Gender neutrality. A dream?

I read Women can’t program or understand Math today. I have been thinking about several related and other extrapolated issues these couple of days.

I think it all starts from the beginning: from when parents find out the gender of the baby or when the doctors pulls the baby out of his mother’s womb and says: “It’s a boy/girl!”. After that, it’s blue or pink; miniature cars and Barbie dolls; pants and dresses, karate and classical ballet. And the list goes on…

Culture is not made of rock. It evolves. But many still hang on to their rock because they are afraid to be pushed out of their comfort zone. What do I mean by that?

Why would a man mind his wife or daughters to work?
Why would a man be hurt if his wife or the girl he is interested in is making more money than he is?
Why would a woman be paid less than a man for the same job when no one has made better results than the other?
Why would a man be offended if a woman invites him out and pays the bill?
Why are the military called “pussies” when not up to what is expected from them?
Why is a man labelled a “weeping woman” when he cries in public?
Why does it bother the whole neighborhood when a 6 year old boy puts up a butterfly costume on Halloween?
Why is one gender labelled “weak & soft” and the other “strong & rough”?
Why are women put under constant observation and are pushed to “prove” themselves?

I am glad that my parents never put me in a “pink” box. I may dress in a skirt and wear high heels; but it doesn’t mean that I like them. I don’t HAVE to. I took Kung Fu classes and I took dancing classes. I can watch all kind of science documentaries for hours and I always wonder how things are made. I like technology… But yet again

When I wanted to learn how to change a flat tire safely by myself, I was given “the look” – “A man will stop and help you with it. Why would you need to learn that?”
When I say I like driving off-road and other “male” dominated sports, I’m give “the look”.
When I ask a male engineer to explain how something is made, he smiles and says “It’s too complicated; you wouldn’t understand it anyway.”
When I asked a math or physics teacher about a certain concept back in school he say “That’s the way it is” yet engage in an explanatory 30 minutes discussion when my boy-classmate has a question about the same concept.

The sum of all this brainwashing made that today many functions have become one gender dominated. And when a member of the opposite gender comes in, he/she is given a one way ticket to hell. Female surgeons, male nurses, female engineers, male classical ballet dancer, female car mechanics, male make up artist, female machine operators & drivers, male stay-at-home-to-take-care-of-the-kids etc, female astronauts, female in high-tech.. they all have experienced this.

My question is: Why does it have to be this way? Why do we have to be judgmental of people’s personal preferences and career choices? Why does it matter who does what? Why do we have to stand in the way of people who like different things?

Then the gender-based violence comes in and laws aren’t there to prevent them from happening. Why do “need” to take sides? The are evil and violent people from both genders. It’s the harmful action that caused grievance that should be punished no matter the gender.

And then again, I look at the media, I am disappointed. Instead of diffusing change and gender neutrality media keeps on holding to that old rock. The thing is that when get things get really bad, you see extreme opposite reactions.

Some random examples:

Taxi cab companies in Lebanon. Would the “only for women pink taxi cab driven by women” even exist if cab companies hired drivers of both genders and ensured a safe working environment to both? Aren’t there armed females who could rob a female driver? I’m sorry, but they exist!
Business and technology magazines: Those are nightmares. Especially, the ones that think that business and technology are for men only by having male focused sections instead of having a page for both and playboy-like covers that I wouldn’t be able to purchase with looking weird nor would my father would be proud exhibiting at home or in the office.
Events and products/services that concern both genders but are advertised with focus on one gender only. An advertisement including 3-4 men for a certain event or product/service, for example, will look like a men only things. They could have broken this effect by including a female in their cast.

Humans are made of dreams, inspirations, choices, preferences, interests etc… go beyond gender based stereotypes. Those companies may mean well. I’m not attacking anyone, but such messages nowadays are bound to be misinterpreted; which means they will lose audience and they will lose sales.

Sources:

Images

Welfare Wheat Race – Run for a good cause

Welfare Wheat Race is a yearly race organized by Al Amal NGO for the Disabled and the Needy. The funds raised in this race go to the Sweater & Wheat program, which gives persons with special needs the role of contributing in the support of the other needy.

The race is set to take place on the 29th of April, 2012. It will start from the Broummana Municipality Playground at 8 AM sharp and the participants will be first briefed for details and information at 7:30 AM.

The track is a course closed to traffic with a maximum time limit of 120 minutes for all races. The participation minimum age is 11 years and above.
Toilet Facilities will be present on the premises of the event. A Water station is available at the finish line along with a distance marker every 1Km into the race.

Free memorabilia will be given away to participants (this includes T-shirts, pins, etc.) Breakfast is not included in the participation fee. Any food you might want can be purchased from the event area.

The different races are as follows:

School Races – Males:
1000 Meters (Born in 2000-01)
1500 Meters (Born in 98-99)
2000 Meters (Born in 97-96)
3000 Meters (Born in 95-94)

School Races – Females:
800 Meters (Born in 2000-01)
1200 Meters (Born in 98-99)
1500 Meters (Born in 97-96)
2000 Meters (Born in 95-94)

5K Race: Open to professionals of 19 years of age and above.

1K Welfare March & Parade: Open to all public with no restrictions.

The Internal Forces Classical Orchestra led by the Maestro CL. Ziad Murad along with music bands from Metn schools will hold various performances alongside the race to live up the mood.

Registration Information:
You can register by e-mail on welfarewheatrace@gmail.com or by telephone on 04 963 330. Please send us via any of these both mediums the following information: name, gender, date of birth, nationality, club or name of group leader (if applicable) and a clear photocopy or scan of your ID.

Registration opens on Thursday 15th of March 2012 and the deadline for registration is on the 14th of April 2012.

Registration fees are as follows:

Race registration:
LBP 5,000 for participants up till the age of 18 years.
LBP 20,000 for participants of 19 years of age and above.

Welfare March & Parade registration:
LBP 20,000 donation fee to help support the NGO and its activities.

About Al Amal NGO:

Inspired by her own son Selim, who suffered from mental disabilities, Mounira El-Solh worked on providing a better life and on promoting the cause for persons with special needs.
In 1959, she founded Al-Amal Institute, a center providing care, residence, and rehabilitation for these persons.

Al Amal Institute for the Disabled is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that supports the cause of people with special needs. Our residential center for the mentally disabled is located in Broummana – Metn, but our programs aim to improve the integration and autonomy of these people with special needs on a nationwide level. As our programs work on integration and welfare, we try to involve the community with our cause and as well host activities that promote sports and culture.

In 1992, the Winter Sweater (كنزة الشتاء) program was started, through which residents with special needs of Al-Amal institute started participating in the production of wool sweaters in a workshop established at the center.

As of 2002, the Welfare Wheat (سنبلة الخير) program was also started, promoting and supporting the economic productivity and independence of farmers with special needs in various regions of Lebanon. This program also involves the residents of Al-Amal in packaging and production. Part of the program, the Welfare Wheat Festival takes place every July in the village of Arnoun, South of Lebanon, bringing together volunteers, farmers, residents, various schools in harvesting and packaging crops, as well as various other cultural and social events and activities.

The Sweater & Wheat (كنزة وسنبلة) program is a combined program, through which individual donations go towards sponsoring a sweater and a 15 kg of crops (estimated yearly individual consumption) containing chickpeas, lentils, bulgur, beans, wheat, are sent “from a person with special needs to a needy person” – to a list of 69 non-profit NGOs in various regions of Lebanon.

Today, the programs focus on:

promoting the productivity of persons with special needs
integrating them through participation in productive, social and cultural activities
supporting the cause of persons with special needs and raising awareness

Welfare Wheat Race 2011

For more information, you can:

Check the Facebook Page

The official launch of ABC Happy Smoke-Free Environment campaign

The panel

ABC’s Chairman, Mr. Fadel Fadel opened the discussion by mentioning the previous ABC campaigns and ABC’s commitment to give back to the community. He spoke about the recent launch of the Lebanese Designers corner and how several campaigns stressed on kids issues like autism. Mr. Fadel also announced that a breast cancer campaign will be launched soon. He also stressed on the fact that ABC was initially a place for kids and has become a place for families.

Besides announcing that ABC will be a smoke-free environment, he mentioned that for the time being there is only an exception for restaurants as per the law. But he decided to go further and announced that all restaurants would also be smoke-free on Mondays.

Minister of Public Health Mr. Ali Hassan Khalil started his speech by saying that he never touched a cigarette during his entire life and that the statistics concerning Lebanon were really sad. Smoking has become the number one cause of death claiming thousands of lives every year. He also expressed his relief that the law made progress and that bad habits will need to change gradually.

Minister of Tourism Mr. Fadi Abboud said that changing bad habits should start with politicians and has to be applied through out the bodies of the states including the soldiers on our streets. He also reminded people how they believed it would not be possible to implement a non-smoking law in the airport and they were proven wrong. Mr. Abboud refused the clichés saying that an increase in the price of the pack of cigarettes would allow the black market to take off and that Lebanon is just a country for wealthy tourists. According to him, smokers are costing the Ministry of Health a great deal; therefore an increase in price is totally justified.

Minister of Environment Mr. Nazim El Khoury encouraged smokers to reconsider their choices and hoped their number will decrease.

Official Lauch of the Smoke Free campaign in ABC Ashrafieh The official launch of ABC Happy Smoke Free Environment campaign

Official Launch of the Smoke-Free campaign in ABC Ashrafieh

The official launch was nice: A tube with the colors of a cigarette would be cut in half releasing balloons. The event was followed by an non-smoking oath taken by students and a performance by rapper Ghost.

Students taking oath The official launch of ABC Happy Smoke Free Environment campaign

Students taking non-smoking oath

Rapper Ghost The official launch of ABC Happy Smoke Free Environment campaign

Rapper Ghost and the dancing crew

So now, practically, whenever you spot someone smoking where they are not supposed to, you can report it to the security staff who will be responsible of handling the situation.

ABC’s initiative is great but it will definitely need to be heavily reinforced.

The press release goes as follows:

ABC, the leading retailer in Lebanon, launched today its ‘Smoke Free Environment’ campaign becoming the first shopping mall in Lebanon to implement the tobacco control law. The campaign, headed by ABC Chairman Mr. Robert Fadel, was launched in ABC Achrafieh and attended by the Minister of Public Health Mr.a Ali Hassan Khalil, the Minister of Tourism Mr. Fadi Abboud, and the Minister of Environment Mr. Nazim el Khoury and supported by ‘Tobacco Free Initiative’ (TFI), celebrities, VIPs and members of the press.

Starting the first of March, ABC will implement the tobacco control legislation number 174 to become a non-smoking mall, except restaurants and cafes as stated in the regulation. However, ABC is launching ‘Happy Smoke Free Monday’, extending its non-smoking initiative to the restaurants and cafes every Monday, as a preparation phase to implementing the law, in an effort to raising health awareness and creating a health-oriented culture amongst the Lebanese society.

“ABC has been part of the Lebanese community for 75 years and we believe in giving back to this community” said Robert Fadel, Chairman of ABC. “ABC is the ultimate family meeting destination, thus, helping our customers, especially the teenagers, quit smoking is our responsibility and we hope to set the good example for other corporations to follow our lead in order to contribute in making Lebanon a healthier country”, he explained.

Implemented to make ABC experience more enjoyable for more people, the ‘Smoke Free Environment’ campaign will play a major role in supporting the implementation of the anti-smoking law. Professional trainers from TFI conducted an anti-smoke educational session for all ABC and tenants employees to educate about the benefice of this campaign so they will in return educate the mall visitors.

Taking leading steps by implementing the law, ABC is also implementing an educational program by setting focal points in its store to educate its customers about the danger of smoking while also developing a digital campaign on all of ABC’s social media channels to target the young generation.

Go skate!

Go skate is an image I took during an event hosted by the Lebanese Skating Association. Someone shared it on Tumblr and it has been re-shared and liked 1,208 times!

Many thanks to @iJoeation for the notification!

More skating photos can be found here.

Check Lebanese Skateboarding Association:

Racist 4-year-old kids!

Lebanon has institutionalized racism in a such a way that people no longer realize the impact of certain actions and words on others. Some just pepper their racism in such a humiliating way and consider it something normal.

Racism is the “belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination.” Tourists from Asia/Africa, Lebanese mixed with other nationalities, Arabs etc… and migrant workers.

Migrant workers are part of our society. We live together and we work together. Work against salary. Nothing new under the sun.

Some of them has been living in Lebanon for more than 10 years. Naturally, they get married and/or have kids. Some of them are single moms; in some cultures, being a single mom is not the end of the world; it is what it is, and the child gets registered under his mother’s name.

Kids grow fast. Parent(s) will want to register their kids in school; give them an education; something many of them were denied access to in their home countries for various reasons (poverty, living in a remote area etc…).

I was playing with Jalal* a few days ago; he is bright, smart and speaks better Lebanese than I do! Jalal stopped playing for a second. His face became very sad and serious. When I asked him what was wrong, he looked at me and said: “Today, my friends in school came to tell me not to play with Kasun* because he is black and his parents are Sri Lakan… My mom is from Africa, my dad is Egyptian but I’m Lebanese!” He then went running to his mother and asked her: “Why is your skin color darker than mine?”

Jalal’s mother is concerned. What will happen to her son and his friends at the public school when they realize he’s not Lebanese? Will they stop talking to him and marginalize him?

I hear this “children are our future” line during almost any occasion… looks like our future is bleak… What exactly are we teaching our kids?

Note: Names* have been changed to protect the kids’ identities.

Who are Jalal* and Kasun*?

Jalal* is a 4-year-old boy Born in Lebanon to an Ethiopian mother and an Egyptian father. The couple was in love. When the mother broke the news of the pregnancy to the father, he beat her up, ordered her to have an abortion and left her. The mother decided to have the baby no matter what. She registered him and raised him alone. She enrolled him in a Lebanese public school. Growing up, the boy started inquiring about his father. His mother explained in words he could understand and took him to meet his father. Jalal’s father decided to move back with his family.

Kasun* is a 4-year-old boy. Born in Lebanon to Sri Lankan parents who came to this part of the world with hope to get a better a life for them and the families they send money to every month.

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