-Serenity-

Nomads
  • Content Count

    3,429
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by -Serenity-

  1. Hello Nomads, How have you all been? Good I hope. Well what do you know? 2005 is over! What were your key moments? Highlights and low points? Any fantastic achievements? Did you finally graduate? Buy a house? Put on the ball & chain (marriage) or smash it in half (divorce)? How was 2005 for you? Give us your account of the year…from the personal to the political and inbetween. p.s. 2000th. Landed.
  2. Correct me if I'm wrong Xiin, but doesnt the Mahram issue refer to travelling over long distances? Specially if security issues are concerned? Not going to dinner, work, shopping or going about your daily business. Foxy sis, you're entitled to ur opinions..however referring to an islamic directive as crap... isnt exercising that right. I think X was giving you advice on how to go about addressing your point without offending the religious sensibilities of the readers.
  3. ^ I disagree. This is about choice. You wanna be chaperoned? Fine. You dont? Then what?
  4. ^ U think? Didnt the at the end give my emotional state away? I'm not violent Ducaqabe...not towards most people anyway. The issue isn't takin a toll on me personally. However, I'm annoyed by the mere existance of KSA in its present state. It makes me feel sad that there are women out there who have to put up with all this shidh and get treated like babies - not one, not two, but a whole friggin nation! Ironically, I've never faced discrimination/prejudice as a result of my sex and really dont have any situations to reflect back on... however, the thought of being in that state still makes my skin crawl.
  5. Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^^^ You mean like Somali women evolved from eating hambo in the past to clearing the stuff remaining in the pot now? Yes. And Also calling 911 on Faarax's sorry behind. Or better still, beating the crap out of him if he gets out of line. Best of all, having him clear the stuff and clean it...while you dine out with ur girlies.
  6. Katrina, most societies in the past were similar if not worse where women’s liberation is concerned. We initially started out as second class citizens (except in some remote parts of east Asia where surprising men were regarded as 2nd class inhabitants). Through time and evolving societies, we have managed to shed some of the ignorance and discrimination. KSA is just STUCK. What do the ladies and gentlemen of this nation lack that the rest of the world doesn’t?
  7. ^ Ya know, thats the best thing you've said for a while Yoonis. Good idea.
  8. Loo00ooL @ A 'Mehram' leasing company sure is a booming business there. JB, thats one helluva gr8 idea runtii. What say you, we go there and I give up all my freedom and we run this business? On a serious note. Everytime I read one of these articles, I’m shocked at the passiveness of these women. How can they let their rights be taken away? How can they not make a difference if they constitute half the nation? And how can they live in the 21st century and be so backward thinking? grrrr
  9. Originally posted by Castro: ^ Atheer calm down. You're unreasonably hostile today. Dont atheer me. I remember a time the word meant something when you said it to me. bah.
  10. No Mahram? Then Please Don’t Dine Out Lubna Hussain, lubna@arabnews.com Take three diverse dynamic Saudi women. Lubna Al-Olayan, Nahed Taher, and Capt. Hanadi Al-Hindi. Lubna Olayan was ranked as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. She also happens to be a trailblazer for budding entrepreneurs of both genders, displaying a corporate business acumen and shrewdness that most of her male counterparts don’t hold a candle to. But can she do it? No. Nahed Taher is a pioneer in the field of banking. As senior economist in the traditionally male bastion of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), she defied the mores and norms of a society where women skirt around the peripheral edges of employment and went straight for the jugular. But can she do it? No. And then there’s the iconic Capt. Hanadi Al-Hindi who quite literally flew in the face of all controversy surrounding the Shakespearean inspired debate of “To Drive or Not to Drive†and became the first Saudi woman to pilot a plane. She now jets around with one of the richest men in the world. But can she do it? No. How about if they got together? If they couldn’t do it as individuals, would the collective force of their combined prowess mean that they could do it? No. According to the rather spurious rationale we have adopted so wholeheartedly in this part of the world, women are allowed to control billions of riyals in assets, analyze what to do with them, and take to the helm of private aircraft but what is it then that they are so rigidly prevented from doing? What is considered such a heinous crime in Saudi Arabia that even our most competent and capable women who have proven themselves to be equal if not superior to many of the men in similar fields are not permitted to indulge in such scandalous activity? The answer is simple. Women are forbidden from eating in a restaurant without being accompanied by a male guardian. So whereas we are free to travel pretty much anywhere within the Kingdom by ourselves, we must restrain from the temptation of succumbing to hunger pangs once we arrive at our final destination. For those of you who may not understand the implications of such a statute, this means that if you fancy a bite to eat out and happen to be a woman, this could be construed as criminal behavior. In order to be on the right side of the law, you must also make sure that you are sufficiently in the mood for persuading one of the men in your family to go out with you. Now, you do have quite a choice of dinner dates. The lucky guy could be your father, his brothers, your mother’s brothers, your grandfathers, your brothers, your husband, your sons, your grandsons, your nephews or all of them. But what if you’re just not feeling like male company? Or perhaps they are all busy? Or, as many women, you are divorced and don’t have a readily producible male guardian? Or you’d just prefer a nightout with the girls? Easy. You just stay home. It really is a trifle disconcerting to see signs posted on doors leading into restaurants that proclaim “No females allowed unless accompanied by male guardian†or “No unaccompanied ladiesâ€. Proprietors have the right to refuse you entry if you do not comply with this rule. In much of the world such notices are reserved for pets in parks. But like all forms of bureaucracy there are clever tactics that can connivingly be utilized to beat the system. One of my girlfriends had invited me out for dinner to an Italian restaurant. We surreptitiously entered with a driver and maid in tow who Oscar-award-winningly assumed the roles of surrogate mother and father for the evening. Upon her request I had my face covered in case the lack of similarity became too blatantly obvious. We glided into the family section playing the perennial happy Saudi family and upon our arrival parted ways. “Mum†and “Dad†sat at a table adjacent to ours while we nestled into an enclave that was sealed off from the other diners by means of a movable wooden divider on wheels. We decided to embolden our culinary escapade by opting for the antipasti buffet and braving the outside world beyond our enclosure. Hastily covering our faces, we scurried off excitedly like a pair of adventurous mice to the forbidden territory of the Singles Section where ironically, it doesn’t strike the authorities in the slightest bit incongruous that women are allowed to venture into a solely populated male arena under the pretext of smoked salmon, air-dried beef and Parmesan cheese. So although we are not allowed to eat by ourselves tucked away somewhere in the nether regions of a restaurant, it is perfectly acceptable for us to strut our stuff and linger around selecting our appetizers in front of a crowd of unfamiliar men. A perfectly sensible tenet I am sure you will agree. Once safely back in our temporary abode, we uncovered our faces and eagerly awaited our main course. As we were chomping away with great relish we were taken aback when the screen swung open and a strange man entered our haven. “You!†he said pointing at my friend. “Where is your mahram (male guardian)?†Slurping up her pasta irreverently she gestured to the next table at which sat the driver who looked as much like her father as our interrogator, but he seemed satisfied with the response nonetheless. He was about to walk away when he was struck by an Archimedes flash of Eureka type inspiration. “Why are your faces uncovered?†he inquired indignantly. Such an unwarranted invasion of privacy by a complete outsider proved too much for her to take. “Listen,†she responded haughtily. “We are in the family section and sitting in an area where no one can even see us. I don’t see why you think it is justified for you to come in, stare at us and tell us what to do. We are trying to eat dinner and although we both had our faces covered when we were in public view, the reason why we are sitting inside here cordoned off from the world is that we shouldn’t have to conceal ourselves from each other! Asides from which, if we did that then we wouldn’t be able to see what it is that we are eating.†“Inshallah you will be blind!†he thundered and his parting shot ricocheted around the restaurant as he slammed shut the partition. What I would like to be apprised of is why it is that men think that they can approach women who are not their family members and cast aspersions upon them without the slightest repercussion? Who invents such strictures that deny women the very basic rights afforded to them by God? How on earth can dining out be deemed un-Islamic in any shape or form? Is the sight of a woman eating so lascivious that the poor men of this nation have to be shielded from its earth-shattering effects? Such rules are nothing short of absurd, which is why I feel that as a woman I would have had more rights and far better freedom had I been alive at the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). There was a very clear logic and rationale behind why certain social behaviors were either permitted or not. Women were not indiscriminately perceived as being provocative or coquettish and furthermore men were encouraged to control their untoward desires and basal instincts. Women were inherently treated with a tremendous amount of respect and dignity, not the contempt that is so evident and apparently condonable today. I remember reading a letter to the editor in which the writer, himself a Muslim, remarked that Muslim women would never be afforded their Islamic rights as long as there were Muslim men alive. Sadly, such incidents, strictures and infringements on basic God given liberties seem to validate his point. * * * (Lubna Hussain is a Saudi writer. She is based in Riyadh.). Source
  11. Since we are venting... I'm terribly annoyed by Brown's use of the square bracket intead of the normal oval bracket. Does it make you feel any more-macho? Castro has killed the word adeer for everyone on this board. I dont think we could ever use it again without some sterilization. I just ate hilib geel and I'm digusted by the thought.
  12. 3yrs graduate degree so you can be the office donkey Ahura? :rolleyes:
  13. I cant go into the chat. Says something about connection dropped. Is it for everyone?
  14. Wordette, that was seriously funny. I could almost picture the whole scene. Sitting under the bath-tub with hot water running reminds of that scene in S&TC where Samantha was trying to her groove back. hahaha. No pain. No gain.
  15. Originally posted by Xaaji_Faro_badne: siisoow aa ku saari lahaa sanjabiil aa ku siin lahaa sariir weeyn aa ku seexin lahaa Waryaa..soco. Wadada i tus.
  16. Is that endearment or plain nasty? Xamari just sounds dirty to me Xaaji, so try again!
  17. Originally posted by Castro: ^ That's it. We have a winner. Baryahan oo dhan waan qiiroonayay.
  18. -Serenity-

    Plan B

    Why are we all @ss -uming that people will indulge in fornication/adultery and then use the pill? We are just discussing the consequences/permissibility/pros/cons to using the pill.
  19. lol@small patch of ancient dirt. Oh boy… dad intaana haysan baa hadlaya. Underdog.. weligaa kheyr lama soo noqotid adigu. Go back to your hole caveman. Leave the queen to her queendom.
  20. Originally posted by Femme Fatale: Waterfall, most respected singers start up as backup singers. No shame in the profession my dear. You should know, your the biggest. I'd normally return with a devastating quip. But this is you Femme. So I'll leave it to you sweets.
  21. Insulting in its entirely is xaraam . Not just against a qabiil. But people insult what they don’t like all the time. What I’m saying is, being offended by insults against your own tribe and taking it seriously is itself a form of qabiil loyalty. Togane’s pieces are directed at his own qabiil (mostly). Are self-directed insults, a prejudice? Some people see it as self-reflection… opinions vary (clearly from the respondents on this thread too). I see it as humourous cuz I couldn’t care for what qabiil he is bashing since I view the whole concept of qabiil differently. Secondly, I find it very hard to blv any1 participates in the politics section and doesn’t give a shidh about qabiil. Somali politics = qabiil politics. And this is further confirmed by the ardency and consistency with which one praises and admonishes the opposing qabiil/political entity without giving in an inch of credit. And Rahima.. if you wrestle in a pigsty, ur bound to pickup dirt, noh? Get out while u can girlfriend.
  22. ^ If Castro is religious, then I'm arrogant. Gabadhu iyadaa afka ila soo gashay. I refuse to apologise. Femme, are you Simply's backup singer? Shaqo kale yeelo.. preferably starting ur own band. :mad: You have to offer an incentive man [Razz] , like shaah and mac macaan. Have you not learnt anything from the peace deal I have brokered between Castro and Alle-ubaahane? I tell ya, the shaah did it No more peace deals lady. You're takin the fun out of SOL. How would my day be without Caqli-ubaahne's cries of liberalism?
  23. Just a quick observation. A non-qabilist is some1 who doesnt get offended by qabiil directed/oriented insults. If you take offense at qabiil bashing (specially at your own qabiil), then is it not safe to assume u blv in it just as much as the offenders? I think Togane is a talented poet - provocative but entertaining. If I had a flare for words like he did… I’d pen back one or two witty words in the traditional Somali style of combating poetry with poetry...
  24. ^ She is more than silly. Why the hell is she still whining? And in this topic? :rolleyes: