I was supposed to be in Bahrain today, to attend a media conference sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Minister Shaikha Mai Al Khalifa, according to a schedule prepared and agreed upon several weeks ago. I also found an additional benefit to the trip, as I read that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz would be visiting Manama at the same time. This meant that I could see two Arab kings at the same time, and perhaps hear some important news from the Saudi king and his host King Hamad bin ‘Issa. However, nature, fate and bad luck conspired against me, when volcanic ash grounded planes and closed down airports all across northern Europe. And thus I missed the conference and the royal visit because of lava that I don't understand how it could have erupted from a country called Iceland, i.e. the land of ice. It must be yet another brutal Zionist conspiracy; however, I don't know how to link the volcanic poison to Netanyahu's government and the war criminal Meir Dagan, and so will wait to read about such a link from the colleagues who are experts in Zionist and Imperialist conspiracies. The conspiracy is much greater than the reader imagines: I was in fact also invited to attend a lecture by the Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah at the University of Oxford. I had apologized due to travelling, before realizing that I will not travel. Then I decided to go attend Sheikh Nasser's lecture; however, he cancelled in turn for the same reasons. Below are some other stories for the readers: - When I was in Riyadh last month to attend the Festival of Culture and Heritage (Janadriya), a sand storm struck the country. The organizers of the event had prepared for any emergency, and thus distributed face masks to the participants, ones that resembled those used during the swine flu scare. I took two masks, and used one while I kept the other for future emergencies. I have it with me now, and it is for sale for twenty pounds (ten pounds during sales), and I'm waiting for buyers online. - Staying in the air, but this time with Middle East Airliners (MEA): there is a campaign against this successful national company because of an employee who name I do not know, in a representative office of the company in Africa that I have never visited in my life. He was dismissed on charges of corruption (I'm not aware of the details), but I want to say that I know the company very well given the fact that I deal with MEA regularly in my trips between Beirut and London, and from Beirut to Amman and Cairo. I find MEA to be an extremely prestigious and professional company, and the young and beautiful stewardesses to be so hospitable, that they treat the passengers as though they were guests at their own parents' home. On the other hand, members of the Lebanese parliament do more harm than good. Since some of them consider themselves to be experts on everything, everyone gave their opinion regarding the crash of the Ethiopian jet as though they were sworn experts at IATA. Then the turn came for MP Nabil Nicola to attack MEA. I have remained silent for a long time regarding the policies of the Free Patriotic Movement, but if the MEA will be involved, then I warn them that my response will be harsh and swift. - I have known Princess Hassa bint Salman bin Abdulaziz both when she was young and as an adult, and also knew her father and all her brothers. She is a renowned human rights activist, especially in the field of women's rights (the rather absent rights) with emphasis on her country Saudi Arabia. Al-Hayat published an article written by her, entitled “underage marriage between theory, practice and expectations”, in which she tackled the issue of underage marriage and domestic violence. We had heard about the child who was sold by her father (not to mention that he forced her to marry a septuagenarian in return for 85 thousand riyals) and other almost daily incidents of violence against women in every Arab countries. But in fact, such incidents happen in both the east and the west. Princess Hassa's article combined information regarding underage marriage, domestic violence, the official Saudi position with reference to relevant international treaties that the Kingdom ratified in past decades, the stance of the clergy and the efforts of the local Saudi groups in protecting women and children. Despite the fact I am constantly writing in defence of Arab women, I found in Princess Hassa's article new and useful information. However, she was reserved in expressing her opinion, and I believe that she withheld more than she disclosed. Many readers supported the conclusions reached by the Princess; however, there were also letters sent by readers expressing concerns about imitating the west, or denying that there is a problem to begin with. I speak for myself when I say that the person who forces his child to marry is a human monster, and that the one who marries her is a monster like him. In fact, girls continue to grow after puberty, and should they get pregnant, their bodies grow along with the foetus which can be fatal for both the mother and her baby. For this reason, I completely reject the argument by such people that the prophet (peace be upon him) married Aisha when she was six, and consummated the marriage when she was nine. I want to say to those that none of them is even worth the nail of the prophet, and that there is no girl in the world that is equal to Aisha bint Abi Bakr. I also want to add- speaking for myself- that Princess Hassa used the term ‘rebuked' in her article about women and children, with the common usage of the word being ‘rebuking women”. However, the term means blaming, censure, and reproach, and not the light or heavy battering usually suffered by Arab women. Hence, I believe that using the term ‘rebuke' is an attempt to alleviate the guilt of Arab men against women, who remain oppressed until further notice. [email protected]
