I think it is time for change!

Oh, I’m not answering that question. Far too dangerous.

Hello,

i think it is important to get once a female leader in each country. In Germany there was a debate if a woman can manage this job as easy as a man or if she would get weak in a world who is dominated by men.

In the end we got 4 years ago a female chancelor Mrs Angela Merkel. And she was exactly the opposite of what the critics always said. For me it seemed she is stronger in a men world because they take more care of her

She got many thing going or achieved respectable compromises even in the European Union (each six month another country leads the Union and there are nearly 30 members to convince!).

Yes, i would definitely like to see more women in the highest political position. I would vote again for you!

Since the last week i also watch out for graphical tutorials especially Photoshop (as my new laptop had this software already installed, why not using it )

Keep up the controversial blog posts, otherwise there will be never a change in mind!

I think that for sure we need a female president/leader for an Arab country and even for non Arab countries
btw, those posters are really nice!!! My fave is the second one.

You look good in the posters.

bismillah you should become a queen! then your soft heart and gentle ways would overshadow the dominant iron fist of the male ‘kingdumb’. i think a few women leaders might actually change the pace of an entire country if the people believed in her enough. unite the arab world, unite the tribes and dissident sects. thats something i would love to see, but maybe not in my lifetime.

@Brian, not in our lifetime indeed

@Mona, the first one fits yo well!!

I’d love to see women incharge of an Arab country, I truely believe they are better and smarter than us.
However, 2 things I would hate:
1. Pink in our nation’s flag
2. Laws, regulations, or war declarations that might be launched when it’s that time of the month.

Very well done on the posters I think a woman can do anything a man can do & anyone who doesn’t think so is blind to reality – just my opinion

A change will never come unless it is initiated at some point of time. Now is as good a time as every other.

Love the first banner, it happens to be the combination of my country’s flag too

You are so adorable that I just wanna squish you!
On a serious note, I would like to see a woman leader/president/whatever take charge in an arabic speaking country. Jordan kinda has one.. I mean it’s Queen Rania and all.. but she’s still not in full leadership, and plus men don’t really listen to her.
But you wouldn’t believe how quickly the Middle East is changing, but our only problem is the mentality that takes forever to change. So hopefully it won’t take long for us to see great changes. Are you running for president?? That’ll probably be the day when I would actually go and vote.

it will never happen..

The defining arab sin is .. *drum roll please*… PRIDE!

Good luck convincing an arab male, especially one who has acquired power, position, and influence to follow a woman as a leader. Ain’t gonna happen.

Before we start thinking about women leaders.. we need to fix a host of other issues.

@Brian

Another Brian? hmmm…interesting….lol

Even though I’m a very liberal MALE Arab, my opinion is incredibly biased against ANY conservatives from the Bush years.

As long as she’s liberal, then I would vote for her.

In general I’d say women do a better job than men in leadership positions. I know this sounds weird due to the stereotype of women being more emotional than men, but my experience with bosses leads me to believe women aren’t driven by ego as much as a lot of guys are. Being arrogant and egotistical can be a bit of a plus in some professions but it’s an ugly trait in a leader! Just my 2 cents worth!

Thaer – “2. Laws, regulations, or war declarations that might be launched when it’s that time of the month.”
What you say is the equivalent to saying “I would not want a black leader, because they are bushmen.”

Both of the sayings, if brought forward in a work context and a discrimination lawsuit is subsequently filed will get you convicted of sex discrimination instantly.
Maybe women should start to bring forward inappropriate statements on men’s competence when in a “hormonal state”. I do not want to state that publicly, but I think everyone can think of a degrading statement on men’s hormones to deprive them of professional credibility.. and then imagine that said out loud in a conference room. Pretty unimaginable for men to have something as irrational and degrading said to them, for women in sexist professional surroundings (which is just about everywhere) it is everyday life&hassle.

And many of the Arab worlds problems need not be solved before thinking of a female leader, they are all interconnected. First of all females should be tired of being kept waiting until “more important” issues are settled – not being able to make the career one deserves intelligence and talent wise is a pretty important thing for the individual concerned – and also think of what problems the Arab world has:
Raving nationalism, hostility even towards fellow Arab countries, disputes in the Arab league? This is about men and the cultural definition of virility and “real men”, their pathetic ways of blocking progress for their own egos. Females are not socialized in this egomanic way at least in the Arab culture, they are rather socialized to submit their own ego to the bigger good, sustained good relations, family, kin, nation. So quite obviously there is a great chance of more progress without egomania with female Arab leaders.
what else? fundamentalism? terrorism? all predominantly male playgrounds. The playgrounds for complexed men, to be exact.
Also the butchering of people you do not like, of other sects or ethnicities – a male monopoly in Arab society at least.
What else, analphabetism and poverty? Women are socialized to care for the poor to a greater extent than men.
Also male power elites have an interest in keeping the poor poor and uneducated – the authoritarian power exercise of presidents in many Arab countries. Think Egypt.. Women have a more participative leadership style – they lead a team rather than elevating themselves to the greatest leader ever (which the men in power seldom are – they just have the army and secret police backing them, and put everyone who disagrees in prison..)

So whatever problem in the Arab world I can think of, they are connected to a Arab male power monopoly, and will remain in place as long as their is no justice, diversity, and compassion for the ones in bad living conditions. And as long as not the brightest heads lead, but the ones born with the right family name, ethnicity, sect or religion, and gender.

@Dina

Whoa… I completely disagree!

It is my experience that women can be just as evil, unfair, and cruel as any man alive. The differnce I find is that with most women, actions are a by-product of emotion. I see it happen daily.

The point is.. men and women are a balance to each other on the big scale called “society”. Each side of the scale has to work correctly for the balance to happen. At the moment, neither side is behaving as it should at all. As long as education, culture, and social dogma remains as it is.. things will not change. and a woman in a leadership role with the way things are now, would get even LESS done than a man. If the men around her don’t end up wasting her time; she herself will waster her time in her attempt to get even with said men.

Everything must change. Not just the gender at the top.

Dina :
“Females are not socialized in this egomanic way at least in the Arab culture, they are rather socialized to submit their own ego to the bigger good, sustained good relations, family, kin, nation.”

No offense.. but what decade are you in? What you are talking about is the traditional female role.. a role which has been attacked, abused, and practically disintegrated by the media and women themselves for the past five decades. Women like that do not exist anymore. Today, women are just as egotistical as men, with an added air of self-rightiousness. And arab women especially tend to care more about money and status than good society.

You can’t just assume that a woman would be a kind, benevolent leader. In fact, like a man, she’d have to be a pretty ruthless person to get that far. So on a global scale I’d say just gender won’t make a difference. But oh! The amount that could be done for women is immense. Look at Benazir Bhutto, as far as I know she changed a lot of legislation in favour of equality between the sexes, something the muslim world seems to be a little behind on.

As much as I would love to see women ruling the world, it’s not going to happen. Selfish men will not let us do the job they obviously couldn’t do. Everywhere is a mess right now…thanks to those creatures. So my answer is that she won’t take seriously.

Women in many parts of the Arab world already participate in various levels of their respective governments, so it isn’t too far off that women will eventually be at the top of those governments. But for some countries that are ruled by monarchies, I don’t think any person, female or male, can just insist on making themselves heads of state.
And keep in mind a country’s problems will not just disappear with a simple exchange of hats. When a group of people need something done, most will look for a person who can take care of those needs, whether the person is male or female. Yes, believe it or not, that includes the Arabs.
Many in the Arab world are poor. Some, especially the elderly, may not have completed college or even high school. But don’t underestimate the grasp of understanding most Arabs have of the issues around them. I don’t know what your backgrounds are. But whether you have a high school diploma or a Ph.D., recognize that most people (male and female) in the Arab world understand and can analyze the events around them just as well as you can. If they feel that a circumstance requires an intervention from a person qualified to deal with that situation, they will want that person to intercede, regardless of their gender.
It is probably true there would be resistance from some in the Arab world who do not want to have a person as a president or prime minister just because she is a woman, which is unfortunate. Many women have the potential to do an excellent job. An example in this country is Hillary Clinton. Some women, you may not feel she can do as well. An example of that is Sarah Palin, even though she was running as VP. (For these two individuals, this is just my opinion. If you are a conservative, you could switch the two names around.)
Sooner or later, a woman is going to head a Middle Eastern or North African country. And it could go really well or it can go not as well as hoped. And yes, a country’s problems will not just go away over any person’s term as president. If a woman is elected, however, she does have the same ability as a man at least get something started.

I think she will be killed. Mona, please don’t do this. Who is gonna run your blog? lol. I am just playing. Run for a change but keep in mind Muslims especially arabs are close-minded about women and higher status in leadership and they will not tolerate with such thing. May Allah help our Ummah. Ameen

“You can’t just assume that a woman would be a kind, benevolent leader.”
No, I am not assuming that. You are right in that the pressure on her, the expectations she might be too “weak” or “soft”, and not rule with an “iron fist” might push the one woman in power to be tougher than most men, and quicker at war. But that is because there is sexist pressure on her, stereotype that she might be soft. (It happen with Turkish PM Tansu Ciller, who waged a war against the Kurds, the “Iron Lady” etc).

Ahmed, there is no doubt women in many societies, and particularly in the Arab one are still socialized to sacrifice somewhat more for the family. To be slightly more responsible. The young guys can run around because they have “crazy blood”, they need to be a bit wild etc. The girls need to have more responsibility within the family, for younger siblings, for the parents etc. even if this will not be the case for every single individual, when ethical attitudes in college are tested in many countries women are ahead.
I am NOT saying this is biological and women are the better human beings, this is socialization from childhood on to be less individualistic, to care and sacrifice more in the family.

Well and societies where gender stereotypes are less strong like in Northern Europe, there is another balance. Not everything breaks down, but you have softer men and women, and tougher men and women. It still is a balance, a different kind of a balance.

@Mona

True Islam freed women from the biggest slavery of all. However, at some point after our beloved prophet’s death, men started to use religion as a tool to control women’s minds and bodies and that is why you will see a lot of women not supporting a Muslim woman running for a leadership position. They are programmed that our position in this society is to cook, clean and raise the children. Don’t get me wrong, that is the most important job a person can have; to be able to raise a family by nurturing and caring for them. However, this option is not for every woman. We are all different and have different interest in life. I hope the light of Islam shines again but I am just happy that we have come so far from the time we have been buried alive because we were a female. Alhamdulilah to Islam.

Dina :

I am NOT saying this is biological and women are the better human beings, this is socialization from childhood on to be less individualistic, to care and sacrifice more in the family.

I think this got to do more with nature rather than societies. Females are more socialized by nature than males , even in the animal kingdom you see this sort.
There are some exception though, not every female is like that.

By the way , I see no reason why a woman shouldn’t be a president in an Arabic country , taking the stereotypes aside,
I would support her and I think many Arabs would, as long as she is Muslims. =)

i have to comment to the christian arab women for president.
thats true an arab is an arab, but religion would play a HUUUUUUUGE part in letting a christian running for president, imagine if she makes the azaan go quiter for fajr, and through ramadan ALL stores have to be opened during daylight hours because it might be “bad for the economy”, its just weird, and like benazir bhutto im 100 % sure in the long run there will be a bullet in her head. seeing as majority is muslim, and she might want the minority to get the sweeter part of the cake. its kind of like why dosent a muslim run italy, masjority is catholic christian, what would you say if you heard such a thing ?

other then that i really came here to say
ommmmmmg, wallah that second picture is sooooooooooooooo beautiful mashallah !!!!!

and seriously being a 2 month reader of your blog, i seriously would of voted for you if you someday ran, you have really good veiws in life, and prolly would of put stupid men in their asshole places.

I believe that religion and politics should be separated, that way it’s all about the person and not what religion they follow.
And that’s all I am commenting on.

@Jazzy

You make some interesting points, but in Lebanon the president is Christian and the prime minister is Muslim, and people in Lebanon can still practice their religions. And there are Christians who are Palestinian and Syrian who are active in their governments.

One thing I would agree with you, it is hard for someone from a religion or culture of which the majority does not belong to run for office. Not that it cannot be done and be beneficial to the country. We elected someone who is African American in the US, and he is an excellent president. In South America, there have been Arabs who served as head of state. However, I think it is highly unlikely that people in most other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa would consider for the position of prime minister someone who is not the same religion or ethnic background as the majority. And there are many in those same countries who could not give you an objective reason why. So this isn’t something unique to the Arab world. But religion and politics are a different topic than gender and politics.

But just to mention, a Christian could serve as an effective head of state, even in the Arab world. Of course, maybe more effective in some countries than others.

@Mona
80% woow, I didn’t know that but they still make up small % of Muslims over all.

@mo
Woow again, there are Christian Palestinians…very interesting. Either way, a muslim country cannot be ruled by a non muslim person due to the Sharia law. Basically, the non-muslim person would not rule the country according to the Quran and the sunnah so there is no use for that type of government in our society as Muslims. However, I am sure there are better non-muslim leaders in the World who would rule the country with justice but we just cannot take a chance with them. We have to work with what we got. Anyhow, Mona, what is your agenda as a leader? what would you change if you had the choice to rule your country or any other Muslim country that is in despair at this moment? Looking forward to hear from you. Take care

@Somali_Girl

But there are different styles of government in the Middle East. Like Syria, yes most people are Muslim but it is secular. The same with the Palestinians. Lebanon, who knows who is the majority, but it is secular. And there are other Arab countries the same way. But those countries aren’t like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, etc.

Mona :
@j♥e
Why can’t a Christian Arab woman be president? An Arab is an Arab. Doesn’t matter what the religion is!

The majority of Arabs’ countries are Muslims, all others are minority , I don’t want minority to run my country + I think it stands against Islam for christian to rule a Muslim’s country.

Somali_Girl :
@mo
a muslim country cannot be ruled by a non muslim person due to the Sharia law. Basically, the non-muslim person would not rule the country according to the Quran and the sunnah so there is no use for that type of government in our society as Muslims. However, I am sure there are better non-muslim leaders in the World who would rule the country with justice but we just cannot take a chance with them. We have to work with what we got.

+ 1 for you , I think you captured most Arabs and Muslims views on this matter =)

@Mona
I know the Christians originated from Palestine but I didn’t know the people who are being oppressed by Israel included Christian Palestinians. Thanks for enlighten that for me. Talking about that, I was just watching last week this movie called “paradise Now” I am sure you have heard of it but it really made me sad. It’s so awful to see such young lives being wasted away in the most unpredictable violence in the world. May Allah increase their iman and patience inshallah.

And about your ideas, they are really great but easier said than done. The damages that have been caused by the leaders before you will take many years to fix it but I hope Allah to help you with your mission because if the change starts with you, the future generation will rip the fruits of your hard-work inshallah. Btw, this might something to keep yourself busy with so you don’t feel depressed. And I really wish I had the same strength as you because my country Somalia, I am not sure if you are aware of it or not has been on some stupid civil close to 20 years now. Many have died and the rest are dying on endless war. They form little violence groups using the name of Allah. I hope they get what they deserve and who knows you might just encourage me to run that country if you actually become the leader you can be.

p.s. You have my vote

@mo
I understand where you are coming from but I need you to understand that Islamically wise, it’s not even recommended to elected a non-Muslim as our leader because our leader is supposed to help our society move forward spiritually, financially, and most of all educational wise and only Allah knows if we can find a non-Muslim that is willing to do that for us. I am sorry but we cannot trust a non-Muslim because today almost everybody cares about power and only Allah knows if a non-Muslim has the best interest in heart for us. Therefore, let’s deal with our own issues first and then maybe think about alternatives we have.

@Mona
Have Moo cards printed up! =) You kinda look like Paula Abdule in that second one.

Paula when she was younger and hipper, that is.

Nizam al-Mulk a member of the Persian Government back in the day writes,
“In every age and time God (be He exalted) chooses one member of the human race and, having endowed him with goodly and kingly virtues, entrusts him with the interests of the world and the well-being of His servants; He charges that person to close the doors of corruption, confusion and discord, and He imparts to him such dignity and majesty in the eyes and hearts of men, that under his just rule they may live their lives in constant security and ever wish for his reign to continue.”