Women of Empowerment
Up Close with
Iman Humaydan
Writer and Novelist
Power Factors: Her book “Baa Mit l
Beit Mithl Beirut” (B for Bait for
Beirut), published in 1997, was called
an instant classic. It follows four
women during the Lebanese civil war
and chronicles their rejection of violence
and death. It has now been
translated into English, French and
German, and the author parlayed it
into a platform for a second novel
“Toot Barri” (Wild Mulberries), currently
the darling of literary critics.
ALO: Traditions are a huge part of “Toot Barri.” What are your favorite traditions personally, and how have they impacted your life?
Iman Humaydan: I think the most important part of traditions that I grew up with and that marked deeply my life is the living of women in groups. Decades ago, members of an extended family used to live together (many nuclear families in one big house), and the women shared their daily lives. Women experienced solidarity amongst one another and provided support and comfort. Grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts, in-laws stood together. They had their own world that men could not penetrate or comprehend. In this world, solidarity prevailed.
I witnessed this world, I heard it, I lived it. It played an important role in forming my own perception of feminism, where the empowerment of women is always alive even under the worst circumstances, and women as “agents” who change and improve their own world do exist at all times.
ALO: As a woman who embraces education, what are your recommendations to eradicate illiteracy and early marriage and have women continue learning to become as productive for Middle Eastern society as possible?
IH: Everything must start with changing the laws and compulsory primary education. In Lebanon, it exists but it is not enforced or followed thoroughly. Currently you only have to attend school for the first five years. It must change to be through the end of high school. The hasty appeasement of various communities in Lebanon weakens empowerment of women, since the state system as an authority is often weaker than the family system. Fathers have power over their daughters more than the power of the state. Family laws thus are stronger than the civil laws that are decreed and protected by the state. Theoretically a girl marries when she becomes an adult: above 21. But in reality, adulthood, according to religious or community sects, can be a short time after puberty. This discrepancy is always for the benefit of religious institutions, which are strong in Lebanon. We must work for establishing a state free from the communitarian influence, a secular state that represents citizens, men or women, equally represented and given opportunities, not sectarian communities.
ALO: How do you deal with men who still want to embrace the patriarchal system in the workplace and at home?
IH: They are a symptom of a malfunctioning on many levels: laws, education and lack of democracy. Many believe that our problems can be solved through violence. So the problem is not only in controlling women at home or at work, but in taking the country, the future of our children, to a more violent destiny, and this scares me. There is a lot of work to do. Giving equal opportunities to women similar to men’s is a good start.
ALO: If you can change one thing in the society or culture you live in, what will that be?
IH: My culture tends to bring to the surface the golden days of Lebanon and tends to forget the worst days of war. There is some kind of a tendency to forgetfulness. This is adopted because most people here, especially those in power, think that this will delete the past from people’s memory. This enforced amnesia will make every conflict go away without the real problems’ being addressed. The problem of violence will prevail as long as we do not face our experience and our past in a way that will ultimately solve it.
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