Posts Tagged ‘feminism’

Canada should not welcome sexist and homophobic Lebanese singer

Posted: August 22, 2012 in Human Rights
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It is time we stand up against cultural terrorism and hate speech in Lebanese art. This Lebanese singer has been advocating for using violence against kids if you suspect them to be homosexual. He calls on womyn to stay home and serve their husband because there is no place for them outside home. Womyn should not pursue educational degrees according to Iskandar’s songs and should specialize in serving and pleasing their husbands at home. His lyrics are outrageous and offensive to say the least. A group of Lebanese feminists has protested his songs back in 2010. Recently a group of Arabs in Denmark successfully protested and were able to prevent him from singing his homophobic and violence-inciting song “Dod El 3onf”. No action has seemed to stop him and his hate speech appears to be persistent and escalating.

Raynbow and its Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor along with Helem Montreal are working on mobilizing protests against this artist’s performances in Canada. Here is a press release by Helem Montreal:

—-La version Française suivra—-

For immediate release,

An Open Letter

HELEM Montreal condemns the invitation of the Lebanese singer Mr. Mhamad Eskandar to perform in Canada. Mr. Eskandar, well known for his homophobic and sexist songs, will be performing at Place Vertu Center on September 1, 2012, and at restaurant Mazaj in Ottawa on September 2, 2012.

Montreal August 20, 2012 – HELEM Montreal issues this letter of protest today at a time of unprecedented repression and violation of basic human rights and dignity towards the LGBT community in Lebanon. In July 2012, Lebanese security authorities raided a cinema that was allegedly frequented by homosexuals. 36 men were arrested and imprisoned for several days pending investigation into their sexual orientation. The investigation consisted of a degrading anal exam during which a tool was used to detect bodily fluids and determine one’s sexual orientation. Lebanese authorities invoked Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which bars sexual relations that are “contradicting the laws of nature,” and can result in a prison term of up to one year.

Mr. Mhamad Eskandar released in 2012 a homophobic song entitled “Dod El 3enf” which translates to “Against Violence”; a slogan commonly used by the LGBT community in its advocacy against discrimination. The title was purposely used to ridicule the LGBT cause and advocacy efforts. The song starts by depicting two parents fighting because of their son’s sexual orientation and blaming the gay son for the disputes and separation of his parents. The song then describes the son as a “lover against violence” who resembles a female. Although he looks like a man, he displays the mannerism of a woman. The song also provides that from the time men stopped enlisting in the army, they became contaminated with a “disease of softness” and lost 50% of their masculinity. It also encourages the physical abuse of boys displaying any femininity. The video clip available on youtube is extremely repulsive and depicts every possible gay stereotype. It portrays men having sex in washrooms, and boys wearing high heels and playing with dolls. The video clip is available at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq9UpjGnl48 (MTV Lebanon removed this YouTube video on Aug 24 2012)

Mr. Eskandar has a long standing record of homophobic slurs and behaviour. HELEM Montreal condemns in the strongest possible terms the invitation for Mr. Eskandar to sing at a concert in Canada. Mr. Eskandar’s offensive art contradicts Canadian values and amounts to hate speech. It also contradicts the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and violates the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and numerous provisions in the Canadian Criminal Code. In addition to bringing the artist’s appearance at the establishments where the concerts will take place to public attention, HELEM Montreal will ask federal and provincial authorities to hold the artist, promoters, and the establishments liable for any hateful or discriminatory conduct, verbal or otherwise, on the part of Mr. Eskandar that has the effect of exposing LGBT persons to hate, contempt, ridicule and homophobia. HELEM Montreal also reserves the right to seek any possible remedy, and exercise all legal recourses available under the law to defend LGBT rights and keep Canada free from hate speech and discrimination.

About HELEM
HELEM Montreal is a Lebanese Canadian LGBT, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization registered in Quebec since 2004. We lead a peaceful advocacy movement for the liberation of the Lebanese and Middle-Eastern LGBT community from all sorts of legal, social and cultural discrimination. For more information about our organization, please visit our website.

For more information: Sam K. Helem’s president at 514-781-1649

HELEM Canada ● Postal Office C, P.O. Box 353, Montreal QC, H2L 4K3
http://www.helem.net ● 514-781-1649 ● president@helem.net

_______________________________________

LETTRE OUVERTE

HELEM Montréal dénonce la venue du chanteur libanais M. Mhamad Eskandar au Canada. M. Eskandar bien connu pour ses chansons homophobes et sexistes se donnera en spectacle au centre place vertu à Montréal le 1er septembre 2012, et au restaurant Mazaj à Ottawa le 2 septembre 2012.

Montréal le 21 août, 2012 – HELEM Montréal envoi cette lettre de protestation aujourd’hui à un moment de répression sans précédent, et de violation des droits fondamentaux de la personne et de la dignité humaine à l’égard de la communauté LGBT au Liban. En Juillet 2012, les autorités de sécurité libanaises ont fermé un cinéma sous le prétexte qu’il aurait été fréquenté par des homosexuels. 36 hommes ont été arrêtés et détenus pendant plusieurs jours en attendant une enquête concernant leur orientation sexuelle. L’enquête consistait en un examen anal dégradant au cours de lequel un outil a été utilisé pour détecter les liquides corporels et déterminer l’orientation sexuelle de la personne en question. Les autorités libanaises ont invoqué l’article 534 du Code pénal libanais, qui interdit les relations sexuelles qui sont «en contradiction avec les lois de la nature», et qui pourrait entraîner une peine de prison pouvant aller jusqu’à un an.

M. Mhamad Eskandar a lancé en 2012 une chanson homophobe intitulée «Dod el 3enf » qui se traduit par «Contre la violence »; un slogan souvent utilisé par la communauté LGBT dans sa lutte contre la discrimination. Le titre a été utilisé affin de ridiculiser la cause LGBT et les efforts de lutte contre la discrimination. La chanson commence par décrire deux parents se disputer à cause de l’orientation sexuelle de leur fils et de blâmer le fils gai pour les différends et la séparation de ses parents. La chanson décrit ensuite le fils comme étant un «amant contre la violence » qui ressemble à une femme. Selon les paroles, le fils a le corps d’un homme, mais le comportement d’une femme. La chanson prévoit également qu’à partir du moment où les hommes ont arrêté leur service militaire obligatoire, ils ont été contaminés par « la maladie de la douceur » à cause de laquelle ils ont perdu 50 % de leur masculinité. La chanson encourage également l’abus physique des garçons qui manifestent un comportement féminin. Le clip vidéo disponible sur youtube est extrêmement répugnant et représente tous les stéréotypes possibles envers les gais. Il dépeint des hommes ayant des rapports sexuels dans les toilettes, et des garçons qui portent des talons hauts et qui jouent avec des poupées. Le clip vidéo est disponible sur le lien suivant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq9UpjGnl48 (MTV Lebanon removed this YouTube video on Aug 24 2012)

M. Eskandar à un passé bien documenté d’homophobe. Helem Montréal condamne l’invitation de M. Eskandar à chanter au Canada. L’art nauséeux de M. Eskandar contredit les valeurs canadiennes et encourage la propagande haineuse. Il contredit aussi la Charte canadienne des droits et des libertés et viole la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne du Québec, le Code des droits de la personne de l’Ontario, et le Code criminel du Canada. Helem Montréal se réserve le droit de demander aux autorités fédérales et provinciales de tenir l’artiste, les promoteurs et les établissements où il va performer responsables de tout comportement haineux ou discriminatoires, verbales ou non, de M. Eskandar qui a pour effet d’exposer les personnes LGBT à la haine, le mépris, le ridicule et l’homophobie. Helem Montréal se réserve également le droit d’exercer tous les recours juridiques possibles pour poursuivre M. Eskandar, les promoteurs et les établissements devant les tribunaux.

À propos d’HELEM
Helem Montréal est une organisation non-gouvernemental et sans but lucratif enregistré au Québec depuis 2004. Nous menons un mouvement de défense pacifique pour la libération des communautés libanaise et arabe LGBT de toutes sortes de discrimination juridique, sociale et culturelle. Pour plus d’informations sur notre organisation, veuillez visiter notre site internet.

Information : Sam K., président de Helem au 514-781-1649

HELEM Canada ● Postal Office C, P.O. Box 353, Montreal QC, H2L 4K3

Misogyny Kills Women Around the Globe

Posted: May 2, 2011 in Human Rights
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Every day, misogyny kills women around the globe in two ways: directly through violence and indirectly through apathy, said David A. Grimes, MD, clinical professor of ob-gyn at University School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, who delivered his lecture “Misogyny and Women’s Health” today at The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ 59th Annual Clinical Meeting.

According to Dr. Grimes, women are dying needlessly because societies just don’t value them. Examples of misogyny—literally “hatred of women”—range from lack of equal treatment to emotional and physical abuse to murder. “Maltreatment of women has been institutionalized by governments and religions for millennia,” said Dr. Grimes. “This maltreatment often manifests itself as domestic violence, rape, rape as an instrument of warfare, sexual harassment, child marriage, and ‘honor killings’,” he said.

It’s not just third world countries where women continue to suffer, according to Dr. Grimes. “You don’t have to look outside the boundaries of this country—women in the US also suffer from the effects of misogyny.”

Dr. Grimes pointed out some sobering statistics from the World Health Organization. The prevalence of domestic violence worldwide is between 15-71% and abuse during pregnancy occurs among 4-12% of women. Up to one in every five women is sexually abused as a child. Nearly a quarter of Peruvian women and 40% of South African women experience a forced first intercourse. Honor killings take the lives of 5,000 women each year.

Approximately 343,000 women worldwide die each year from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, an average of one death every other minute, said Dr. Grimes. Nearly all of these deaths are preventable. Notably, half of these maternal deaths occur in just six countries (Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan). These societies have yet to make the decision that these women’s lives are worth saving, he said.

By ACOG – May 2nd, 2011

Stop sexual aggression against womyn in The Congo

Posted: January 5, 2011 in Human Rights
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“Imagine just one woman, that she is first raped in public and then forced to sit on burning coal until her entire genitalia are destroyed. Her husband, children and family are forced to witness the torture. Her father is forced to participate in the rape. The family´s fields are then torched. Let us then imagine that during the following days 242 other women are raped, something that occurred as recently as August this year, and then consider that this aggression has been on-going for more than a decade.”

Democratic Republic of Congo - DRC

The international medical community has recently been mobilized to stand up for the rights of womyn in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Health care providers are appealling for peace and an end to sexual aggression there.

Rape is being used as a more powerful weapon than guns. In that region, rape can causes disolution of families and communities, immigration, life long illnesses, lower health status and increase in rate of suicide and furthur alienation of victims, trauma that can be as gravid and destructive as that caused by war.

I just signed the following Call for Action and I invite you to do the same. We must put an end to sexual aggression against womyn and girls in the Congo.

“We, as part of the global medical community, endorse Dr Mukwege and his colleagues´ following demands to the international community:

  1. Demand of the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda that they take control over their regular and irregular militias that wreak destruction in the area. The economic interests that entertain the chaos of the region to a great extent explain these states seeming indifference faced with the indescribable suffering taking place.
  2. Extend and strengthen the mandate for the peace-keeping troops in the region to protect civil society.
  3. Encourage the creation and training of a Congolese policing unit to large part consisting of women with the purpose to protect civilian society.”

  

The following medical organizations also endorse this call for action:

  1. The Swedish Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SFOG)
  2. The Swedish Society of Medicine
  3. The Swedish Medical Association
  4. Nordic Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG)
  5. Danish Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (DSOG)
  6. Finnish Gynaecologic Association (FIK)
  7. Norwegian Gynecological Association (NGF)
  8. Icelandic Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FÍK)
  9. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)
  10. The Swedish Association of Midwives
  11. AMOG- Associação Moçambicana de Obstetras e Ginecologistas
  12. Canadian Association of Midwives
  13. FIGO – the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics
  14. Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Ukraine (AOGU)
  15. Scandinavian Doctors Sweden
  16. Rotary Doctors Sweden

 

If you are the health care provider, click here to endorse this appeal for peace and an end to the sexual aggression in the Congo.

Anatomy of a Riddle! Will your answer be right-eous?

Posted: November 23, 2010 in Human Rights, Personal
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“A dad and his son had a car accident, the father died and the son was rushed to the hospital… The Doctor said: “I can NOT do the surgery, he is my son” Explain

This was a riddle I received by a broadcast BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) from my sister today.

Before you scroll down, take a minute to think about the right answer. Please consider leaving your first answer as a comment on this post.

With my sister in Lebanon end of 2009 (Blog post and photo are published with her permission)

“The Doctor is his Mother” I replied.

“You truly are a feminist” my sister wrote back.

I read her line as I was recovering from a reality shock. I actually fell in the trap. I have to confess that it took me more than a minute to figure it out which, in my opinion, is appalling.

“I did not know the answer” she continued.

“Who else on your list knew it?” I asked

“No one”

“I loved this riddle. It is such a feminist riddle. I did not guess it automatically, it took me some time, which is a shame. It reflects traces of brainwashing by an eastern Chauvinistic society in which we were raised.”

I am still not over the fact that I did not know the answer immediately. I realized how much work I still need to rid myself of prejudice I absorbed from a patriarchal society.

My sister felt even worst: “I hated myself when I knew the answer. كرهت حالي بس عرفت الجواب We all did, especially the girls. That is sad”

Yes, it is sad. It should be a wake up call for all of us. Lebanon is only “free”, “democratic” and “open-minded” when you compare it to neighboring countries, or other Arab-speaking countries. We should aspire to better quality freedom and social liberties than that of our neighbors.

No Lebanese man, woman or other should rest their case before womyn and those who identify as such have the full rights that men have. Womyn can not offer citizenship to their non-Lebanese husband or even to their kids from a non-Lebanese partner. Womyn can not report domestic violence to authorities as no protection is provided, on the contrary, they frequently end up back in the hands of their abuser same night. Womyn feel they need to hide their sexuality while men proudly flaunt it. Charges against a rapist will be dropped if he offers to marry his victim. Police get away with verbal sexual harassment of womyn on the street. I have witnessed few incidents in Beirut (#VisceralReaction). Many womyn are discouraged from pursuing further education because they are “ripe” for marriage. Those who do, will have strong competition from men, this is reflected in fewer womyn than men holding CEO or leader-position jobs. Womyn can be ostracized for delayed or no marriage. A unique term was even coined to further alienate these womyn: “عانس Aaniss”. It is amuzing that the term is rarely, if ever, used for unmarried men.

I have to say I have doubts people raised in a Western societies will get the answer more righteously! I witnessed patriarchy in USA and Canada in my past 5 years here, but on a different level. This will be left for a different post.

Back to our riddle, if you felt bad for missing the answer, I tell you what I told my sister: “Do not feel bad, you are so righteous in saying ‘I hated myself  when I knew the answer’, that by itself is strongly feminist.”

I posted this riddle as my status on Facebook. Here are few answers I received.