Unlike the past few years — starting from the time that I realised that Women’s Day actually existed and was celebrated around the world on March 8 — I got to celebrate my special day last week!
It started by getting an invitation to attend an event called: Free the Feminine — Sister Circle hosted by Lois Wagner. It took place on Friday the 8th. What made it special was knowing that similar circles were taking place in 85 countries around the globe. The event started with a global sisterhood meditation followed by a discussion on different themes. For example: the females’ role in creating a healthier and more balanced world and most importantly, the power of forgiveness.
What made our circle interesting was the fact that we had women from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. One of my self-discoveries was the fact that I came from a matriarchal family: I was surrounded by women who ran whole households singlehandedly. I was never stopped from doing something just because I’m a girl. The women in my country have equal rights to men. It was a moment of pure pride as I heard stories from other countries where women are still suffering from machoism.
Alas, we were running out of time and couldn’t finish many of the activities. But it was an uplifting experience that made me contemplate about powerful female perspectives that were shared within the circle. Two days later, I headed to Stal Art Gallery where an exhibition called: Untitled was taking place. Different art pieces of Omani young artists were on display.
I was happy to encounter the work of the same female artists that I wrote about a year back. Alaa al Dhiyabi was displaying: “Prison Cell”— a metal grille with many locks of different sizes hanging from it. In front of the display was a tall stand with the keys randomly piled for the spectator to look at. Many big locks had written phrases that were related to falling in love in a highly conservative society — where love is associated with wrong doing — such as: “We had to marry in the court, away from my family” and “loving someone from a different religious sect”. Opposite of it was the work of Sara al Balushi titled: “Barcode”, where a woman wearing an abaya and niqab holds a big barcode sign in her hand.
The instillation discusses the clash that most Arab women feel between living in the modern society and having to follow ancient traditions that at times feel shackling.
The Artist Nabaa Baqir presented three different photos labelled: “Don’t Look”. All the photos share a picture of a woman wearing a bronze coloured abaya with heels and a shocking veil made of black metal with gold screws.
Two of the photos shared the same feature: men staring. The instillation questions street harassment that women around the world face under the lame excuse of: they wear or act provocatively.
In Arab countries, girls are taught ‘walking on the street’ rules at a young age: don’t look, walk fast and walk straight. But Nabaa questions this cleverly: why are we always blamed for the behaviour of the others? Shouldn’t this attitude change? Other than the artwork, what made me happy was to see that the exhibition had different audiences — including young women. I left the exhibition feeling powerful and assertive.
My week was definitely going to be filled with many activities related to women’s day (excluding my visits to grocery shopping and the vet!). To start with, maybe coffee or a meal with a female friend to catch up. Female bonding old time style!
Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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