by Natasha Tynes | Jun 29, 2006 | The Mideast
I have a confession to make: Kuwaiti women have renewed my hope in the Arab world, especially when it comes to the issue of Arab women’s rights. Kuwaiti women fought for years until they finally got the right to vote and run for parliament. It was today that we saw this materialize, as elections took place with the participation of female candidates for the very first time in the history of the Gulf emirate. The reason I’m so enchanted by this major step is because it is positive development amidst the plethora of heart-wrenching regional news.
The Washington Post ran a profile today of Kuwaiti female parliament candidate Rola Dashti. It is worth a read. In addition, Mona Eltahway wrote an article on this important development for the New York Daily News. Here is an excerpt:
Whether Kuwaiti women win any seats or not, they can rest assured that not only have they made history, but they are chipping away at the excuses that for too long have held back their sisters in Saudi Arabia, the regional powerhouse. Last year, Saudi women were denied the right to take part in their country’s first nationwide elections. Advocates of women’s rights there will surely seize on the sight of women in neighboring Kuwait voting and running for office to strengthen their own case for getting to vote in the 2009 Saudi elections. It is a big step in the right direction.
Indeed it is a big step and a very inspiring one as well.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 26, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Political mayhem
It seems efforts are underway to fight corruption in Jordan.
The Amman prosecutor general recently indicted 350 people on charges of corruption, a senior interior ministry official said on Monday. "Abuse of public and private posts has wrought havoc on our economy and development," said the official, preferring anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. "We need to send a message that Jordan is a safe country for foreign investors. We can only do that by cracking down on corruption."
The official went on to point out that, of the 350 indictments, at least 300 were handed out to members of the private sector. While he was unwilling to disclose the precise amounts of money involved in the cases, he conceded that some involved amounts in the millions of dollars. "Some cases involve hundreds or thousand of dollars, but others are in the tens of millions," he said. Source: [IRIN]
However, some remain skeptical.
"We have thousands of high-profile corruption cases, but they’re covered up by the government and influential personalities," said MP Abdul Rahim Malhas, who accused successive governments of "lacking serious motivation" for fighting corruption. "The past four governments used all kinds of rhetoric to announce their ‘wars on corruption’, but we later discovered that top officials from the same governments were themselves corrupt."
I guess one reason behind such cynicism is Jordan’s ranking in the official statistics:
In a 2005 report by corruption watchdog Transparency International, Jordan ranked 37th out of 145 countries in the world in terms of official corruption levels. The report ranked Jordan fourth in the Arab world, after Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
I think it’s best to take a "wait-and-see" attitude. Maybe Jordan’s shameful rating will improve after this new anti-corruption drive.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 26, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Shutterbug
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My wonderful friend Muna provided me with this historic photo that shows the late King Hussein as a young boy sitting in the lap of his grandfather, King Abdullah I. Isn’t it just priceless! Thanks Muna!
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by Natasha Tynes | Jun 24, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Shutterbug
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Reader Fred drew my attention to this Jordan-related photo on Flickr [click to enlarge]. From what I can see it is a snapshot of the arrival of a military convoy (I assume it is a British convoy) at Marka Airport. I just love old photos of Jordan.
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by Natasha Tynes | Jun 23, 2006 | Jordan, my nation, Religion
Renowned journalist Randa Habib, who heads the AFP bureau in Amman, reported in a column she writes for The Jordan Times a very disturbing situation. Here is an excerpt:
One of my readers called to tell me about this shocking problem: she works for a Christian who is in the field of education, but her boss is being refused any supply of books from departments that depend on the Ministry of Education. Why?
Well she is told that they will never provide books to this "kafer" (non-Muslim) whom they described as filth." My reader, a Muslim herself, was appalled and told those men that their attitude has nothing to do with Islam and its precepts of tolerance. But her speech had no effect on them. On the contrary, they criticized her for working for a non-Muslim.
My reader was very distressed when she called me, and told me that her boss is in fact thinking of emigrating. When I suggested that a complaint be filed, my caller expressed skepticism over the outcome. "Someone higher up in the Ministry of Education must know that such things are happening," she said. Do they?
The most disturbing part for me is that the bigot in this instance happens to work at a department related to the Ministry of Education, of all places. What kind of education is this person trying to instill in the youth of the kingdom? An education of intolerance, bigotry and hatred? Should I begin worrying about upcoming generations? Will this bigot’s brainwashing techniques ever reach them? It really disturbs me to see this happening in Jordan, which, in my opinion, remains a model of co-existence between Christians and Muslims. Hat tip: [Jordanblogger]
