How to Disgust Women from Science Careers

Through my twitter feed I came across this video:

It’s a campaign of the European Comission to encourage women to work in science/research fields, where they are underrepresented. So apparently to convince women to use their brains for science, the trick is to show them that the finality of research/development could be as well beautification, make up and fashion. After all who are we for being interested in scientific careers for sake of, say, heal cancer, solving mysteries of the Universe or find alternatives to nuclear energy? No, all we want is privilege to develop new lipsticks!

This video is not only very offensive because it suggests women are interested only in their own standardized feminity, it fails also in adressing the real issues of underrepresentation of women in research and science, such as:

1. Many female students, few female researcher: the issue is not to bring women interested in science, on a student level they are even majoritary in some fields and have average better marks, the problem here is that women tend to not pursue a scientific career although science interests them. The reasons of this gap between female students and female researcher can be structural (see points 2 and 3) as well as cultural, in a world where women making what is perceived as a “man’s job” is not yet fully accepted.
2. Unstable careers: science grants are generally given for 1-2years projects. For example, if a woman quits for a maternity leave, she does can’t be sure the contract will be reconducted at end of the year or if by the time she comes back to work if there is still any work. The other important effect of this is that people who undertake a scientific career have often to move from one country to another before to find a stable position; if the female scientist has a partner or husband, it is generally not accepted socially that she moves and the man generally doesn’t move with his wife. Moreover, if the man is also a scientist (a subtancial part of scientists have a scientist partner), women generally sacrifice their career to follow men.
3. Realm of phallocracy: even when having a position, female scientists are lesser paid, obtain fewer top positions and less talk time in conferences. This disparity is due to the fact that in science/research world, many informal decision criteria count, top of them being that generally decisions are taken by committies of men with few or no women among them.

At the end, what worries me is not really women in science, because they will inevitably build their path and obtain equality, but that in 2012, European Commission misunderstands  the issues they should be qualified for!

Why mentionning Palestinian cause in the Tunisian Constitution is a misktake

The first drafts of the Tunisian Constitution are published these days. The preamble of the Constitution now mentions the Tunisian support for the Palestinian cause “above any other cause”. In my opinion, this is not appropriate at all, for the following reasons:

• the only countries that mention another country in their Constitution are colonies mentionning the “mother land”. And those countries had their colonizers in their constitution only because they were forced to. Besides this case, it’s a unique example of a free country listing another country’s cause as the cause “above any other”, meaning above national interests. Why is a Tunisian cause less important to Tunisia than a foreign cause?
• Tunisian first constitution ran for 98years, the second one for about 55years. Writing down support for Palestinian cause in the third constitution of the country means it is here to stay: indeed, what would be the point of Palestinian cause in our Constitution the day Palestine is liberated? In other words, Tunisian deputees put Palestine in the Constitution because they think that in the long term it will not be free; and if they think it, its simply because its not in their interest for it to be a free country. Simple: if Palestinian cause doesn’t exist anymore, how will demagocic governments of MENA region excite the feelings of their people and bring them away from their own problems? Arab dictatorships always used the rethorics of Palestinian cause while secretly helping Israel to root in the region: secret business deals, bad treatment of Palestinian refugees, etc. We made a revolution for our rulers to stop selling us metaphysical ideologies while working for our loss. At the very least, if Tunisia really wants to help Palestine they should start by believing there exists a solution for the crisis to end within the next few years.
• As much as I care for Palestinian cause, I can’t accept the fact that because it’s an “Arab” cause it is above any other. It would simply mean that support goes with ethnicity not with justice. In many  places in the world people experience situations at least as horrible as Palestinians, and sometimes much worse. Dying of hunger in Somalia or killed by a Taliban in Afghanistan or a Jenjaweed in Darfour is nor less important nor less painful. By favoring Palestinian cause, Tunisia would send the message that not all victims are equal.

Tunisia has a long History for supporting Palestine (Souha Arafat wife of the late leader Yasser Arafat has even obtained in the past a Tunisian citizenship!), it certainly does not need to write it down in its constitution for Tunisians to feel concerned by the fate of Palestinians.

Aishwarya Rai post-pregnency weight gain scandal: a sign of social pressure on women

A woman gets pregnant, gives birth to a baby, breastfeeds him/her, enjoys her motherhood. And oh, in the process she gains weight – and her name is Aishwarya Rai, the famous indian actress and beauty queen. 7 months after her delivery of a baby girl, people are scandalized that Aishwarya hasn’t lost yet her pregnency overweight. A video of her in a her first public event since motherhood went viral (watched more than half a million times); she is slammed in India for not being back in shape. For example, here are some critics posted by viewers of the video:

She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit.

She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.

I don’t know for you, but if I had to choose between the gentle, smiling face of Aishwarya and the severe, never-smiling one of Victoria…

Aishwarya doesn’t need me to ask for indulgence for her post-pregnency shape; she certainly has already many friends who spoke for her. What interests me is that, generally, standards for celebs end up, sooner or later, to be standards for societies and ‘normal women’. It is not by chance that big cosmetic and fashion brands pay celebs to wear their products: they are social influencers. And this is how African women end up straightening their hair, European women spend their lives dieting or feeling guilty for not dieting, Indian women bleaching their skin or Chinese women un-slanting their eyes, etc. Beauty ideals are different in each part of the world, the only constant thing is that these ideals exclude majority of women. Female celebs are avatars of the perfection of body, and in that sense, Aishwarya is no different than other celebs; after all she is the egeria of a cosmetic brand selling skin-bleaching products – we hope this weight-gain controversy will help her to reconsider the importance of not contributing in imposing to a population ideals to be fulfilled only with dangerous behaviors and chemical products. The unfulfillable ideals of brands and celebs act like a social pressure in our societies; a way to submit women and keep them confined in their own mental barriers. Worst part of this being we, women, are not only subjected to pressure, we are also taught to pressure and ostracize women who don’t follow the rules of the majority. In consequence, to reject this pressure is seen as a form of subversivity.

Just come to think of it: Aishwarya Rai is rich, she certainly has dozens of servants to help her with her baby, she could easily have a trainer, someone to cook fit meals, etc. If she didn’t lose weight already (if she is ever to lose it, in the first place), it is maybe not because she can’t, but maybe because at this stage of her life she doesn’t make of it a priority. Meaning that maybe, she is mentally sane enough to give her body the opportunity to be like Mother Nature designed it to be after a delivery, since beginning of times.

I wish to every single woman reading this article to enjoy their womanhood, motherhood, sisterhood – whaterverhood – as much as they can, without caring for people’s criticism on their looks.

Reaction to Mona El Tahawy’s essay on Arab women

In the article published in Foreign Policy by the Egyptian-American columnist Mona El Tahawy, she argues that in the Arab World/Middle East takes place a war on women. According to her, Arab men are ‘hating’ Arab women. This explaining sexual harrasment, genital mutilation, virginity tests, child marriage, etc.

Alas, Mona El Tahawy commits 3 big mistakes:

1) to mix facts with personnal opinions/impressions: the article starts with a fictional scene from a novel by great Egyptian writer, gives a few facts and then concludes with biased personnal impressions. How is established the connection between objective events and an inner subjective feeling called hate? Why ignoring aside all known works that emphasizes the importance of economical instability, social background, political chaos?

2) to consider Arab men, alltogether as a non-official supranational monolithic group, that cooperate instinctively, driven only by their hate towards Arab women. To consider these men’s sole purpose is to make of women’s lives a nightmare. The origin of this will to crush women, apparently, consists in a mix of culture and religion. Thus forgetting that the “Arab World” is a mixed bag of twenty-two countries, each of them with different cultural background, History, society. There is more difference between the legal/social status of a women in Tunisia and in Saudi Arabia than between a woman in Tunisia and Italy. There is a bigger cultural overlap between Morocco and Mali than between Morocco and Bahraïn. And maybe there is more difference between the lifestyle of cities and countrysides of one same country than between two urban areas of two different countries?  So what Arab World, what Arab men and women are we talking about? Mona El Tahawy mixes in a few paragraphs what happens to women in Egypt, Yemen, Saudi altogether and more or less assumes that in every Arab country women suffers from the sum of all these added abuses. The fact is, there is no “Arab feminists” or “Arab societies”, there is Egyptian/Moroccan/Saudi/etc feminists and societies, each country having its issues with women’s rights and its own battles to lead.

3) to forget to compare and consider the long History of feminism of other parts of the World. Mona El Tahawy looks to the women issues in the Arab World as if it was an isolated case in the world, as if what happens there is unique in its kind and could be understood only with cultural/religious backwardness of the region. While looking at women’s conditions in other parts of the world would have enlighted Mona (and us) about the fact that in particular political change and military conflicts can drive a drastic change for better or worse in women’s conditions. Is the dramatic condition of women in Afghanistan or Iran a result of cultural backwardness or is it at least partly due to political and geopolitical conditions, given the fact that less than 50years ago women in these countries were living freely? Why did the European feminism win its biggest battles between WWI and WWII and shortly after? Is there not any useful conclusions to make from the drift between women’s rights in Western and Eastern Europe? Mona speaks extensively about sexual harrasment in Egypt, why does she not compare with a country like South Africa where 40% of women are forced into their first sexual intercourse instead of comparing it less revelantly with the rest of Arab world?

Mona El Tahawy is an influential columnist; in consequence, her article launched a vast debate on women’s conditions in the Arab World on blogs and social medias. The fact she reaches wrong conclusions disconnected from reality is counterbalanced by the number of smart reactions and answers by women from Egypt, Kuwait or anywhere else that enlight us about field based experiences. If it had this effect, then at least it was worth it. Still, I hope in the future she takes care of not speaking on behalf of “Arab women”, especially when she apparently has never put a foot in most of the countries she mentions and thus never interacted with women from there.

The Rise of Hatred

 

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the french right wing party Front National and running for president won 20% of the votes at the first round of the elections. One has to compare not only with the 10% her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, won back in 2007, not even with the 17% back in 2002… but also with the scores back in the 80s, 90s, etc. The Front National was founded in 1972 and their results at presidential elections went from 0.5% in 1974 to 20% today. Meanwhile, their views and opinions about immigration and nationalism have not evolved. But as these views were marginal in France in 70s, they suit fifth of the french people who went voting today.

Years have passed and hostility towards migrants, muslims, africans, has grown more and more. Voting for Jean-Marie Le Pen was shameful in the 90s, Marine Le Pen and her attacks on french Muslims are now broadcasted on primetime shows. The rise of racism in Europe is worrying and should not been treated as it is today by ambitious politicians. The failure of democracy in Europe is that “moderate” parties think about how to please to right wing voters in order to attract them, instead of standing firmly for the positive values of democracy that are the only barrier we have to oppose to hatred.

De la vandalisation du drapeau tunisien

Comme tous mes compatriotes j’ai été choquée par l’acte de vandalisation du drapeau tunisien à Manouba (notez: j’utiliser le mot vandalisation et non désacralisation comme bcp de Tunisiens, car désacraliser c’est pour le religieux (Coran, nom de Dieu, tombes, symboles des autres religions) et pas pour le profane). Mais par contre, bien que choquée par cet acte, je ne le condamne pas aussi fermement que mes compatriotes; à en entendre certains c’est plus grave que de tuer qqn, or il ne faut pas perdre le sens des proportions. Disons que je me sens surtout triste pour ces gens qui ne se reconnaissent pas assez dans leur patrie en Tunisie et pour qui, par ailleurs, je ne partage aucune sympathie idéologique et encore moins après les agressions de personnes physiques qu’ils ont commises et pour lesquelles j’espère qu’ils vont être condamnés.

Le drapeau tunisien est certes un symbole national puissant, fort, fédérateur. Mais aussi chargé d’histoire, une histoire qui n’a pas toujours été clémente avec nous. Le drapeau tunisien, en son centre il a un croissant de Lune et une étoile, symboles nous venant des Ottomans. En quelque sorte c’est le symbole de la domination qu’on a eu sur nos ancêtres. Il y a des jours, j’ai envie d’enlever ce drapeau, non pas par manque de patriotisme – au contraire! que j’aime mon pays et je serai prête à mourir pour lui – et de mettre à la place un drapeau amazigh (ou alors de mettre les deux drapeaux côte-à-côte). Pas forcément le drapeau amazigh officiel que l’on connaît, mais dans notre longue Histoire, nous les Numidiens, les Ifriqyiens, nous en avons eu des tas d’étandards choisis par nous-mêmes et pour nous-mêmes – en l’absence de ces étandards, bien sûr le drapeau amazigh fait l’affaire, car il est beau, simple, il met l’humain au centre. Donc comme je disais de mettre un drapeau amazigh à la place. Et je ne ferais pas ca pour me cliver du reste de mes compatriotes tunisiens, mais parce que sans qu’ils en aient conscience, ce drapeau les représente bien mieux qu’un symbole ottoman, pour leur dire qu’ils n’ont pas eu à attendre la colonisation d’un autre peuple pour être eux-même une patrie, une civilisation.

Mais je ne le ferais pas, car j’ai conscience que les autres l’interpréteraient comme un signe de haine, alors qu’au contraire ce serait par amour de mon peuple et de ma patrie que je le ferais. Solution moins radicale, parfois je rêve de faire juste un peu de cosmétique à mon drapeau, en extraire l’élément colonial ottoman et mettre à la place le symbole amazigh. Une sorte de drapeau néo-tunisien, néo-numidien ou néo-ifriqyien. Mais là encore, je sais que je serais mal interprétée…  Dieu sait que je ne suis ni séparatiste, ni anti-patriotique, ni “ethniciste”: j’ai juste cette embêtante manie de beaucoup, beaucoup tenir à la mémoire de mes ancêtres.

On the “Arab Maghreb Union” vs “Maghrebi Union”

Recently, during a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the “Arab Maghreb Union” the Moroccan Minister proposed to drop the term “Arab” in the name of the Union, in order to stick to the reality of Maghreb, a multicultural space where Amazigh (Berbers) and Black Africans coexist with Arabs (actually, who are not really Arabs, but merely Arabized Berbers). But the Tunisian Minister Rafik Abdessalam Bouchleka refused, arguing that Maghreb was Arab in terms of “civilisation, culture and geography”. Not only the geoagraphic argument is absurd (since when did Maghreb drift out of Africa and became part of the Arab Peninsula?), but the civilisation argument is the sign either of  intolerance either of ingnorance. Indeed, 45millions non-Arabs live in North Africa, why would we stick on all of us a wrong classification?

North Africa doesn’t exist only as a part of the “Arab World”, it also exists in itself: it has its own History, civilisation, numerous languages, ethnies. Egypt isn’t part of Arab Maghreb Union so is technically not concerned by this debate, but who is not aware of the fact that denying the non-Arab History of Egypt (Pharaonic) would be unacceptable for Egyptians? For the case of Maghreb, it is the same: denying the non-Arab past AND present is a denial to the identity of the land and its inhabibtants. As long as Maghrebi leaders refuse to stop to be just the satellites of the Middle-East, as long as they don’t listen to the people, asking for recognition and dignity, they will not drive us to the true democracy, the task we entrusted them with.