“Unfetter my hands, Give me my freedom!” In her enchantingly sad voice, Umm Kulthum, nightingale of the Arab world, gave expression to the anguish and yearnings of the suppressed Arab women.
We were overwhelmed by Layla’s pains and pangs filling Umm Kulthum’s melody, because we identified ourselves with Layla. It was three decades ago. We, women, are still in chains. Worse still, the Arab men also find themselves in chains.
Our men have been draining their strength fighting and killing among themselves impelled by false notions of pride and honor. We, the Arabs, have become so weak that we cannot even protect our own land and homes. To make an admittedly bad situation worse, we have been labeled terrorists and chased out of other countries. Now we are a people under siege.
Under these circumstances Umm Kulthum’s song has acquired more resonance. Her sonorous voice still rings in our ears but with more sinister warnings and frightening forebodings.
Our men interpreted Umm Kulthum’s song as an attempt to incite Arab women to stand up to men and demand their freedom. This is why her song failed to impress men. There is an erroneous notion among men in this part of the world that they are capable of liberating women. Freedom, they forget, is never granted but won.
Arab men are incapable of helping women win anything. The fact is the men need someone else to protect them. The men here are in chains. Their muscles have been crushed and bodies weakened. A thick mustache may make them feel they are manly. Their narcissistic nature and erroneous notions about manhood have saddled them with a burden beyond their endurance. This load breaks both their spirit and will.
There are several social taboos to be overcome before women win their freedom. Arab men have no power to cross the red line. In their failure to undertake all the tasks put on their back, men employ all their muscle power to suppress women.
Even a male child loses his childhood as a result of the high hopes the family pins on him. Prematurely he grows to be an adult and becomes old. He is supposed to behave like a “man” even before he is 10. His mind is filled with legends of invincible manhood even before he reaches adolescence. He takes up tasks which are beyond his capacity. He does not dare to claim his own right to complain or express his human feelings, because if he expressed his true sentiments it would mean his fall from the high pedestal of manhood.
While playing a hero’s role defined for him by society, he nearly exhausts all his energy. The remaining is drained off by government regulations. He has never been given an opportunity to acknowledge his own feelings.
Now the whole world is against the Arabs. When an Arab wants to prove his individuality, the whole world joins together to push him around. Because of the terrorism charges his status has become worse than that of a woman. As a suspected and blacklisted man, he is pursued internationally and hounded internally. He wants to live freely but no one in the outside world wants him in their midst. Under these circumstances, it is best for Arab men to join their womenfolk in their clamor for freedom.
— Wajeha Al-Huwaider is a program and evaluation analyst at Aramco. She holds an MA in Reading Management from George Washington University.