Guest Speakers for Women in the Middle East Group

Today we had two guest speakers come into class to discuss what life is like for women in Islam and the Middle East. I think Gular was a great speaker and she definitely knew a lot about how women are affected by the Quran in Islamic countries. I found it interesting how she came to the United States and why she decided to stay. Gulnar came to the United States in January of 1981 to come live in Kalamazoo with her husband who was a graduate student at Western. She said her family started from scratch and that she went to college for four years, but never dreamed of coming to U.S. to earn a higher degree because she couldn't imagine leaving her family. Once she married her husband in 1980, she decided to join him in the U.S. with both of them having every intention of coming back. She had her daughter in 1984 and soon started to settle into American life. When she would go back to Pakistan she began noticing the uncomfortable living conditions. Cold water showers and power outages, she soon became more inclined to stay in Kalamazoo. She realized that Kalamazoo had become her home. I also found it interesting that several of the 99 names for God are female-based. It definitely reinforced the idea that Islam is a pro-women religion. I liked how Gulnar said that she feels that Prophet Muhammed was one of the first feminists. She gave a lot of great information, but for it being my group I was very disappointed with how today went. I felt like it would have been more educational for the class if Gular were allowed the full amount of time to finish her presentation and to take maybe 30-40 minutes to answer questions and further a discussion. I think a lot of great questions would have come up because my peers are very insightful and a great discussion could have ensued. If we had maybe one more day, I would have had the second speaker come in another day then on a third day we could have compared the two different upbringings of these women. There was too much information to digest today much less have an educational class discussion. The discussion was significantly hindered by not allowing the speakers to fully answer questions. There was so much interruption I don't feel that students really got an inside look to what life is like for women living in the Middle East and Islam. I felt these women weren't given the respect or the time they deserved. Hopefully, the rest of our project will go better.

Memed, My Hawk

Yesterday, we finished reading Memed, My Hawk and had a class discussion. It was a coming of age novel about a boy whose family is being starved and punished by a controlling landowner. He runs away at first to escape the constant beating by the Agha, but being away from home for so long he begins to feel guilty for leaving his mother and his responsibilities. He is captured and returned, and tries to solve his problems before his family starves to death. He becomes a brigand and fights for the Agha for his family and village. A brigand is an outlaw and highly romanticized within the novel. The villagers appreciate brigands because they are fighting for their land, rights and lives. I think in some ways we romanticized outlaws in our history. Yes, they were criminals, but if we look back to old Western stories of highway robbers those are romanticized as well. Outlaws like Billy the Kid, Jesse James, and Butch Cassidy have had films made about them or books written on them. I think there are a lot of similarities we can draw between our culture and that within Memed, My Hawk.

Dr. Mirzeler and Turkey Group's Short Stories

Today, Dr. Mirzeler came into our class today to introduce the book Memed, My Hawk to us. He started by explaining to us his youth then related his experiences back to the novel. I was surprised by the beauty of Turkey that Dr. Mirzeler showed us in his pictures. He showed us all different types of landscapes in this country; I loved all the medieval castles the most. I assumed, like most Americans, that the Middle East was all desert with no other descriptive landscape. In reality, there are mountains, valleys, deserts, swamps, and everything in between. He discussed the Turkish culture being based primarily on agriculture and how Roman/Greek remnants are still around from previous occupation. Even though this occupation was hundreds of years ago. Dr. Mirzeler told us of a bridge that was built and how no one can seem to figure out how. The current was so strong, and the bridge itself is very secure, despite being over 2000 years old. He also discussed honor killings, and how men are never involved in being killed, but Dr. Mirzeler himself would have been a victim of the cycle of violence had it not been for the quick thinking of his mother and other family members. I was dumbfounded by this, we see it on television or hear about it...but never really experienced it. I couldn't it is unthinkable, imaging have to make a decision like that. To harm one of my family members is not even worth considering to me. I read the short stories on Sunday and found them getting progressively more difficult to understand. "World for Sale" was the most understandable for me, but the man seems to have a very depressing life. To lose not only your wife, but your child as well and another family member on top of that would be unbearable. But it seemed as if the man had a disconnect with reality. There was not a lot of emotion, maybe because he was so numb from all the pain he couldn't feel anything anymore. I think what he wanted to do with the money was profound as well..."So this kind-faced, unkempt man sitting in the corner of the coffeehouse is the man who wanted to buy the world." Everything was taken away from him, so he wanted to buy the world to make up for everything he couldn't have. The next two stories we more difficult for me to understand. It wasn't that they were hard to read, more that the subject matter was difficult to grasp. I'm hoping that we discuss them in class tomorrow to have a better idea of their meaning.

Honor Killings in Turkey

Today we watched the documentary called Women on the Front Line in class. It was about the honor killings in Turkey and had a lot of unsettling information about these killings that I never knew. Going into the film, I assumed honor killings were where family members feel a certain member of their family as disgraced them. In order to restore that honor that person must be killed. This film showed me that many of these executions of primarily women are prearranged and done by a male family member. The film did not specifically define what a person would have to do to result in an honor killing, but in our class discussion we talked about rape being one of the main reasons. The woman, the victim is blamed for the rape and honor must be restored by killing her. How horrible is that? She suffers through an unimaginable act then is punished for it. I thought it was interesting how, while the film did not condone honor killings, they portrayed the murderers in a victimized light. It was said that there is a significant amount of social pressure that if the men assigned to kill their family members do not follow though, other men may kill them. One of the limited statistics in the film said that while currently the rate of honor killings has fallen; the amount of suspicious suicides has drastically risen. Families are beginning to try to disguise honor killings as suicides or play them off a murders because the punishment is greatly lessened for murders. One would spend life behind bars for an honor killing, while he would only get 7 years behind bars for murder or nothing for suicide. One of the women being interviewed said that laws alone cannot stop the honor killings, cultural codes must change first. I could not believe that these families are trying to disguise honor killings as suicides. To me, it seems like it defeats the purpose. Whatever the person has done they have publicly shamed their family. To now publicly commit an honor killing would not should everyone that the honor has been restored. I just could never kill any member of my family for any reason at all, no matter what they did.

Paradise Now

One of the very first things I noticed about watching Paradise Now was the military presence and when there was sound of gunfire how everyone ducked, but still went on with their business as if nothing happened. I was also surprised as the ease with which the characters discussed suicide. For Americans, it is still such an abstract idea even though it happens everyday. It's a taboo subject, but within the film suicide can be discussed without even flinching because it is considered "God's will". I found a general similarity between the novel Gold Dust and this film, which was once women get involved everything becomes complicated again. I was surprised by the irony of when they were taping the reasons for their suicide missions, that the camera breaks and he must be filmed again. It gives him a second chance to think about his decision. The phrasing used in this film was interesting as well. The fact that the decision itself was "God's will" and they are martyrs for a cause, not chosen by chance. Everything has purpose and I think this is how Khaled and Said are convinced that suicide is necessary. I can't imagine the feeling one would have, having a live explosive strapped to themselves. The terror going through their minds. I was shocked when Jamal said, "when the first one carries out the operation, don't watch him do it." I couldn't believe that this was said given the seriousness of the issue at hand.

Two Short Stories

I think the two short stories were an interesting choice in comparison to Gold Dust. I personally liked the Lawsuit better. I think it is a little more relateable except for the fact the father has more than one wife. But despite this, I took the new wife to be someone like a younger stepmother. A situation where the original mother is still involved, but the new mother is causing a significant amount of drama within the family. I thought it was interesting to see how she brought the lawsuit upon her "own family." I don't blame the family for being concerned about finances. I figured if the father didn't use a bank, his family would be more concerned for where it was being kept and who was taking money out of it....This whole situation really reminded me of step family within our own county and how it's portrayed in the media.

Gold Dust

I thought the novel Gold Dust was an interesting book. The main character, Ukhayyad, seemed like he was a very awkward man. In the beginning, he has all of these tremendous dreams of what he will do with his camel, but they come crashing down around him while he is trying to prove what a wonderful animal he has. The same thing happens when Ukhayyad has dreams of flirting with women, but then his camel ruins the moment because of a fight the camel has with another over a female. Ukhayyad has an undying love for his camel and it shows, not only in the way he treats his camel, but in his other relationships where he has put the camel above anyone or anything else. I was reading Ashley's blog about this novel and I totally agree. It does remind me of how friends of mine are with their own horses. A few girls I know would do anything for their animals, spend enormous amounts of money so these animals are happy. Its a difficult thing for me to understand because I have never felt that kind of love for an animal. But maybe in the same ways it's similar to a relationship with a human. To find an animal you make a connection with, that does not judge and accepts you for who you are. Maybe if one can find it in a person, they can find it in an animal as well. However, I think for Ukhayyad, his love for the camel has become so huge it does not allow him to make any connections with humans, especially women. "He despised women because, now, he looked at things with his eyes rather than his heart; and as his feelings melted into cool reason, Ayur's magic began to dissipate." I always think there is an issue when something becomes so important to a person they began to lose out on important and necessary human connections. I hope that Ukhayyad realizes what is happening because of his love for this camel.