Global Voices Online

Nzhinga has been trying to persuade her young son that he should study and not rely on becoming a famous soccer star; after all, he might get injured and not be able to play. But her son has a solution. Jihad: “I know what I'll do! My wife will have a job.” Me: “What? What kind of man just lets his wife pay everything?” Jihad: “Well she was there when I made the money, she should help me out now that I can't play soccer.“

Hala, a Saudi blogger currently in the US, was invited to give a talk about the kingdom: “I wanted to say that we are moving in the right direction, faith practices are not forced on people, women are treated equally to men, we have money and we use it correctly to benefit all without discrimination. I had to say the truth and explain the logic or lack of it behind it. I found myself falling down in thought afterward, why simple humane reforms are so hard to reach?”

Heba, a blogger in Gaza, has decided to call it a day: “Since I do realize that writing about the situation is not actually contributing to changing any of it at the decision making level, I decided -in my blog second birthday- to end this beautiful fulfilling experience.”