BY KHADIJAH BAWAZEER I was talking to an Englishwoman once about marriage customs and ceremonies in our countries. She said that she did not want to be given away by her father when she walks down the aisle of matrimony. To me, a father epitomizes honor and respect so I asked her why? She said that being delivered down the aisle to her future husband represents a time that Western women are trying to pass over and forget. A time of humiliation when women used to be literally given away and transferred from being the property of their fathers to being the property of their husbands. The picture may not be as simple as that, but what she said presents the gist of the situation and it explains why some Western women prefer not to be accompanied by their fathers in their marriage ceremony. However, in our endless desire to mimic, a trend was started a few years back whereby many of our dear young brides here wanted their fathers to give them away. The girl would shrug her head and say that she wanted her father to hand her to her husband, thinking that she was being fashionable and trendy. I wonder if the new brides would feel the same way if they knew what the action originally symbolized. The desire to mimic resonates powerfully in Abdulwahab Elmesseri's astute book titled The World from a Western Perspective. In this funny little book, the late Egyptian thinker satirized and traced the roots of many of the traditions and habits of bourgeois Egyptians. His satire was one of love and not of arrogance and disgust. Throughout the book, Elmesseri endearingly gave one example after another of images from Egyptian life. The book was so powerful in spite of its apparent simplicity that it left its mark on my mind. But what does the title of this article have to do with all this rambling. I guess two things, which I will point to but not fully explain, as I believe in leaving the door open for new possibilities. On the one hand, there is the classic meaning that the proverb refers to: it is raining heavily. It is also argued that the proverb says that, in some countries, it became so slippery on top of the roofs of houses that the animals would slip and fall. On the other hand, and in the spirit of opening possibilities, I feel sometimes that it is raining cats and dogs on us and I will let you figure this one out! — The writer can be reached at [email protected] __
