- Newsweek Examines Women's Rights in Kuwait
- In it's May 23rd issue, Newsweek (International Edition) will publish an article about women's rights in Kuwait. Despite the artcile's somewhat fair look at the current situation, the writer Carla Power (talk about ironic), fails to provide a full picture. Following are some comments:
- "Armed only with a dog-eared NEWSWEEK ID, I ambled through the gates of the National Assembly last week. Unscanned, unsearched, my satchel could easily have held the odd grenade or an anthrax-stuffed lunchbox. The only person who stopped me was a guard who grinned and invited me to take a swig of orange juice from his plastic bottle." Note: Due to the guard's good intentions, the westerner did not like the fact she was not searched. Had she been searched etc., her comments could have been something to the tone of "the guards fondled me in an attempt to search me." As for the "swig" of juice, what purpose does this comment serve?
- "Mariam Al-Enizi, 20, studying business administration at Kuwait University, doesn't think women need the vote. "Men are better at politics than women," she explained, adding that women in Kuwait already have everything they need. Welcome to democracy, Kuwaiti style." Note: It is appaling that a Newsweek reporter would anchor her story with two sources only. This source is a young woman, and due to the slow progress of democracy, her opinions are used here to make a Power point. The reporter should at least attempt to spotlight the opinions of intellectual Kuwaiti women, and not stop short. As for Kuwaiti style, i'm diassappointed to inform Carla that it requires two individuals from different genders. Therefore, she can never experience true Kuwait style. Rejoice Kuwaiti women everywhere, for Carla Power is here to rescue you from the caves of darkness!!!
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Women's Rights in Kuwait and Newsweek
After a short hiatus, we resume our news service.
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1 comment:
Tata_botata,
I agree that some of the things said were right, but my point is that if an Arab reporter said the same about a Western institution there would be calls for an investigation, finger-pointing, and a negative image towards the Arab reporter who would be seen as a person alerting the bad people out there to security gaps. But since this is a Western reporter, we welcome them and welcome whatever they say and life goes on. This is the problem with Kuwaiti officials. These officials view Western reporters as Angels while local reporters are shown the door. This perspective spilled over to other aspects of society (such as the guard at Majlis il Omma) who welcomed the reporter and did not see her as a threat. I hope this article rings some bells and Kuwaiti officials start treating both local and Western reporters more fairly. Honestly, I think Carla Powers, the reporter, did not have anything to say and needed to fill some space badly. Now that women's rights have been granted in Kuwait, I hope Newsweek publish a feature that shows an objective picture of Kuwait.
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