Rihanna’s SNL Performance – 5 May

It’s just one of those things…where do you even begin to break this down?

The best response and critique to FP’s “Sex Issue” and Mona Eltahawy’s piece: “Let’s Talk About Sex” via Jadaliyya

An excerpt:

We would suggest, as many have, that oppression is about men and women. The fate of women in the Arab world cannot be extracted from the fate of men in the Arab world, and vice versa. El Tahawy’s article conjures an elaborate battle of the sexes where men and women are on opposing teams, rather than understanding that together men and women must fight patriarchal systems in addition to exploitative practices of capitalism, authoritarianism, colonialism, liberalism, religion, and/or secularism.

Indeed, Mubarak’s authoritarian regime did not use the woman’s body alone as a site of its policies of repression and torture. El Tahawy cites Bouazizi several times as the spark of revolution in the Arab world. But she forgets Khalid Said, whose face—tortured and mangled beyond recognition—became an icon of the revolution. El Tahawy overlooks this shared experience of the body as a site of humiliation and pain. She does not see what Ahdaf Soueif powerfully explained: “As the tortured face of Khaled Said broke any credibility the ministry of the interior might have had, so the young woman in the blue jeans has destroyed the military’s reputation.” Indeed, the hatred of the people, women and men, has been a, if not the, unifying characteristic of colonial, neo-colonial, and authoritarian rulers in the Middle East and beyond.

In her sloppy indictment of Arabs, Muslims, authoritarian rulers, and Islamists, El Tahawy has papered over some messy issues that complicate her underlying message: liberalism is the solution. Why is female genital mutilation practiced widely in Egypt? Because men hate women. Why can’t women drive in Saudi Arabia? Because men hate women. Why are men and women against raising the age of consent in Yemen? Because men hate women. Hatred is a one size fits all answer. The use of hatred in this way is important. Hatred is irrational. It is a state or emotion. As Wendy Brown reminds us, such emotional or affective states are understood to be outside of, or unwelcome in, liberalism.

Read the rest of this piece at Jadaliyya written by the brilliant Sherene Seikaly and Maya Mikdashi

Dear Mona Eltahawy: You do not represent “Us”

Click here to read this post at Al-Monitor

Adl wal Ihsan march in Rabat – 11,000 or 40,000 or 100,000 depending on who you ask

March 25th, 2012, in front of the parliament in Rabat, Morocco, people protested against the participation of the Israeli delegation at the 8th session of the parliamentary assembly of the Mediterranean Union. (Photo REUTERS)

So today, the Adl wal Ihsan (AWI) movement staged a march in front of parliament. According to this article, ”Sunday’s march was to mark Land Day, when Palestinians recall 1976 protests over Israeli expropriation of Arab-owned land.”

I can’t help but wonder, was this really the reason behind the march? AWI is notorious for its anti-monarchy rhetoric. When they withdrew from the February 20th Movement after November elections, it seemed that since then, they were falling off the radar.  The article I cited above mentions Ali Anouzla’s comments that this was largely an effort to remind the regime of its presence in society. I want to take that further.

Moroccan solidarity with the Palestinian struggle is not controversial. It’s commonplace, at least from a civil society level (let’s ignore the regime’s ties with Israel and pro-Israeli lobbies for a moment). Out of all the recent human rights violations and injustices in Morocco, such as the suicide of Amina Filali after being forced to marry her rapist, torture and abuse against Ezzedine Eroussi for protesting in Taza, violent repression of protests in Rif, the arrests of Walid Bahomane and Abdessamad Hiddour, AWI chooses to publicly express dissent regarding a relatively uncontroversial matter.

What direction is AWI heading? Many hinted at a possible PJD-AWI integration after the split from the February 20th Movement. I personally believe it’s unlikely, but it’s worth a debate.  However, by essentially veering away from relatively controversial matters that would potentially deter public engagement, AWI–an already marginalized movement–could be using this march almost as an advertisement to the masses. Who knows?

The latest initiative to solve Morocco’s problems: National Chastity Day

Always expect Al Arabiya to be on top of any story on Morocco when it’s about sex. I tried reading through this piece on the proposed National Chastity Day by a certain Sheikh Abu Zaid who must have some dirty thoughts and a lot of spare time on his hands to put forth such a proposition.

This day, he said, will aim at fighting all “unchaste” phenomena that have lately invaded the conservative Moroccan society.

Oh, I see where this is coming from. This is about that new sex shop in Casablanca, right my pure and enlightened Abu Zaid? I’m sure if you ask someone, they’ll get you whatever you need. I heard they’ve got quite an assortment of products.

I mean, between a serious budget deficit, unimplemented political reforms, rising food prices, ongoing oppression of protesters throughout the country, let’s take a moment to evaluate this proposition of a “National Chastity Day.”

Penelope Cruz (or, technically, Maria Elena) will evaluate this for me:

My sweet, dear Abu Zaid. Are they printing Qurans with lead ink? Let’s say you sincerely cared about launching a nationwide initiative for the greater good of the Moroccan people, but still keeping it related to sex. I came up with a couple options for you:

• National Anti-Underage Sex Orgies With Foreign Dignitaries Day: Do we all remember this gem? An unnamed French minister paying young boys for sex, going protected by the Moroccan government. Let’s imagine how many other cases have gone unreported.
• Wait, how about just a National Anti-Underage Sex Prostitution Day: France24 ran a chilling report on the prevalence of underage sex prostitution in Morocco, namely in the tourist city of Marrakech. Watch it if you haven’t. You too Abu Zaid.
• National Human and Sex Trafficking Awareness Day: When this story came out last year about an elaborate ring of 13 people who trafficked women from Morocco to Abu Dhabi and forced them into prostitution, it went largely unnoticed by Moroccan media. I don’t recall hearing anything of it. And this market between Morocco and the Gulf is extremely lucrative, and has gone virtually ignored by Moroccan officials without a single policy set in place to crackdown on this. The U.S. State Department has a report on the rampant human and sex trafficking between Morocco and the Gulf. Can someone get this report to Abu Zaid?

Any other “national day” suggestions for Abu Zaid? Leave them below!

Jawad Ababou from Taza

19-year old Jawad Ababou from Taza, Morocco has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for taking part in the recent protests Koucha, a small neighborhood in Taza.

He was kidnapped by police and prevented from seeing his family, who for 6 days were completely unaware of his whereabouts. Police accused him of building bombs in his repair shop, which is shown in the above video containing no evidence of such claims. In the days he’s been held, his mother explains the evidence of torture on his body and how he has been deprived of any medical attention.

His mother also breaks down the accusations against her son, pointing out several contradictions in the police report filed against him. Namely, that the officer who was a “witness” to Jawad’s bomb-making drove past his garage when the road was entirely closed off. The officer has also contradicted himself with regard to what Jawad exactly had in his hand that indicated he was making bombs.

She breaks down in tears: “I’ve lived here for 18 years and all these young boys being imprisoned and accused of being terrorists are like my sons. They’ve done nothing wrong. What’s going to happen when they come out of jail? They’re going to become angrier and marginalized, and for what? For no reason.”

She hits such an important point. The security forces use a very dangerous tactic, whether it is intended or unintended. When someone has been wrongfully accused, tortured and abused, for a certain amount of time, he will build up anger and frustration. It’s no accident that the marginalization of opposing voices often results in the evolution of a peaceful protest to a violent one. And in the end, they will be accused of being violent all along. It’s horrible watching everything unfold in Taza since January, and especially that little is being said about it outside the city. I hope this woman and every other person wronged by the system finds justice. This can’t go on forever.

Clinton in Morocco

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with Morocco's Foreign Minister Saad Eddine Othmani in Rabat, February 26, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) via Al Ahram

Clinton: “I come from Tunisia, tomorrow I will be in Morocco. My message is the same: the people of the Maghreb are as talented, creative and hard working as people anywhere in the world.”

Oh. Thanks, I guess?

I want to point out something that might slip between the cracks. Clinton apparently met with former foreign minister/current royal adviser, Taib Fassi-Fihri, before she met Othmani. This says a lot.

1. Taib Fassi-Fihri was appointed by the king as a royal adviser weeks before Othmani was announced as the foreign minister.
2. The Moroccan constitution does not outline the legal duties of a royal adviser. The fact that Clinton met with Fassi-Fihri before meeting Othmani means that Fassi-Fihri is still relevant to Morocco’s foreign policy, despite him longer holding a position in that department
3. This goes out to all the people who said that even though Fassi-Fihri was appointed royal adviser, his position won’t hold any weight. LOL @ you.
4. I hope everyone noted that lovely portrait in the middle of the above picture.

Related – “US values ties with new Morocco govt” | United States Breaks Ground on New Embassy Compound in Rabat, Morocco | US/Morocco: Clinton Should Urge Legal Reform, Says HRW