Bahrain: A Western, Feminist perspective...

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute. "
- Rebecca West





For most of my trip, I have had the privilege of seeing Bahrain from the eyes of some amazing men. I cannot explain the debt of gratitude I owe to Diesel, Essa, Farrah, Simi, Hassan, Turbo and many many others. We have watched the sun rise over the Gulf, and spoken at length about a variety of things. However, as I get to know the females in Bahrain, I am beginning to get a clearer picture of the way things are, the way things are perceived, and the way some wish things would be.

As a strong and wordy disclaimer, I have been immersed in the culture for two weeks and there is sooo much more for me to understand. My upbringing is strongly Western and I consider myself a feminist. I will be a feminist until the day that what women look like is less important that what they do. I will work until the word "unfeminine" is gone, and women are no longer considered typically weak if they show emotion. For that, and a whole lot of other reasons that I won't get into here, I am a feminist.

With that out of the way, we can focus the attention back to Bahrain. Two days ago, for the first time in my life I felt uncomfortable sitting down in a restaurant that full of only males. It was only uncomfortable because I knew as a woman, I was not supposed to be there...not because of a few glaces from others(granted the discomfort passed immediately because I can always wrap myself in my Western-ness and say, "screw it") My entire life, I have been the only girl at a number of places like the local gaming shop, or hanging out with friends. It has never been an issue with me.

Here it is different, there is definitely the correct place for women to be or not be (especially if you are Bahraini. I seem to get a pass because I am from the US). To be clear, part of that is also for the comfort of women. As a group, we frequent this one restaurant and we use the side entrance, the family entrance. There are curtains on the booths and private areas for women who may want to remove niqab (the face covering that some women choose to wear). Every restaurant has a family section. The men tend to assume it is really for the women to feel more comfortable; to prevent stares. It doesn't always feel like that to me.

At the same time, Bahrain is definitely the most open of the countries in the Gulf in many ways, including women's empowerment. But here, there is kind of an artificial sense of how open the country is; a superficial sense of "modernization" here. Women work, drive, and can more or less decide on veiling....with the caveat that it is alright according to their family and community. "My family's heart would break if I didn't veil"

Lately, I have been hanging out with more women, asking questions. "Why do all these women wear so much make-up who are also in full abaya and hijab?



"We take what freedom we can get, I guess"