Well…
Don’t they have anything about horoscopes!
That IS weird!

Politics, technology, science, and art are not for women, they are for everybody so why would they name it “Helwa” and it is talking about subjects of everybody’s interest.

I totally agree with what your saying here. There is more to being a woman and a wife than cooking and cleaning. Howvever there is nothing wrong in encoraging women to do those things but the problem arises when its only those things that women are encouraged to do. What happened to Arab womn being smart, intelligent and intelectual?

When “many” Arab women walk half-naked in the streets, then that’s why we won’t show significant respect to their mentality and culture.

If a non Arab girl wears shorts, she do so because the weather is hot, but for an Arab girl to wear shorts in the street, then It’s obvious she does so to show us her legs. so what do you expect ?

“Is that all what the majority of Arab women are interested in?” Absolutely Yes.

And the overwhelming minority would not make any marketing values for maktoob! So I believe this site will hit!

Well, it’s known, Sex sells, Women stuff, sells, if you’re targeting a specific segment (apparently not you since you’re so delusional you think people still respect you when you’re wearing shorts!! Huh!! that’s so funny. And no half naked girls … My goodness, are you really in Amman? Actually, I’ll give this one to you, your good nature makes you see only the good in people, so keep up your innocence)
Anyway, We’re only taking your extremely Narrow view of the matter, I mean,
a) You’re not married so you don’t really know
b) So far there are no documented cases of you ever had any encounters with the other sex to be able to take your word against theirs
c) Your interactions with the other sex mostly through your brothers or colleagues don’t really count because … you know they’re your “brothers and colleagues”
and
d) You got offended by them in a way that got you “upset” which means your view is pretty much driven by anger and not really objective

As Salam “wisely” stated, you still have a long way to go.
Not all women are the same, and not all care about mixing colors or their red Shoes. Yes, what you see as nice others see as utter stupidity, and of course vice versa.
At the and, do not underestimate the little arab lady that looks so helpless! You just can’t fathom her true power

Excellent post, Roba. Rest assured, however, that the problem is not limited to Arab women and the discourse surrounding them. Even the “West” has a long way to go, as you can tell from a quick look at all the magazines, websites, and etc that instruct women on how they need to “be pretty” all the time.

The fact that “such a package sells so well” basically shows the two-way effect of discourse: it sells because it functions within a patriarchal structure, and then it sells even more because it reinforces that structure.

Qwaider wrote:

“a) You’re not married so you don’t really know
b) So far there are no documented cases of you ever had any encounters with the other sex to be able to take your word against theirs
c) Your interactions with the other sex mostly through your brothers or colleagues don’t really count because … you know they’re your “brothers and colleagues””

How does one’s sex/marriage life – or lack thereof, although I’m sure Roba might agree that it’s a deeply personal matter we’re probing into here – bear upon one’s opinions of such matters?

You can form an opinion on anything, irrespective of your personal experience of the matter in hand…shooting one’s opinion down with the old gem “you don’t know enough about this” is counter-productive.

I’m essentially anti-abortion…But I’ve never HAD an abortion…so by your logic, I can’t form an opinion on abortion, because I’ve never experienced it?

As it happens, I’m married…to an Arab man (although I’m non-Arab), and my own views on husband/wife relationships (that pretty much concur with those in this blog post) remain virtually unchanged, almost 3 years later.

A woman can be great housewife and a great something else. No one can argue on that. But most of husbands want her to be a great wife before being anything else. And the definition of “great wife” = “the definition of terrorism” in most cases. This is a fact.

Roba,

I’ve seen the number of veiled Arab woman increasing in Jordan, and my friends told me that It’s increasing in Egypt too. But However, It is decreasing in Kuwait !! The Kuwaiti woman is getting more naked every year, and honestly I can’t destinguish whether she’s Kuwaiti or Western! I wish the number of veiled woman is increasing in the Arab world, but I doubt so.

Honestly, the real Hijab is rare here in Jordan. I mean yes, they’re veiled, but It’s hard to see the effect of the veil on their behaviour, I most often get dirty looks from veiled (with jelbab kaman) girls of Irbid! This is not Hijab.

Anyway, to be more relevant, we should encourage the Arab woman “To Sell her self”. It’s hard for a man to appreciate a woman if she doesn’t appreciate herself.

We can take the Iranian woman as an example, She’s the devoted religous woman, with her black Hijab, but However, she’s very active, she attends international conferences, and I’ve heared from different persons that her prescence is very noticable and effective. She’s successful in sports, polticis, TV shows, reading, writing, ..and all other acitivies, and she raises good families.

The Jordanian woman should learn from her, and Im encouraging my girls cousins to be more effective and well read.

Sorry for invading the comments space, and sorry the long comments :)

A lot has been said, I respect it all from Roba and Pheras, (others?) Maybe you’ll allow me respond
Now I know, you know that I don’t come back with political-lets-get-along-bullshit comments. And Always (and I mean always) gave you credit, when it is due. Hell I called you things I wouldn’t dream of saying to the best of women. With that said, I also -and sharply- criticized you at times. Because I believe there is no need to sugarcoat my reverse-opinions about your onions

Now, I only said “Narrow view of that matter” in other words. I’m specifying that this is a specific view on this subject. Not everything in life. And stated a bunch of reasons

Yes, one may develop an understanding about a topic without actually experiencing it. But not when the matter is as overwhelming and all encompassing as motherhood. Again, I haven’t practiced (or ever will) practice motherhood. But I have lived long enough to realize that it’s a serious thing. A big matter, and spectators might not always understand what’s going on in the battlefield. Hell not even married women know sometimes, each has their own experiences and face different issues.

As for respect for “excessively-uncovered” women. Let me give you my 2c.
Where I work, we actually have detailed training on conduct and what’s acceptable, appropriate, unacceptable, inappropriate or might-cause-you-to-get-fired-and-sued-inappropriate. Because Sexual harassment is a serious matter. Some of these classes revolved around what’s acceptable in the workplace. For both males and females. The rules were simple. Cover up, avoid all extremes (skin, smell, makeup, language-content ..etc)
With that said, I know for a fact, that a big number of people in the Jordanian society seem to be superficial, and judge you based on not even what you’re wearing, but on the actual BRAND. If not even the year, make and origin. If people didn’t recognize Prada Mr Pheras, you wouldn’t have mentioned it. Now, I’m not saying anything is wrong with that. But People do judge based on appearance. And the show of more (or less) skin WILL effect people’s views (Specifically, when you didn’t even say anything yet)

Anyway, Roba, and Pheras and Others, pleas accept my apology if you feel this was too personal. I do sometimes give bad examples that when taken out of context seem to mean a very negative thing.

lol the comments are very interesting

well there is a battle between the housewife and the neo-feminist-woman and it’s happening all over the world and just starting to take shape in the Arab world. ironically i think both groups don’t really like each other. the latter sees the former as someone who is caged and needs to be liberated and the former sees the latter as someone who is..for lack of a better word…”loose”.

i dont see why there can’t be a compromise between both worlds. i don’t understand why there is a need to be one or the other. why either must seek the destruction in order to survive.

as for these publications…

this is what sells as someone said before. fashion magazines and the most superfical publications on the market are bought by women. if there was a magazine discussing politics, technology or arts for women by women, i would expect it to sell less than a publication that talks about cooking, fashion and gossip. it’s not a stereotype, it’s not what should be…it’s just…what is. it doesnt matter if you’re in amman or new york.

i wish it was different. the truth is this is a massive generalistion, but that’s the point, it has to be a generalisation. there are women who are interested in politics, art and technology, but the majority is what is catered to.

“the truth is this is a massive generalistion, but that’s the point, it has to be a generalisation. there are women who are interested in politics, art and technology, but the majority is what is catered to”

Again, I wish to point to the complexity of the discourse. The question to ask is, does the world create the media or the media create the world? The answer unfortunately is not straightforward. And we must also look at the dynamics of consumerism, pop culture, capitalist economics, etc. There are so many issues that cannot be dissociated from a question like this, and a good gender-conscious critique cannot simply exmaine patriarchy without examining its most extensive and subtle manifestations.

To wonder why fewer women will buy magazines on politics, art, or technology is only looking at part of the problem. A deeper question to ask is why these fields are still overwhelmingly dominated by men. Furthermore, why must we expect that women’s magazine should be either about fashion or about these issues? (Again, fashion itself is a complex and powerful discourse that requires serious criticism and reform. American feminist Naomi Wolf has written a lot about fashion in connection to her theory of the “beauty myth” — a very related topic). I think there may be something wrong with the way we are approaching this: surely we don’t need separate ‘serious’ magazines for women, when women are already reading TIME, the New Yorker, Newsweek, or the Atlantic.

But here’s what I realized: popular men’s magazines like GQ or even the blatantly sexist Playboy are full of stuff on politics and other serious issues. Only when it comes to the women’s stuff, it’s overwhelmingly only about how to look pretty, how to please your man, how to make a better home, or how to be a better wife for your husband.

A major point that my friends and I have raised whenever we got into discussing this whole issue is the fact that both men’s AND women’s magazines have female models on the cover. That is something that requires some serious thought.

Thanks Roba, I’m flattered!
You dedicated more space to praise me than your actual post. Beautiful. You’re lovely when you’re mad.

“A deeper question to ask is why these fields are still overwhelmingly dominated by men.”

ah but that is a question that has no real end in sight. and generally when we are talking about someone who is about to buy a magazine, we don’t usually factor in millions of years of socialization into the process otherwise we are diving in to an abyss of which there is floor.

“Furthermore, why must we expect that women’s magazine should be either about fashion or about these issues?”

it’s not a great expectation but it IS an expectation, I mean it’s there. to expect otherwise is to ignore the obvious reality. most women magazine are not exactly filled with articles on Iran’s nuclear program or the latest Mars probe to get lost.

“I think there may be something wrong with the way we are approaching this: surely we don’t need separate ’serious’ magazines for women, when women are already reading TIME, the New Yorker, Newsweek, or the Atlantic.”

I once argued that we didn’t need special courses for women, like “femanist politics”, that they should be factored in to all courses and approached in a neutral manner, similar to readership of TIME and Newsweek. But the fact is there are certain issues that concern mostly men and certain issues that concern mostly women. And when we consider the patriarcal universe and that vicious cycle Roba is pointing to, perhaps there is no better time in history for women to have women magazines that address those serious topics that affect them. The question however is whether they as a gender (a socialized on at that) are actually serious about the serious topics.

Boys are raised to consider the serious topics, or the topics society deems as serious. It is a test of manhood to be able to consider topics like politics and current events. Girls do not go through this process.

There are always exceptions to these “rules” but for the most part I’ve found this to be true.

THAT BEING SAID…

Things will eventually change. For the first time in history there are actually some role models in the Arab world. I think HM Queen Noor and Queen Rania are pretty good examples of women who are intelligent, ambitious, business women who are also mothers.

bass ya jama3a..Roba,of course I was just kidding,DON’T LET you will make a great wife ,I know that,because not all men are looking for the ame things in women

Ya Anoneemuss … if you were even a human worth a spit and had a single ounce of courage, you would have showed yourself. Instead of hiding cowerdly behind your name.
I already know who you are, and trust me, earthworms are higher in the evolution scale than you and elli khallafook!

By the way, I didn’t want to continue in a useless discussion where nothing will be achieved, I agreed to disagree, and left it at that. I don’t like to bust the point way beyond it’s worth.

Yalla …. prove your stupidity more ya … Anoneemuss, iza ka 3indak …ras

Roba i some times say allah ye3eenik with your blog, i would have sent you an email to tell you my opion ;)
you talk about something and you end up with another, and always end up with talking about naked women…lets talk about men that pull their pants down for a change, and hear their opion about naked women

im sorry roba if you find this offending you can delet if you want

Sorry, my previous comment was supposed to show Nas’s quote in italics. That was the first paragraph.
Sorry, Nas.

Kid: Baba leish tjawwazt mama?
Father: 3ashanha 7elweh, w Zakeyyeh, w bte3raf shu betsawii

*Scene at mother doing maggi soup smiling*

*Scene of father smiling out of fulfillment that his mother knows how to cook!*

Now shu ra2yek with this one, Roba?
LOL

omar

I would like to thank all of you for all your comments.
all of them will be taken into consideration , a compliment from you is always valued!!! Remember we value criticism too – that way we only get better.
“Our goal is to inspire and encourage women in different age groups, interests and backgrounds to be beautiful from the inside and outside rather than being beautiful from the outside, this was our Slogan theme commercializing inner beauty and strength, through the variety of women related topics presented by Helwa”

Managing to catch up with the fast paced world, Maktoob’s Helwa is a revamped version of the existing women’s section on Maktoob.com to go parallel with Arab women’s interests in the current and future times. A plethora of topics, from women’s rights in the Arab World and violence against women, to beauty, parenting, family & society, home management, and health articles written by credible doctors and specialists will form an integral part of the features of Helwa.

‘’Helwa’’ – translating into ‘’pretty’’ – facilitates being as pretty on the inside as much as on the outside to Arab females. Therefore, as an appreciation to successful women and an encouragement to the not yet, ‘Women under Spot’ will provide a platform for Arab Women achievers and leaders, irrespective of industry or specialization.
we launched recently our teens section too.
we have alot of promising features coming soon.
for any comments or suggestion ..please email us .
helwa@maktoob.com