The insecurity of women in the Middle East

Let’s talk about it!

To discuss the insecurity of women in the Middle East, can be seen as a presumptuous attempt to foster prejudice against the Palestinian society. However women’s rights are an inherent part of human rights, and to ensure development in the region it is imperative that it is not forgotten or neglected.

I was sexually assaulted last week on a morning walk in a small countryside village. It was scary, and I was shaken. My initial reaction was to not discuss the event with people back home, as it would not only make them worried, but also emphasize a problem rather than all the positive aspects in Palestine. There are many positive aspects found in the Palestinian society.

Yet it remains questionable if a Palestinian woman would have had the strength to report the incident. What for me was ten minutes of uncomfortable conversation, groping and come on’s with attempts to get me into the secluded olive trees, would get much bigger proportion for a sheltered Palestinian woman. That is not to say that the incident was acceptable, and everyone involved especially the locals were extremely supportive.

It should not matter that I am a woman. Every human being has the same rights. Yet it does matter, and here a part of everyday life is to accept the culture where women and men have different rules guiding their lives. This is not to say that one is worth more than the other, just that life here is different. Accordingly in a traditional society,  a man would normally not shake hands with or touch a woman, a woman would not go anywhere on her own, and normally it is the man or elderly in her company that is addressed. Even the Palestinian men I work with admit that they are more comfortable talking to my older colleagues than with me, just because they do not want to send out the wrong signals in any way.

When you are living in another culture, you have to respect their way of life. You adapt to the dress code, to the cultural standards and accept that your job is not to tell others how to live their lives or to judge. They have the same right as I do to cherish their culture, and if I want to visit them and work with them I am obliged to adapt. I meet with women in women’s centers, I put my hand on my heart when I greet conservative men instead of shaking their hands and I cover up in long sleeves even if I am visiting a Bedouin community in the desert.

After the incident, I admit that I have become more aware of the insecurity that I face by being a woman. I am a blond, western, woman in her 20s and I receive attention. I am not hiding under a veil, and my job is to engage with the local community. People from back home reacted strongly, encouraging me to be more timid, compromise my initiatives and believes, for my safety. I beg to differ. To compromise my values, and believes, to hide who I am because of one unfortunate incident, would be to accept the insecurity of women, and not to fight for their equal rights.

Women can have bad experiences everywhere, women can be scared, and women can receive support from the community. It is important that we talk about it, so I am willing to admit that sometimes being a woman can be difficult, whether I am in Sweden or in the Middle East.