I know I only posted a few days ago, but I have an immense amount of Arabic homework that I've been procrastinating lately, so I've had a lot of time to spend reading and watching all of the internet. Here are some interesting/cool/fun/serious internet things that I want to share with you. Some of these things are Egypt related, some are just things I like. Feel free to use this post to assist you in procrastinating.
So as I've mentioned before, sexual harassment in Egypt is kinda a thing. A big thing. Last night I walked around downtown Cairo and Garden City alone for like an hour and a half and then took the metro, and I had more than a few people direct comments my way (probably like a dozen separate men/groups). I was wearing long sleeves and long pants and was rather well covered up. I'm lucky because I've never had anyone try to touch me. I like to believe I've got pretty thick skin and I can deal with the verbal harassment, but I wouldn't say it's pleasant. So yeah, sexual harassment. It's been getting a lot of press lately, as have responses to street harassment. This coverage from NPR discusses a group of vigilantes who I'm a bit conflicted about, but I think the author of this article from Daily News Egypt has some good points. Here's an older article from BBC News that's about street harassment. I always think of this article, particularly because of the comment about women wearing tight niqabs being "up for it."
Since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I will now use this as a segue into policy in the USA. While the US has certainly made strides in many areas relating to women's rights, I wouldn't say that things are all good. I've been horrified with some of the things coming out of politicians' mouths in recent months, but I think that Nicholas Kristof has very good points about sound bites and policies relating to women and rape. This (possibly TRIGGERING) article from a former Amherst student has been widely publicized, but I was very disappointed that it was not surprising to me. I've heard from friends both at my own (beloved) school and at other universities that sexual assault is not taken seriously, and is not handled by people who are educated about sexual assault or who know what they're doing. Even in the general population, a victim's attire, sexual past, or alcohol consumption are often called in to question. It kills me that people haven't yet figured out that no man or woman's actions are "asking" for rape. So yes, we might be doing better than Egypt in terms of street harassment, but let's not pretend that things are great and dandy in the US.
Now that I'm done ranting about sexual harassment and assault, here are some lighter subjects that might be of interest.
Here's a link to a cool website with old Arabic pop music. You can listen and download. It's not all Egyptian, but Egypt was and is pretty important in terms of cultural stuff coming out of the Middle East. When I was in Jordan last week, the Egyptian guy I met at my hostel commented every time Egyptian pop music came on the radio. Apparently in Jordan like 90% of the pop music is Egyptian. Also, I definitely stole this link from a friend's blog. Hey, I've been reading your blog. Thanks for the link.
Bahia Shehab is an artist and art historian, as well as a professor at AUC. She's got a TED video about her stencils that she's been spray painting all over the city. It's not the greatest TED Talk I've ever seen, but it's interesting, it's only five minutes, and her point is very nice.
As for things that don't relate to Egypt, as many of you know, I'm obsessed with reading the New York Times. I do read the news and the op-eds, but I have a particular love of things I can't have/can't afford/don't really want but still want to dream about. This naturally includes tandoors (I legitimately want one) and of course homes in Sweden. In that vein, here's a short video that I've now watched like five times. It's a week or two old, but you should watch it. THERE ARE PAC-MAN DUMPLINGS.
This is my obligatory reminder that you should all go vote next week if you haven't already. I voted like a month ago, so now I have plenty of time to annoy you until you vote.
And finally, I'll leave you with a clip of the love of my life, Andreas Viestad.
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| This is from Hyperbole and a Half. You can read my FAVORITE post here. |
Since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I will now use this as a segue into policy in the USA. While the US has certainly made strides in many areas relating to women's rights, I wouldn't say that things are all good. I've been horrified with some of the things coming out of politicians' mouths in recent months, but I think that Nicholas Kristof has very good points about sound bites and policies relating to women and rape. This (possibly TRIGGERING) article from a former Amherst student has been widely publicized, but I was very disappointed that it was not surprising to me. I've heard from friends both at my own (beloved) school and at other universities that sexual assault is not taken seriously, and is not handled by people who are educated about sexual assault or who know what they're doing. Even in the general population, a victim's attire, sexual past, or alcohol consumption are often called in to question. It kills me that people haven't yet figured out that no man or woman's actions are "asking" for rape. So yes, we might be doing better than Egypt in terms of street harassment, but let's not pretend that things are great and dandy in the US.
Now that I'm done ranting about sexual harassment and assault, here are some lighter subjects that might be of interest.
Here's a link to a cool website with old Arabic pop music. You can listen and download. It's not all Egyptian, but Egypt was and is pretty important in terms of cultural stuff coming out of the Middle East. When I was in Jordan last week, the Egyptian guy I met at my hostel commented every time Egyptian pop music came on the radio. Apparently in Jordan like 90% of the pop music is Egyptian. Also, I definitely stole this link from a friend's blog. Hey, I've been reading your blog. Thanks for the link.
Bahia Shehab is an artist and art historian, as well as a professor at AUC. She's got a TED video about her stencils that she's been spray painting all over the city. It's not the greatest TED Talk I've ever seen, but it's interesting, it's only five minutes, and her point is very nice.
As for things that don't relate to Egypt, as many of you know, I'm obsessed with reading the New York Times. I do read the news and the op-eds, but I have a particular love of things I can't have/can't afford/don't really want but still want to dream about. This naturally includes tandoors (I legitimately want one) and of course homes in Sweden. In that vein, here's a short video that I've now watched like five times. It's a week or two old, but you should watch it. THERE ARE PAC-MAN DUMPLINGS.
This is my obligatory reminder that you should all go vote next week if you haven't already. I voted like a month ago, so now I have plenty of time to annoy you until you vote.
And finally, I'll leave you with a clip of the love of my life, Andreas Viestad.
Deborah! You're in Egypt! How are you doing!
ReplyDeleteAlso, you have a blog!
Also, I think that Swedish man who cooks outdoors is weird. Why is he always cooking outdoors? Doesn't he have a kitchen? Who cooks on a fjord?
Oh hey! I am in Egypt! And I do have a blog! You have a blog too (which everyone should read because the Center for Book Arts is awesome)!
DeleteAndreas cooks on a fjord! Actually he cooks on lots of different fjords and sometimes on boats or on the beach. Really anywhere that's outside. He's Norwegian, by the way. I'm assuming that you're just jealous because you can't bake pies on a fjord. Baking on a fjord would be the coolest.
No part of me wants to bake pies on a fjord, it's too cold in Norway for outdoor baking. When are you going to blog about the cats of Cairo?
ReplyDelete