Latest posts by Ayesha Saldanha from September, 2008
Palestine: Retaining a sense of humanity in Gaza
As the situation in Gaza deteriorates from one day to the next, many are struggling not only with the enormous difficulties of daily life, but with the change in values they see around them, in a society that has become dominated by Islamist thinking. In this post, a blogger in Gaza writes a passionate cry of despair.
Bahrain: The same racism everywhere?
Ali Abdulemam has just watched the film Freedom Writers – and thinks it describes Bahrain perfectly.
Bahrain: Mystery of the bowls
Maldita, a Filipina married to a Bahraini, has discovered why the plates and bowls at family gatherings never match.
Palestine: Ramallah bling
In the West Bank, Alajnabiya describes shopping for her daughter's wedding: “The problem is that I like looking at this stuff, but I really want to buy it and hang it on the wall to look at, not wear!”
Saudi Arabia: Compound life
Stranger in this Dunya explains what life on a compound in Saudi Arabia is like.
Saudi Arabia: Part of the tribe
Saudiwoman explains the significance of belonging to a tribe in Saudi Arabia: “To urban families, being called Bedouin has connotations of being unrefined and unruly. And in Bedouin families, being called an urban essentially means sissy.”
Saudi Arabia: Supercomputer to be developed
Crossroads Arabia reports that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology plans to build an IBM supercomputer.
Palestine: Prejudice in the USA
Palestinian blogger Laila El-Haddad has had an unpleasant encounter with a man in Virginia: “Free Palestine? Palestine's already free!!” he raged, gesturing to a bumper sticker on the back of my windshield as he began to walk away. … He then turned around and bellowed out “Why don't you go...
Saudi Arabia: The need for Saudi nurses
Saudi writer Sabria Jawhar argues that more Saudi women should become nurses: “Even in 2008 a stigma that nursing is a less than noble profession remains in Saudi minds.”
Saudi Arabia: Fighting hypocrisy
Saudi blogger Sara is tired of the hypocrisy she sees around her: “an example is people in ramadan do pretty weird things .. pretending to go to a religious lecture and they are not even interested in hearing what the guy has to say .. it’s just because there’s guys...
Bahrain: Hair-raising conversation
Sous, a Swede living in Bahrain, repeats a conversation she had with an Indian woman, who after finding out that Sous was fasting told her she should cover her hair: “Swede: Well, I’m thinking to shave it all off and then that problem is solved! Indian:No!…Aren’t you married? Swede: No....
Saudi Arabia: The need for laws not just education
Hala outlines her position on male guardianship over women: “I’m just a simple person who believes that although education about rights and wrong is important yet it’s not worthy without laws that protect the rights, since we can lead a horse to the water but we can’t make it drink…...
Saudi Arabia: Sarah Palin for Saudi?
American Bedu wonders whether Sarah Palin would make an ideal citizen of Saudi Arabia: “she favors creationist teaching instead of evolution…She does not believe in abortion… She ‘should’ know much about oil coming from the key American producing state.”
Saudi Arabia: Traditional menswear revitalised – meet the iThobe
The traditional apparel for men in Saudi Arabia is a long white garment called a thobe. Recently a number of designers have been transforming the look of the thobe by adding colour – even designing an iPod-friendly iThobe. What is the verdict of bloggers on the new styles?
Bahrain: Swapping plastic for paper
Bahraini blogger Mahmood reports on a local supermarket introducing paper bags instead of plastic ones – and interviews some of the customers for their opinions.
Saudi Arabia: Women and their drivers
“In Saudi Arabia you can tell a lot about a woman by her relationship with her driver. Yes I call it a relationship. Because, unlike anywhere in the world, drivers are a necessity and not a luxury that is used on a whim.” Read a description of the different relationships...
Arabeyes: Daily life during Ramadan
In this post we look at different experiences of everyday life across the Arab world during Ramadan. We hear how Palestinians are coping in Gaza, how an Italian deals with Ramadan in the West Bank, have a glimpse into a Saudi household about to break the fast – and get tips from Bahrain on how to curb profanities during the holy month.
Saudi Arabia: Anger at child marriages
Crossroads Arabia reports on the case of a girl who was married without even realising it: “Imagine going to get a new ID card and discovering that you’ve been married since you were ten years old.”
Bahrain: Lost in translation
Coolred, an American living in Bahrain, reflects on the difficulty of not knowing the language her children are being educated in: “As she quickly dug a book from her bag and proudly showed it of to me…all I could think of was the fact that it was written in Arabic…and...
Saudi Arabia: Trip down memory lane
Susie of Arabia reminisces about how she met her Saudi husband in 1977; he had an afro and bell-bottom jeans, and was playing pool: “I learned my first Arabic words that day, “Darba helwa!” which means ‘Good shot!’ “
Saudi Arabia: Is wearing nail polish permitted in Islam?
American Bedu has learnt than many Muslim women do not wear nail polish for religious reasons. Find out why here.
