today

eighteen years ago today iraq invaded kuwait. remnants of the invasion still exist--abandoned buildings, photographs of destruction, liberation tower (signifying the end of iraqi occupation--photo), and a country of people who lived through unimaginable war. 

my favorite part about kuwait--the people. well, there is one in particular: her name is mona. i ask mona questions about islam, kuwaiti history and the infiltration of american culture and she asks me why people in america live in self-created prisons, do not know their neighbors/family, and work such long hours. 

today mona and i went to the gillies of kuwait for some delicious lentil soup. driving to lunch we passed another fast food chain, this time mcdonald's, with prime real estate overlooking the gulf. i told mona i am used to really nice restaurants on the water, not mcdonald's. fast food is everywhere in kuwait. i asked mona when the fast food infiltration began--pre or post war.  she thought for a second, and said aloud, "well the invasion was august 2, 1990 and i think it was after that." august 2--that's today. 

conversation shifted. i asked mona if she minded telling me why her family stayed through the invasion when so many left. mona is palistinean. she told me what's the difference: war there, war in kuwait. why leave my home here? what can i say to that? i then asked her about the overall sentiment of kuwait when saddam was killed. her response, "why did the americans decide?" what you may also not know is saddam was killed on the eve of one of the most important muslim holidays, eid ul-adha.

the obvious question, are things better? i don't think anyone would argue the occupation had to end. perhaps the way it did and who decided is up for debate. 

workers rights

check out this article. i will not comment on a public blog about this--i could get myself in trouble. you probably know how i feel about the situation though. (fyi: 1 KD = $3.78)

here's other articles about the situation:

kuwait times

middle east times

gender

well it's about time. i bet you thought this was going to be one of my first posts--me too. but this whole gender thing isn't so simple.

last night as i was laying in bed  trying to fall asleep this is what i thought about: how can i most accurately convey how gender operates in kuwait (isn't that what you think about before you fall asleep?). the closest, albeit rough, parallel i came up with was de jure and de facto segregation. if you need a little civil rights history brush up, de jure segregation was segregation by law (separate water fountains, bathrooms, schools, etc.) after de jure segregation was outlawed a new form of segregation emerged; this was de facto. while de facto segregation is not ordained by law it still occurs in practice (generally racially homogenous schools, neighborhoods, etc.). what we have in kuwait is de jure segregation, in the united states, de facto. 

lets talk about kuwait first. gender segregation is ordained by law. i teach an all female class not because no male students wanted to enroll but because the university must adhere to the law that does not prohibit teaching co-ed classes (unless there's a divider separating male/female students.)  in kuwait there are also gender segregated spaces for saloons (which are super-popular), dining facilities, and some apartment complexes.  some, not all, women here wear  a hijab (head scarf) or a burka (full black outfit covering the body, head, and face.) some men wear dishdashas (long white robes). many wear neither. 

after six brief weeks in kuwait, i haven't arrived at any grand conclusions (nor would it probably be fair to do so.) again, me fumbling for words to describe something so complicated, it's just as if in kuwait, women know their place and men know theirs. 

ok, united states, you're up next. we have all these anti-discrimination laws and such which supposedly protect us from a lot of the stuff i'm referencing about kuwait. it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender in the us, not in kuwait. but, brace yourself, gender discrimination still occurs in the us! despite the equal pay act of 1963 white women make about 75 cents for every dollar a white man makes for the exact same job (and if you're a black or latino woman you make even less!). my students in kuwait couldn't believe this--in the united states, really? yep. 

which is better? i don't know. is it better to not be permitted to certain spaces solely based on gender or to have the illusion you have equal opportunity when in fact you don't? 

kuwait is changing though. women are breaking out of stereotypical feminine roles, challenging spaces, and demanding equality. and, shhhh, i think i've even met some feminists too. 

(below is a sign posted around campus from the anti-segregation committee).