In Lebanon, March 8 was Moron’s Day
On International Women’s Day, that’s the picture that went viral in Lebanon.
Everywhere in the world, women took to the streets and demanded full equality with men. Everywhere but here.
On that sunny day, no one seemed to care about women’s rights. No one seemed bothered to put an end to domestic violence. Or at least, demonstrate the willingness to do so. Especially Lebanese women, March 8 biggest absentees.
What truly mattered is that, in Lebanon, you could ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon.
What a great achievement that is. What an amazing country we have. Imagine, in twenty minutes, you can take off your ski combination and jump in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
It doesn’t matter if these waters are so polluted they can rival with all the mountains of trash that spread across the land. It doesn’t matter if almost the entire Lebanese seashore is privatized and there’s no decent public beach in sight. It doesn’t matter if the majority of Lebanese can’t afford to go to these private beaches, let alone enjoy the pleasures of ski resorts. It doesn’t matter if the country is so corrupt it could easily be sold on e-bay. It doesn’t matter if Lebanese women are still in so many ways second-class citizens.
What matters is to show off our tan, expose our silicone boobs loosely trapped in a designer swimsuit, shake our booty on the latest techno hit, and drink a cold glass of wine in front of the ski slopes. And, of course, take plenty of selfies to post on social media.
In Lebanon, it’s may be true that in twenty minutes we can travel from mountain to sea, but how long will it take us to evolve from morons to citizens?
© Claude El Khal, 2015
Everywhere in the world, women took to the streets and demanded full equality with men. Everywhere but here.
On that sunny day, no one seemed to care about women’s rights. No one seemed bothered to put an end to domestic violence. Or at least, demonstrate the willingness to do so. Especially Lebanese women, March 8 biggest absentees.
What truly mattered is that, in Lebanon, you could ski in the morning and swim in the afternoon.
What a great achievement that is. What an amazing country we have. Imagine, in twenty minutes, you can take off your ski combination and jump in the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
It doesn’t matter if these waters are so polluted they can rival with all the mountains of trash that spread across the land. It doesn’t matter if almost the entire Lebanese seashore is privatized and there’s no decent public beach in sight. It doesn’t matter if the majority of Lebanese can’t afford to go to these private beaches, let alone enjoy the pleasures of ski resorts. It doesn’t matter if the country is so corrupt it could easily be sold on e-bay. It doesn’t matter if Lebanese women are still in so many ways second-class citizens.
What matters is to show off our tan, expose our silicone boobs loosely trapped in a designer swimsuit, shake our booty on the latest techno hit, and drink a cold glass of wine in front of the ski slopes. And, of course, take plenty of selfies to post on social media.
In Lebanon, it’s may be true that in twenty minutes we can travel from mountain to sea, but how long will it take us to evolve from morons to citizens?
© Claude El Khal, 2015
Comments
Il faut une force de caractère pour demander l'indépendance et le respect de ses droits, être prête à perdre financièrement ou socialement au nom de sa dignité
Oui c'est révoltant
Est ce que la Libanaise veut vraiment ses droits? Ou préfère-t-elle être réduite à l'esclavage pour garder son chalet à Faraya, son chalet à Kaslik, sa visite chez l'estheticienne et son champagne à tous les cocktails!
On pourrait aller plus loin dans la réflection à savoir que en agissant ainsi - poster une photo pareille - nous donnons aux hommes une raison valable pour ne pas changer d'attitude envers nous les femmes et aux gouvernement, une esquive pour ne pas modifier les lois, aux instances religieux, une raison de préserver la pression
Debout les femmes, et merde le maquillage, le sakkar, les balades à moto, les coiffeurs à se faire lisser les cheveux frisés pour chaque soirée, mais vous êtes belles frisées, comprenez le, les hommes aiment votre naturel, c'est ce qu'ils recherchent au plus profond de leur désir.
voilà le cris du coeur
Dounia - un regard de l'étranger