations of US administration. We condemn mass murder in Yemen, 
 Pakistan, Somalia and Afghanistan. We hold the U.S administration and our dictator governments accountable for the loss of the civilian lives.

Dear brothers and sisters, we would like to remind you by Martin Luther King words "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." we Yemenis are concerned that Sweden will also contribute to the development of the drone, which is a growing industry. We urge to be vigilant and examine your own government, we urge you to be watchdogs and to keep eyes on your representatives and to questions the talks and agreements behind closed doors… that are signed by your names”



På Svenska

Jag satt där med mina vänner. Vi skulle just spela fotboll. Då, plötsligt, kastades vi omkull av en våldsam explosion. Jag tittade upp och såg en bil som brann framför mig. En missil hade träffat den. Splitter hade träffat mig i foten, men jag kände ingen smärta. Jag sprang mot huset medan blodet forsade från mitt sår. En av mina vänner förlorade medvetandet. Någon kom med en bil och tog oss till sjukhuset.

Det ni just hörde var ett vittnesmål från en trettonårig pojke i Jemen som heter Ali Hassan Al-Wisabi.Ali är ett av många hundra barn som drabbats av amerianska drönarattacker. Idag har vi samlats här för att säga att ett litet fattigt land som heter Jemen inte är något centrum för terrorism. Vi har samlats här för att säga att terrorismens centrum ligger i Washington. Att den terrorism som vi ser nu är de amerikanska drönare som flyger över oskyldiga civila. Att den terrosism som vi ser utgörs av den amerikanska krigsmaskin som dödar bybor, gravida kvinnor, barn, och en och annan milisman som de påstår är med i Al Qaida.

Obamas administration leder ett mördarprogram. De amerikanska drönarna är en del i detta mördarprogram som dödar utan bevis eller rättegång. Det är ett mördarprogram som släcker människoliv och kränker staters suvernitet.

Alla vet att Al Qaida tidigare sponsrades av USA. Nu har amerikanernas gamla vän blivit deras värsta fiende. Samtidigt skapar Obamaadministrationen nya fiender. USA:s dödande av oskyldiga civila göder radikalism och terrorism. USA vägrar förstå att drönare inte gör någon säkrare, och att varje gång dessa drönare dödar ett barn i Jemen så kommer en jeminitisk pappa att ta till vapen mot USA. Men det har ingenting med Al Qaida att göra!

När vi nu samlas här under den svenska himlen så gör vi det utan amerikanska drönare ovanför våra huvuden. Vi fördömer massmorden i Jemen, Pakistan, Somalia och Afghanistan. Vi håller den amerikanska administrationen ansvarig för dödandet av civila.

Kära vänner, jag skulle vilja påminna er om Martin Luther Kings ord:

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Kära vänner, vi jeminiter är oroliga att Sverige ska bidra till produktionen av drönare som är en växande industri. Vi uppmanar er att vara vaksamma och grannska er egen regering. Vi uppmanar er att agera vakthundar och hålla inte bara ett utan två ögon på era folkvalda representanter och att ifrågasätta de diskussioner och avtal som fattas bakom stängda dörrar.... I ert namn.

Tack!

* SupportYemen 

She rocks the cradle with her right hand and the world with her left.

I was honored to hangout live on BBC Arabic with Rasha Qandeel and other inspiring and intelligent women from the Arab world, to speak out on challenges and opportunities in post revolutions. The talk was part of covering 100 Women conference, where the public service gathered powerful ladies from around the world debating and discussing issues effecting women across the globe.

 

Check the discussion on  BBC Nuqtat Hewar - نقطة حوار‎

Check also our google hangout talk 

مائة امرأة -100 women

سورة الياسين

على أحد ضفاف الدولة الريعية، ينام أبي، وتنام أمي وبعض من تبقى من أخوتي بدون أوراق ثبوتية. يستيقظون كل صباح على أمل أن لايتم القبض على ماتبقى من أمل. ويبقى السؤال الكبير الذي يطرق رؤسهم في نهاية مساءات التعب.. طيب وايش نسوي؟

" يقولون أن السماء تمطر ناراً في اليمن" تمتم أختي.

"لا نستيطع أن نعود لليمن، نحن لا نعرفها، هي لاتعرفنا".. تأكد أختي الصغرى

" إن شاء الله ماراح نترحل، وراح تتجدد الإقامة.. خلونا نقرأ سورة الياسين

والله راح يعميهم" هي ذات الكلمات ترددها أمي منذ خمس وعشرون عاماَ

 ..

مع انبلاج كل صباح، تتثاقل خطوات عم علي في الحياة، يبدأ يومه بجلسه ع القهوة المجاورة وبتأمل المارة....

" انتهت المدة المحددة لتصحيح أوضاع العمال وكفلائهم، واليوم سيتم ملاحقة كل العمالة السوداء التي استشرت في مدننا كسرطان خبيث"...

يقع الخبر الباعث من مذياع القهوة على قلب الخمسيني كوقع قنبلة. .. تثاقلت الهموم على أكتاف الإشتراكي "السابق" "والأخواني"الحالي فلا يجد

بدا إلا وأن يحادث ذاته....

يضرب بعصاته الأرض ويتنهد " يعني كفاح البوليتاريا صار عمل سرطاني، يعني بعد كل هذه الأعوام أًصبحنا نوسم بمصاصي دماء النفط"

يأتي صوت غاضب من وراءه....

"الهويات لو سمحت؟!"

.

Protester under Obamas Sverigebesök

PUBLICERAD: FREDAG 30 AUGUSTI 2013, 11:05  •  UPPDATERAD: TORSDAG 12 SEPTEMBER 2013, 14:51

När Barack Obama kommer till Sverige samlas en rad organisationer för att protestera mot olika delar av USA:s utrikespolitik. Till dem hör Jemenitiska Salongen i Stockholm, som vill uppmärksamma det fjärrstyrda bombkriget mot Jemen.

INRIKES

OBAMA I SVERIGE

På några få år har världen vant sig vid att höra om USA:s attacker med obemannade flygplan i länder som Pakistan, Somalia och Jemen. Begreppet ”drönare” har blivit en del av krigets vokabulär. Men bortom science fiction-skimret finns en blodig verklighet, som jemenitiska aktivister bosatta i Sverige vill uppmärksamma i samband med Barack Obamas besök i Stockholm nästa vecka.

– USA:s drönarkrig i Jemen är inte bara en allvarlig kränkning av ett lands självständighet, det är kontraproduktivt och dödar många civila. Barn har dödats, kvinnor har dödats, till och med en 8-årig amerikansk medborgare har dödats, säger Hana al-Khamri, en av grundarna till Jemenitiska Salongen i Stockholm.

Snarare än att bekämpa terrorism bidrar USA:s drönarattacker till att radikalisera ett helt samhälle och skapa nya rekryter för extrema grupper, menar Hana al-Khamri.

– Mediernas rapportering kring drönarkriget bygger helt och hållet på Vita Husets världsbild och terminologi. Man skriver ”misstänkta terrorister” om människor som man inte vet något om. Bybor som inte ens vet var USA ligger på en karta dödas utan förvarning, och blir kallade terrorister av experter här i Sverige. Och även om måltavlorna skulle vara terrorister så får folket i Jemen aldrig veta vilka de är eller vad de gjort, och ingen möjlighet att ställa dem inför rätta, säger hon.

Hon pekar på Sveriges roll i den globala vapenindustrin som en viktig orsak till att uppmärksamma drönarkriget under Obamas besök.

– Vi är oroliga för att Sverige också kommer att bidra till utveckling av drönare, som är en växande industri. Vi vill uppmana det svenska folket att vara vaksamma och granska sin egen regering, att sätta sig in i vad samtalen med Obama faktiskt leder till, om det handlar om att fördjupa Sveriges inblandning i USA:s krigföring eller stärka det militära samarbetet.

Snårig väg till makten för kvinnor

Många hinder och prövningar väntar kvinnor som strävar efter ledarposter. Jemen är inget undantag. En grupp kvinnor i huvudstaden Sanaa har därför, enligt tidningen Yemen Observer, tagit initiativ till en kampanj. Målet är en miljon underskrifter till stöd för att kvinnor utses att kandidera i parlamentsvalet 2011.

Av: Hana Al-Khamri

Det första parlamentsvalet i landet hölls efter Jemens självständighetsdag den 22 maj 1990. Ingen kvinna valdes in. 1997 blev två kvinnor invalda, en av dem omvaldes 2003.

Arbetsgruppen ”Kvinnor i valet 2011” har lanserades på flera håll i landet och undersöker vilka strategier som kan få framstående kvinnor att vilja ställa upp och vad som kan få väljare att rösta in kvinnor.

Khadeeja Andullah al-Khatri, i det styrande partiet General People’s Congress verkställande utskott, säger att kvinnor innehar femton procent av posterna i partiet.

Stiftelsen för kulturell utveckling, The Cultural development program foundation, har sedan 2007 arbetat på att bilda en brett sammansatt påtryckargrupp vars uppgift är att säkra parlamentsplatser för kvinnor i valet 2011, antingen genom en lagändring som kvoterar platser för kvinnor eller genom att partierna tvingas sätta upp kvinnor på sina vallistor.

Ett råd bestående av kvinnliga advokater och aktivister bildades i maj 2009 för att juridiskt arbeta för kvinnor i parlamentet och stödja dem som kandiderar.

En orsak till den låga kvinnorepresentationen i politiken är att partierna har få kvinnliga medlemmar och ännu färre tänkbara kandidater, skriver The Yemen Parliament Watch Project.

Förutom politiska, ekonomiska och sociala problem, finns en stark tradition mot kvinnor i politiken. Dessutom är analfabetismen särskilt utbredd bland kvinnor.

En kvinna som vill kandidera och ge sig in i politiken måste inte bara ta sig igenom den nästan totala manliga dominansen i det politiska ledarskapet, utan också få sin familjs, sina släktingars och sina grannars välsignelse. Det gör det betydligt svårare för en kvinna än för en man att komma in i de inre cirklarna.

Efter varje val anklagar de politiska partierna varandra för att förbise och marginalisera kvinnor, men i verkligheten är de alla tveksamma eller direkt motvilliga till att låta kvinnor kandidera.

Revolution from Within: Middle Eastern Women in Media

Posted by Shira Tarrant on Dec 16th, 2009

http://girlwpen.com/?p=1794

I am so pleased to bring another important and insightful post to Girl With Pen from our regular guest blogger, Shawna Kenney.
The world hears much about women in the Middle East from Western media. Most stories are told from a human rights perspective, about women; rarely do we hear from the subjects themselves. Yet there are fierce young women working from within media structures in countries not especially known for their equal rights policies. As a journalist and educator, I have been blessed to encounter many lately. These brief profiles-in-courage are just a sampling of the work being done behind cameras, within newsrooms, from boardrooms, and in day-to-day life.
Mai Yacoub Kaloti has been a reporter with Al–Quds newspaper for almost a year. The 25-year-old Palestinian says she chose her field “to open up minds and reveal the truth about what’s happening” in her part of the world. Kaloti chose the print journalism field despite her father’s wish for her to be an accountant. Now she proudly signs her “full name” to every story and says that he is just as proud of her bylines. When people tell her women shouldn’t work in war zones, she says it’s her job and that she intends to do it right. “Women in the Middle East are just like all women on earth: they deserve respect, love, and care. They work in different fields, defend their country with pen and weapon, raise children with a sense of responsibility and good manners.”
30-year old Mozn Hassan is the Founder and a member of the Board of Directors for Nazra for Feminist Studies in Cairo, Egypt. While most of her time is spent partnering with local and international organizations in promoting women’s rights, she also answers “nonstop questions from neighbors, colleagues and even the guard of [her] building” about why she is unmarried, why she travels abroad alone, and why she chooses to live in an apartment with her sister rather than her parents. “As an Egyptian feminist I see customs and culture here which govern the mentality of Egyptians. The hardest obstacle we face is that most Egyptian men are occupied by patriarchal ideas.” Still, she fights on. “I think this field is one of the most sensitive and important issues that must be tackled openly and critically in my country. The issues of women’s rights opens lots of discussion on all of society’s problems, and in my opinion it is impossible to reform our society without tackling gender issues.”
Muna Samawi is a 25-year-old Program Officer working for the Freedom House organization in Amman, Jordan. After earning a Bachelor’s degree at St. Lawrence University, Samawi dedicated herself to working in the field of human rights. “I was fortunate to live, study and work in a foreign country for 6 years where I was able to express myself without hesitation, and practice my freedom of expression.” She has since worked with at-risk youth and organized exchange programs focused on including journalists, lawyers, bloggers, and human right defenders from the Middle East. Her activism is not always encouraged. “Political and societal pressures are placed on any activity in the Middle East that is sponsored from foreign agencies, so some eyebrow raising occurs from time to time,” she shares. “As a young woman working in development, I do not always get the recognition or support needed, but my family’s support is sufficient to sustain and push my personal goals to higher levels.” She stresses that advocacy for women’s rights and feminism are “growing movements” in the Middle East—more than most people know.
Marianne Nagui Hanna is a producer at a large news support corporation in Egypt. The 29-year-old describes herself as a “news junkie” who works 14 hours a day in this field she loves. She says her work environment is multicultural and multinational, but that managers tend to assign field missions to men, and has been told “it wouldn’t be cost-effective sending one woman with a team of men, being that she’d need a room to herself instead of sharing.” She takes it in stride and says she wishes the world knew that women in the Middle East “can actually achieve things. We are not all backward housewives from the Middle Ages. We do live in the Middle East in very tough circumstances, in a culture that doesn’t hold much respect to women and considers them second-class citizens, yet we are able to successfully work and gain respect. We don’t ride camels, we don’t live in tents .. and for sure, the harem is no more.” In her bit of spare time, Hanna maintains her blog http://resstlesswaves.blogspot.com/
22-year Hana Al-Khamri is a Yemeni woman from Saudi Arabia living in Denmark to study journalism. Her passion has pushed her to study in another country, due to laws and social pressure. “It is illegal for women to study journalism,” she says of her choice to leave Saudi Arabia. “Second there is a huge social pressure to marry and quit working. Third, I often faced hostility (writing for the ‘women’s section’ of the paper there), especially from older conservative men. I have been refused entry to press conferences only because of my gender. Fourth, I am dependent on men for transportation since I am not allowed to drive a car. And finally, media in Saudi Arabia is under strict government control and censorship, and when you are as open-minded and openmouthed as I am, you are bound to get in trouble.” In her opinion, it is tradition, not religion, that oppresses women in the Middle East, and though her career choice is one not supported by her government, she calls her path in line with God’s will. “My faith is a liberator, not oppressor. I can change my community through my pen,” she says.
Shawna Kenney is an author, freelance journalist and creative writing instructor. Her essays appear in numerous anthologies while her articles and photography have been featured in the Florida Review, Juxtapoz, Swindle Magazine, Veg News, the Indy Star, Transworld Skateboarding, and Alternative Press, among others. She also serves as the Language Editor of Crossing Borders Magazine. You can read more about her work at http://shawnakenney.com/.