Lady in White

Upon the increasing awareness of the need for professional unions and consolidating bodies, and with the recent birth of “Kuwait Health United in North America”, the new institution that recently gathered under it’s wing many post graduate physicians and dentists residing in North America, I find it essential to start by pointing out for those who don’t know me, and before they judge me with the contrary, that I’ve historically been and continue to be a furious advocate for women’s rights, and have always favoured the policy of helping our female partner in life help her self rather than the throw of my leftovers for her to pick up and yet expect her to be thrilled about.

Having said that, I believe there is one area that appears to need work most, and that is the Kuwaiti female doctor spirit. I could not help but notice their repeated quantity, or the lack of it, and more importantly quality of contribution that has historically been extremely modest, to say the very least. And here I am referring to the collective quality and quantity of comments by many of our dear lady doctors and sisters and along the years and in many of the other larger e-mail groups that preceded the birth of the new union. And here again I am referring to the quality of intellectual contribution rather than the odd ” GOD bless you for your work”, the “we’re behind you all the way”, and the “add my name brother” e-mails that appeared sporadically here and there. That while keeping an open and watching eye on the rapidly and thrillingly evolving Saudi and rest of Arab Gulf state female doctors and their public and professional engagement I am encountering in this part of the world.

This has also paralleled my general impression of the Kuwaiti woman’s modest political performance in the recently developed political scene in Kuwait, although not necessarily true in the public one, where she has always appeared to have maintained a competitive equal to her man counterpart, which is fine, but in a highly selected female population as in the medical profession in North America, I find her public intellectual absence adverse to her cause, and I honestly don’t see how many are going to survive the professional yet alone political Kuwaiti arena.

I can understand that many may not have a public interest, just as in many men, or even women from other parts of the world. I can also understand that we as Kuwaitis have regressed in that department, as well as in many other departments and over the past three decades. On top of that, this e-mail group as well as similar professional groups may appear to have been more like another man’s world, where many of them (the ladies) shy away from breaking into, perceived as a male territory that will relentlessly eye her with the scrutinizing and merciless Arabian judging eye. And regardless of what different people’s personal believes are on this subject, or whether the female member fall under the conservative, religious, reserved, or liberal umbrella, it is needless to clarify here that many female public figures, authors, newspaper columnists, as well as political activists evidently stem from each and every one of those schools of thoughts in Kuwait, hence that never appeared to have been the reason for her absence from the medical scene in North America.

In the most recent Kuwaiti Parliamental elections, I decided to reserve at least one of my two votes to a female candidate regardless of how superiorly competent her male competition was, and I ultimately did keep my part of the promise, but it was frustratingly disappointing to me how hard it was to do so (keep to my promise), looking for the very barely minimal competing female candidate and not finding her.

I do very much oppose giving away the charity of a fixed council seat to our dear sisters ever since the now and then voices questioned that option, and I’ve always been a constant advocate for the “you want it? you need to fight then compete for it” policy as a natural route for political as well as professional maturity and evolvement. And in the case of Kuwait Health United council’s membership, any female member who would have submitted her name would have got in by default since there was hardly any competition on the founding council’s membership, which never happened. In fact I would have had no issue with more than half or even the entire council’s members being ladies, but not even one participated in the preceding commotion, yet alone went for the council’s membership.

For interested members who may have some time to share an example of an ultimately good and just cause, represented (in my view) in a poor image and even worse route, can do so through the enclosed links. I could almost see the smirks on the congressmen and women’s faces, entertained at the alarmingly shallow core yet luxuriously colorful outfit representation, with the exception of Dr Rola Dashti, most have appeared as six year old school girls raising their hands excitedly to get the allowed one minute chance in order to talk in the presence of the master.

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwFPbfdBKKU

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWAp3zuHhYI&mode=related&search=

Kuwaiti women need to work and work hard on upgrading their speech and vocabulary, and before all of that self confidence within, and not the outer image or the reactive lashing back shell that was the natural result of an inferiority complex nourished by many years of male domination and manipulation, that in order to be of any competition to her fellow Kuwaiti man, who in order needs a lot of work him self, but that is another more interesting topic that I may touch on in the future.

Many (and not all) Kuwaiti women seem to await the leftovers and charity rights to be thrown at them periodically while shielded in mainly one of two favourite costumes they seem to have settled for and enjoyed wearing, the either highly reserved and always protected image many like to portray, although medical practice reality as a profession and range of exposure is hardly shielded or protected, having to deal with the public (patients) from the classy and elite all the way down to the scum and low. Either that or the opposite side of the spectrum depicted in the sophisticated outer sphere and colorful outfit and hairdo encapsulating an alarmingly unsophisticated and shallow content and core.

Why can’t the amazing and intelligent Kuwaiti woman rise again and come out of her hiding, to fight for what belongs to her daughter, and to take her awaiting due spot in the Kuwaiti way of life, in order to revive and restore her long lost glories, let it be her Islamic, liberal, or human glories. And although one is aware that different Muslims may define her glories in different ways, written intelligent contribution is hardly an inappropriate exposure as all would agree. I know she is everywhere out there, I know that because I’ve seen her, over and over, and as much as I have been disappointed at times, I was equally and more so impressed by her in many other places, yet to be sought in North America, but I see that she either chose to fight, downplay and marginalize her fellow man as an enemy when she comes to an overriding power, setting a bad precedent and propagating the vicious cycle of gender authority, either that or she seem to have lost stamina to fight for what is hers, and gave in to domination, to a point where she willingly enjoyed living in the shadow of man, easily proven by the last Kuwaiti parlaimental elections, when she almost unanimously voted for a man, or maybe she wisely did so, judging from what was offered to her in the menu.

Raed