The forgotten 'female Lawrence of Arabia' - Gertrude Bell

From The Telegraph:

In a picture taken to mark the Cairo Conference of 1921, Gertrude Bell - characteristically elegant in a fur stole and floppy hat, despite being on camel back - sits right at the heart of the action. To one side is Winston Churchill, on her other TE Lawrence, later immortalised in David Lean’s 1962 epic, Lawrence of Arabia.

Bell was his equal in every sense: the first woman to achieve a first (in modern history) from Oxford, an archaeologist, linguist, Arabist, adventurer and, possibly, spy. In her day, she was arguably the most powerful woman in the British Empire - central to the decisions that created the modern Middle East and reverberate still on the nightly news.  Yet while Lawrence is still celebrated, she has largely been forgotten.

read more her @ The Telegraph

About Gertrude Bell

• The Extraordinary Gertrude Bell edited by Mark Jackson & Andrew Parkin
• Gertrude Bell: Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations by Georgina Howell
• Queen of the Desert: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell
• Daughter of the Desert: The Remarkable Life of Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell
• Desert Queen by Janet Wallach
• Gertrude Bell: The Lady of Iraq by H.V.F. Winstone

Written By Gertrude Bell:

• Persian Pictures
• Syria
• A Woman In Arabia
• The Hafez Poems of
• The Desert & The Sown: Travels in Palestine and Syria
• The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914
• Review of the Civil Administration in Mesopotamia
• The Letters of Gertrude Bell - Volumes 1-2
• Tales from the Queen of the Desert
• The Arab of Mesopotamia

Speed Sisters

From the Vancouver Sun:

Director Amber Fares is the first to admit that she knew absolutely nothing about racing before she met the Speed Sisters in late 2009. An Alberta-born filmmaker now living in Ramallah, Palestine, Fares was introduced to the first all-women racing team in the Middle East by a friend at the British consulate in Jerusalem. The consulate hired her documentary film company SocDoc Studios to create a program of video clips called “Speed Sisters.” At the time, there were two or three women racing an old donated BMW that they had souped up to get track-ready.

“We were involved in doing these clips and it wasn’t long before we were like, ‘Wow! This is really interesting. There’s a larger documentary here,’” Fares says. Her relationship with the team went on from there and she has been filming the Speed Sisters regularly for a feature-length documentary since the racing season started in March 2010.

The Lady of Iraq

From the Jerusalem Post:

T.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia, as he is more commonly known – may have hogged the limelight in early twentieth-century Britain as a swashbuckling campaigner in the deserts of Arabia. But his associate and contemporary, Gertrude Bell, was no slouch on matters Middle East either. Bell was a bona fide trailblazer, a woman of towering intellect and ability whose achievements in the Arab region led many to call her the “uncrowned queen of Iraq” following her involvement in the country’s uncertain beginnings as its architect and creator.

Aslender woman with red hair and piercing green eyes, Bell, who died 85 years ago last month, is today perceived as a figure who, far from accepting the traditional gender roles that made her era of post-Victorian England a distinctly male domain, pursued a life away from the bonds of marriage and the responsibilities of motherhood. Yet, when her immersion in the cut and thrust of Middle East realpolitik offered up the chance to build a stable and unified nation state, Bell exposed herself to an immense – some say, insurmountable – undertaking, one that continues to haunt the Middle East to this very day.

However, it was her 1916 appointment as a political officer in Basra, in southern Iraq, that thrust her into the political and diplomatic limelight. There, in the ancient land of Mesopotamia, she won the affection of Arab statesmen, founded a national museum and had significant input into the design and constitution of the new Iraq – established under a British mandate in 1920 from the Ottoman provinces of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. It was there, a decade after she arrived, that she died quite suddenly after overdosing on sleeping pills, either by accident or by design.

Rape In Wartime

From CNN - Listening to the Victims:

It began as a headache. Then her throat started to feel tight. A dull pain welled in her chest and her joints ached.

But Victoria Sanford continued to do the interviews. Even in the middle of the night, the women in Guatemala always managed to find her, the "gringa" they heard had come to listen to them.

It was the early 1990s, years before the international community would formally recognize the Guatemalan government's role in the systematic rape of its Mayan women -- and decades before the current violence in Libya and elsewhere around the Middle East would once again remind the world of the brutal effectiveness of rape as a weapon of war.

Editor's Note: This is the first of two stories focusing on rape as a tool of war. The second story, being published tomorrow, looks at the untold stories of rape in the Holocaust. Both stories contain graphic language; discretion is advised.

 

MidEast Maids Unprotected

From Associated Press:

Reforms undertaken by governments in the Middle East to protect domestic workers from abuse are insufficient to shield women working as house maids from abuse and violence, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Millions of mostly Asian women who work in countries like Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates remain at risk of human trafficking, forced labor, confinement and sexual violence, the New York-based group said.

Although several governments have made improvements for migrant domestic workers in the past five years, reform has been slow and incremental, Nisha Varia, the group's senior researcher of women's rights told The Associated Press.

Women working in private homes often work 20-hour days, face forced confinement and are sometimes physically and sexually abused, the report said.

Their passports are confiscated upon arrival, leaving employers in full control of their house maids' lives under what is known as a "sponsorship system."

The custom remains the biggest factor contributing to abuse, leaving women trapped in abusive situations since they are not allowed to legally change an employer, HRW said.

Women Only Taxis

From the Jerusalem Post:

Taxis driven by women and exclusively serving the fairer sex are the rage in Arab capitals as women seek a safe and comfortable mode of transport.

Lebanon's Banet Taxi ('Taxi Girls'), sporting signature candy-pink taxis and well-kept uniformed drivers, began in March.

Now, following the Lebanese success, two Egyptian governors in Cairo and Alexandria have stirred controversy with proposals to service women-only taxis.

"It means isolation for women," Nehad Abul Komsan, Chairwoman of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights told The Media Line. "It's very risky for our society. If it's an excuse to solve problems like sexual harassment or other types of violence, it's a very naïve solution for a very complicated problem."

Cairo's subway network already reserves the fourth and fifth carriages for women not wishing to sit with men.

In Damascus a similar women-only taxi initiative is being launched by Widad Kanafani, aiming to make transportation more secure for female passengers.

Dubai has had a women-only pink taxi service since 2007 and the Roads and Transport Authority will be launching a women-only bus service in April 2010 to accommodate an increasing number of female passengers.

In Jordan the Amman Municipality turned down a request to set up a taxi rank to serve women exclusively and employ female drivers with rose-colored vehicles, saying there were too many taxis in the capital already.

However, you heard it here first with: "Pink Equals Women Only" and "Mexico: Pink Only Taxis"

Women in Yemen

From IRIN News:
"Much more needs to be done to improve the status of women in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, in line with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), officials said.

The call came during a roundtable in Sanaa, the capital, on 21 September. CEDAW presented 60 recommendations in July after reviewing Yemen's sixth periodic report for 2006 on the extent of implementation, which was prepared by the National Women's Committee (NWC), a government body.

Pratibha Mehta, UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen, said the 2007 World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index, which measures women's economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment vis-Ã -vis men, ranked Yemen last out of 128 countries.

"Women constitute only 30 percent of the workforce and 70 percent of women in Yemen are illiterate," Mehta said.

She said the gap between men and women was very wide in terms of political empowerment and economic participation, but narrow in terms of primary education enrolment, with 63 percent of school age girls enrolled compared with 87 percent of boys.

Mehta added that a greater effort was needed to inculcate the values of gender equity among the society that too often viewed the women's rights agenda as "a western import".

Yemen signed CEDAW in May 1984 and presented two national reports on the level of implementation at an exceptional UN assembly in August 2002.

CEDAW said Yemen's constitution did not enshrine the principle of equality between women and men in all spheres and its legislation did not contain an explicit definition of the principle of equality between the two sexes.

It urged Yemen to implement a comprehensive law on gender equality binding on both public and private sectors and inform women of their rights under such legislation. It recommended Yemen address stereotypical attitudes about the roles and responsibilities of women and men that perpetuate direct and indirect discrimination against women and girls in all areas.

It further said several provisions of the Penal Code discriminated against women and urged Yemen to repeal any such discriminatory provisions in the Code.

Participants said there were various social, religious and political factors responsible for women's low status. Discriminatory legislature was seen as a major hindrance to the improvement of women's status.

Horiah Mash-hor, deputy head of the NWC, said her committee had amended many discriminatory laws and referred them to the parliament, which had ratified nine amended items of various laws between 2003 and 2008. "But there are still 61 amended items that need to be agreed by the parliament," she said.

Jamila al-Raebi, deputy health minister in charge of population, said her ministry had asked to withdraw the Safe Motherhood Law from the Parliament's Islamic Sharia Codification Committee as it refused to agree on the law, which included provisions prohibiting female genital mutation, early marriage and included pre-marriage consultation.

"Early pregnancy is responsible for 30 percent of maternal deaths," she said.

She said it was necessary to highlight health implications when talking about issues such as early marriage or FGM. "People can be convinced if the health risks are brought out instead of highlighting the cultural and religious side," she said.

On the issue of women's empowerment, Amal al-Basha, chairwoman of the Sisters Arab Forum, a local NGO, said some mosques had become platforms against the rights of women, although they could play a greater role in advocating women's issues. "There are extremist preachers who stand against women's issues ... They accuse the civil society organisations that advocate for women's issues of being agents of the West and standing against Islam and Islamic Sharia," she said.

She further noted that religion must not be used to "silence us on speaking about our rights".

Huda al-Yafyei, an official at the Ministry of Endowments and Guidance, said the problem did not lie in Islam, mosques or laws, but rather in illiteracy, which is very high. "Women are unaware of their rights," she said.

She has said there were 75,000 mosques in the country that could be centres of enlightenment.

"We are also about to hold a series of workshops to promote women's rights guaranteed in Islam," she added."

No escape from abuse

Here is a tragic story of three sisters unable to escape the vicious cycle of abuse.

From Arab News:

"JEDDAH: Three sisters who have repeatedly fled their father’s home after 10 years of physical and psychological abuse and sexual molestation reached a dead end.

The girls’ last escape was five months ago. Mona, Nadin and Lina took refuge in the home of their mother, who had been divorced from their father nine years ago. According to a court verdict issued in 1999, the mother can only see the girls on Fridays from the afternoon until early evening. She tried to get custody of her daughters, but all her attempts were unsuccessful. She was hesitant to speak to the press until she realized it was her final recourse.

“Five years and I’ve been trying to have my daughters live with me. My ex-husband is an imam and member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. He uses his religious appearance as a green light to get under people’s skin and get what he wants,” said the mother in anguish.

The girls, whose ages are 21, 16 and 15, said that after the divorce their father told them their mother abandoned them so she could pursue her career and that she did not want anything to do with them. But only after they grew up, the girls saw their father and stepmother for who they were.

“My stepmother touches my breasts and my sensitive areas. Her words are obscene. I got my menstruation for the first time in the midst of a battering session by my father,” said the oldest sister Mona.

In August 2007, Lina, the youngest daughter, ran away from her father’s home heading to her mother. Arab News has a copy of a medical report that diagnosed the state she was in as an acute stress reaction.

Lina sat absorbed in her thoughts while her mother and Mona described the incident.

“She was suicidal and in a horrific psychological state,” said the mother. “When I first opened the door and saw her standing there, I thought their house had burned down and she was the only survivor.”

Mona and Nadin were still at their father’s home after the youngest ran away.

“My dad threatened us. He told us that if he killed us, no one could take legal action against him because he is our father,” said Mona.

He then went to the Civil Rights Department and filed a complaint against the mother and her husband that they kidnapped his daughter. When the mother received the summons, they wanted her to give back the daughter to her father.

“But she wasn’t in a stable psychological state. I asked them to wait until she recovered and then I would take her back to her father,” the mother said.

Instead, they took the mother — who was nine months pregnant at that time — and put her in jail. She was bleeding while pleading with the prison officer to get her out. They were completing procedures to transfer her to the General Population Prison.

“My ex-husband took the girl from my house and put her in the shelter home. It was only when he submitted a letter stating that fact to Civil Rights that they released me,” she added.

After the girls’ final escape to their mother’s house, they filed a complaint to the Ministry of Social Affairs. After investigating their case, they set up a date where the girls met face to face with their father.

“I was so terrified to meet him. Of course, he denied everything. He claimed that he and our stepmother treated us nicely,” said Mona.

After the meeting, the girls agreed to go back with their father but only if he agreed to their conditions. They wrote a letter with the conditions that included: Continuous follow-up from Social Affairs to their case; no physical or mental abuse; no interference by the stepmother; that they receive the allowance their Qu’ran memorization school grants them monthly (SR250); that they continue their college education; and that the 1999 court verdict granting the mother limited visitation be annulled so that she gets considerably more time with her children.

The father did not agree to their conditions. Two months ago, the mother filed another complaint wanting to take custody of her daughters or regularize their visits. They met with Judge Abdul Rahman Al-Hujailan who didn’t want to listen to what they had to say.

“He said to me that a woman is incapable of preserving herself, therefore, she’s incapable of preserving her daughters. He also said that according to the Hanbali School, I’m not allowed to see my daughters since I’m divorced. I should secretly go to visit them at their father’s home when he’s not around,” said the mother. Everyone turned a deaf ear to the girls’ case. Only Ali Al-Hinaki, general director at the Ministry of Social Affairs’ district office for Makkah province, was cooperative and responsive, said the mother. He told Arab News that girls escaping their fathers’ or mothers’ home is a recurrent social problem.

“Children are always the victims of divorce. In this case, the father believes he and his wife are offering the best to the daughters. The girls are saying the opposite and they insist they don’t want to go back home with their father,” he said.

He said that through studying the case he concluded that the father lacks the proper methods of dealing with the girls. He also said that during reconciliation sessions the father appeared to be rigid.

“Things have escalated now and there is nothing Social Affairs can do. We mainly look after physical abuse cases and sexual harassment. This case be referred to the justice system,” added Al-Hinaki.

He emphasized the fact that young girls and teens need their parents’ love, caring and understanding. If young girls were faced with scolding, unfairness or blame, they end up suppressing their feelings.

“And if they get the chance to escape, they will. That’s why girls run away from their homes. Fathers, mothers and siblings must provide love and care to their young daughters or sisters and listen to what they have to say,” Al-Hinaki said.

Arab News attempted a number of times to contact Mona, Nadin and Lina’s father, but he did not respond. The girls are still with their mother, frightened that he might show up to take them back with him. Nothing much was done to annul the verdict or to help the girls. The mother went to the National Society for Human Rights office in Jeddah.

They issued a letter asking the Jeddah Governorate to annul the verdict. Yet again nothing has happened so far.

“Things are uncertain,” said the mother in tears. “We’re scared to even answer the phone at home. Isn’t there anyone to help us?”

— The names of family members have been changed to protect identities."

Women in Business in the Middle East

Here's a "good news" story:

According to a survey by the World Bank, 13percent of companies in the Middle east are owned by women.

From a report in Gulf News:
"Pointing to the findings of a recent Bank report, [Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank] said, "While only 13 per cent of firms or companies in the Middle East are owned by women, there is no significant difference in terms of size, age, sector, exports, and foreign direct investment to those firms owned by men."

Representatives from both the public and private sector discussed the means to optimise the contribution of Arab women in the development of the region during the first US-based conference of the Arab International Women's Forum (AIWF), hosted by the World Bank Middle East North Africa in the US capital Washington DC recently.

Women entrepreneurs from the Middle East also gathered during the two-day conference to hear ministers including Dr Sharifa Khalfan Al Yahyai, Minister of Social Development in Oman, Hala Bseisu Lattouf, Minister of Social Development in Jordan, and Dr Huda Ali Al Ban, Minister of Human Rights in Yemen, talk about the gains women have made in the region."


I would be very interested in the World Bank statistics for companies owned by women in other areas around the globe.


Edit: I did find a link on Doing Business Blog - Women in Business category - which might prove good reading.