A friend in Saudi Arabia

I can hear them say

how much everything has changed

over the years.

A friend of mine

just moved to Saudi Arabia;

she cannot leave her house

without her husband;

her gender encircles her life,

what she can do,

and what she can’t.

Windows close to the ceiling,

 heads wrapped in abayas,

cars with male drivers.

“I brought you your woman,” somebody

said to her husband,

announcing his belonging.

 The world is busy praying.

Justice does not fit in our mindsets.

Freedom is  a frail word

with fragile bones, 

     elusive
 as a forsaken dream

whenever you believe

that every woman is ready to submit.

Julia Hones

In Saudi Arabia women are not allowed to study or work without the permission of a male family member. They are not allowed to drive, and they cannot travel overseas unless they have the consent of a man.
I dedicate this poem to the women in Saudi Arabia who are silenced or beaten whenever they try to change their situation.
 I dedicate this poem to the victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia. The ones who don't belong to the statistics, the women and kids whose silent suffering is forgotten by the world...

http://www.dw.de/women-in-saudi-arabia-are-caught-in-a-system-of-gender-apartheid/a-17330976
http://www.dw.de/freedom-not-luxury-brands-makes-you-complete/a-17186662
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/saudi-arabia/report-2013
http://nypost.com/2014/04/19/a-saudi-arabian-princess-reveals-her-life-of-hell/

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Marin Luther King

Mozart's Sister and some reflections

 "Hope is the thing with feathers
  That perches in the soul,
 And sings the tune without words,
 And never stops at all."
Emily Dickinson

  First some more good news! My short story "The Broken Wing of Your Ideal" was selected for the Freedom Forge Press Anthology, which will be released in July 2013.
 Dear followers, thank you so much for your ongoing support! It means a lot to me.
 A few days ago I watched the movie Mozart's Sister.After watching this movie I wondered about all the talent that has been squandered for so long. Scientists, artists, writers, musicians. Have you ever thought about this?

  Even today, in many cultures, being a woman still means being a second-class citizen.
  In Saudi Arabia, a rich nation, women need permission from their husbands- or a male relative if they don't have a spouse - to work, study or travel. They are not allowed to drive, and millions of them are not allowed to practice sports.
  Last January people took to the streets to demand reforms, but they were intimidated, punished and harassed by the government. As I write this, more people are detained for protesting. You can read about this matter here:
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/01/world/meast/saudi-arabia-protest/

  Not too long ago, a woman was almost killed in Pakistan for supporting education for girls..
  In many cultures, having  a baby girl is considered a bad situation. Girls are less likely to have access to  education. They are denied property rights and are forced to marry young.  An interim report from the Global Campaign of Education  states that girls cited parental preference for their male siblings. To read more on this, check this link:
http://www.campaignforeducation.org/en/campaigns/gender-discrimination
www.theirc.org

   In certain countries and cultures, thousands of little girls are subjected to genital mutilation (clitoridectomy or infibulation), a procedure performed without anesthesia, and associated with several complications including infections, bleeding and chronic pain.
  If you think that gender discrimination is a problem of the past where you live, think again. Are you not biased by the idea of gender? A study done at Yale  showed that both men and women faculty were equally biased by gender when they assessed their students. Here is the link to the study.
  "Female faculty members were just as likely as their male colleagues to favor the male student. The fact that faculty members’ bias was independent of their gender, scientific discipline, age, and tenure status suggests that it is likely unintentional, generated from widespread cultural stereotypes rather than a conscious intention to harm women."
Not surprisingly, there is a study that shows that there is disparity between men and women in the workplace. Women earn less money for working the same number of hours, and the more hours they work the less they make compared to their male counterparts.

   So when does the problem start? Pre-school perhaps?
   The first step to end gender discrimination is to acknowledge it. Both men and women are responsible for eradicating the biases from their minds.
   It is a work in progress...