Dear Ayaan,
Your book is still excruciatingly slow moving. I am having a hard time focusing on it when there is so much background information. Of course you have to explain a little bit of the history that not everyone knows because they couldn’t be there, but at the same time it doesn’t captivate the audience. I’m really hoping it picks up.
I was very interested about the FGM that you discussed quite at length, considering it was a major event in your life. I even decided to do my world issue on it! I cannot believe what you went through, and that your grandmother would go behind your mother’s back in order to follow tradition. Is tradition really worth all of that pain, humiliation and both emotional and physical scarring? I am proud of your mother for being openly upset with your grandmother, even though she is an elder. In the end, you are your mother’s daughter and for you as a minor it is her duty to protect you and good for her for sticking up for your values, even though in the end you and your peer cousins were cut.
I am really hoping that now that your family has moved outwards from Somalia that things can pick up a little bit. To be dead honest, this book is very difficult to read because it just isn’t very interesting or intriguing!
-C
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
<>Week 3-Culture<>
Here’s a cultural tidbit!
“She opened a door onto a two-room apartment. We were going to have electricity! There were switches on the all that turned on light bulbs and—something we had never seen—a ceiling fan.” (p. 41)
So far, Ayaan’s mother has managed to get a fake passport so that they can escape and try to get closer to get word of her father. However, her mother is very strict about where they go due to the difference in religions. Ayaan’s mother will only go to where it is considered to be a truly Muslim country. She refused to go to Ethiopia because there were too many Christians, or “unbelievers”. She wanted to go to Saudi Arabia so that she could be in God’s country to be as close as possible to God.
When they first leave the country, Ayaan and her siblings are absolutely fascinated by the concept of an airplane, and that it can allow them to fly. Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, they stay with a member of their clan (as previously mentioned that whenever they meet someone that they trace back to find a common ancestor and then if it is a close similarity then that person will offer hospitality and security, sort of like staying with a long lost relative instead of a total stranger, even if you’ve never met them before.).
They get the message from their father, which prompts Ayaan’s mother to purchase a small apartment, in which they have electricity. Electricity is a huge deal for Ayaan and her siblings, especially the ceiling fan. It is definitely something that I take for granted on a daily basis, that I can walk into a room and know that it will be lit by the flick of a switch, or that when a room gets uncomfortably stuff that I can turn on a ceiling fan. In fascination over the ceiling fan, they break it because they throw things at it out of curiosity.
I’m curious as to what else they will explore being out of Somalia and into a more modern world.
“She opened a door onto a two-room apartment. We were going to have electricity! There were switches on the all that turned on light bulbs and—something we had never seen—a ceiling fan.” (p. 41)
So far, Ayaan’s mother has managed to get a fake passport so that they can escape and try to get closer to get word of her father. However, her mother is very strict about where they go due to the difference in religions. Ayaan’s mother will only go to where it is considered to be a truly Muslim country. She refused to go to Ethiopia because there were too many Christians, or “unbelievers”. She wanted to go to Saudi Arabia so that she could be in God’s country to be as close as possible to God.
When they first leave the country, Ayaan and her siblings are absolutely fascinated by the concept of an airplane, and that it can allow them to fly. Upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, they stay with a member of their clan (as previously mentioned that whenever they meet someone that they trace back to find a common ancestor and then if it is a close similarity then that person will offer hospitality and security, sort of like staying with a long lost relative instead of a total stranger, even if you’ve never met them before.).
They get the message from their father, which prompts Ayaan’s mother to purchase a small apartment, in which they have electricity. Electricity is a huge deal for Ayaan and her siblings, especially the ceiling fan. It is definitely something that I take for granted on a daily basis, that I can walk into a room and know that it will be lit by the flick of a switch, or that when a room gets uncomfortably stuff that I can turn on a ceiling fan. In fascination over the ceiling fan, they break it because they throw things at it out of curiosity.
I’m curious as to what else they will explore being out of Somalia and into a more modern world.
<>Week 2-Reflection<>
I had a very interesting discussion with my mother while talking to her about the book. I kept telling her how I was shocked at why a mother would put her daughter through so much pain in order to ensure her chastity. A five-year-old is unable to make decisions for herself, and therefore trusts her mother to protect her. Why wouldn’t a mother take this duty to the ultimate level and wish to protect her daughter from such an invasive painful procedure?
I understand that being chaste when a married is an important value, and that doesn’t just go for Muslims. However it does seem quite extreme to mutilate the genitals of a very young female in order ensure her purity.
I just read an article in Seventeen about a girl, now 19, who was reading about FGM for a college class and was shocked at what some cultures would do in order to make the female as pure as possible. Later, she found out that when she was 6 years old, she had been a victim of FGM. She felt extremely violated because of her inability to speak out against it because of her young age. It is now her mission to help convince her generation of what a wrong it is to do to one’s daughter and to prevent it from being allowed to future generations. Making it illegal would just cause FGM to be more of an underground operation, so prevention is key.
All very interesting. Very very interesting.
I understand that being chaste when a married is an important value, and that doesn’t just go for Muslims. However it does seem quite extreme to mutilate the genitals of a very young female in order ensure her purity.
I just read an article in Seventeen about a girl, now 19, who was reading about FGM for a college class and was shocked at what some cultures would do in order to make the female as pure as possible. Later, she found out that when she was 6 years old, she had been a victim of FGM. She felt extremely violated because of her inability to speak out against it because of her young age. It is now her mission to help convince her generation of what a wrong it is to do to one’s daughter and to prevent it from being allowed to future generations. Making it illegal would just cause FGM to be more of an underground operation, so prevention is key.
All very interesting. Very very interesting.
<>Week 2-Culture<>
I found the Somali policy on female genital mutilation absolutely horrifying. Just reading about it had me cringing! Just a little bit of an advisory that this might upset someone because it is very difficult to think about and a little graphic!
“In Somalia, like many countries across Africa and the Middle East, little girls are made “pure” by having their genitals cut out. There is no other way to describe this procedure, which typically occurs around the age of five. After the child’s clitoris and labia are carved out, scraped off, or, in more compassionate areas, merely cut or pricked, the whole area is often sewn up, so that a thick band of tissue forms a chastity belt made of the girl’s own scarred flesh. A small hole is carefully situated to permit a thin flow of pee. Only great force can tear the scar tissue wider, for sex.
Female genital mutilation predates Islam. Not all Muslims do this, and a few of the peoples who do are not Islamic. But in Somalia, where virtually every girl is excised the practice is always justified in the name of Islam. Uncircumcised girls will be possessed by devils, fall into vice and perdition, and become whores. Imams never discourage the practice: it keeps girls pure.
Many girls die during or after their excision, from infection. Other complications cause enormous, more or less lifelong pain.” (p 31)
This is an enormous cultural difference between America and Somalia. Most people would consider this incredibly cruel, especially considering that this procedure is performed sans anesthesia. The practice of genital mutilation in females speaks about the Somali culture: the patriarchal society and the value of chastity. Chastity until a girl’s marriage is clearly important if such excruciating measures are taken to ensure her purity. Also, it is the females who must endure these “fixes”, but what about the males? There is nothing that ensures male “purity”.
A friend of my mother’s is Somali, and when my mom asked her about this book, Safia (the friend) said that the author of the book, Ayaan is a “crazy lady”. I also found it interesting to hear that Safia is debating whether or not to send her four-year-old daughter back to Somalia to have this procedure done to her. Although Safia recognizes the cruelty and pain, she is concerned that if her daughter doesn’t get this female genital mutilation that no man (Somali of course) would marry her with her purity in question.
“In Somalia, like many countries across Africa and the Middle East, little girls are made “pure” by having their genitals cut out. There is no other way to describe this procedure, which typically occurs around the age of five. After the child’s clitoris and labia are carved out, scraped off, or, in more compassionate areas, merely cut or pricked, the whole area is often sewn up, so that a thick band of tissue forms a chastity belt made of the girl’s own scarred flesh. A small hole is carefully situated to permit a thin flow of pee. Only great force can tear the scar tissue wider, for sex.
Female genital mutilation predates Islam. Not all Muslims do this, and a few of the peoples who do are not Islamic. But in Somalia, where virtually every girl is excised the practice is always justified in the name of Islam. Uncircumcised girls will be possessed by devils, fall into vice and perdition, and become whores. Imams never discourage the practice: it keeps girls pure.
Many girls die during or after their excision, from infection. Other complications cause enormous, more or less lifelong pain.” (p 31)
This is an enormous cultural difference between America and Somalia. Most people would consider this incredibly cruel, especially considering that this procedure is performed sans anesthesia. The practice of genital mutilation in females speaks about the Somali culture: the patriarchal society and the value of chastity. Chastity until a girl’s marriage is clearly important if such excruciating measures are taken to ensure her purity. Also, it is the females who must endure these “fixes”, but what about the males? There is nothing that ensures male “purity”.
A friend of my mother’s is Somali, and when my mom asked her about this book, Safia (the friend) said that the author of the book, Ayaan is a “crazy lady”. I also found it interesting to hear that Safia is debating whether or not to send her four-year-old daughter back to Somalia to have this procedure done to her. Although Safia recognizes the cruelty and pain, she is concerned that if her daughter doesn’t get this female genital mutilation that no man (Somali of course) would marry her with her purity in question.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
<>Week 1- Letter<>
Dear Ayaan,
When I walked through the book store and found your book, I was very curious about the Somali culture. I looked forward to see your experiences as a "freedom fighter". It is evident right from the get go that you had a fighting spirit in you, even though your grandmother told your mother that you were stupid and useless. The strict nature of your religion and your courage to escape it were admirable on contact. However, I am finding the start to your book very slow and it is difficult for me to feel engaged in what is going on. It is understandable that you want to build up some of the history that goes along with your story (your grandmother and mother, absent father, etc) but it is done in an unfortunately slow manor. Following all of your family members and the story switching between your mother's childhood and that of your grandmother is challenging. I feel like it's not off to a great start, but hopefully it will improve, otherwise it is going to be a long quarter.
-C
When I walked through the book store and found your book, I was very curious about the Somali culture. I looked forward to see your experiences as a "freedom fighter". It is evident right from the get go that you had a fighting spirit in you, even though your grandmother told your mother that you were stupid and useless. The strict nature of your religion and your courage to escape it were admirable on contact. However, I am finding the start to your book very slow and it is difficult for me to feel engaged in what is going on. It is understandable that you want to build up some of the history that goes along with your story (your grandmother and mother, absent father, etc) but it is done in an unfortunately slow manor. Following all of your family members and the story switching between your mother's childhood and that of your grandmother is challenging. I feel like it's not off to a great start, but hopefully it will improve, otherwise it is going to be a long quarter.
-C
<>Week 1- Culture<>
"Somali children must memorize their lineage: this is more important than almost anything. Whenever a Somali meets a stranger, they ask each toher 'Who are you?' They trace back their separate ancestries until they find a common forefather." (4)
I found this very interesting because a lot of Ayaan's family do leave their clan in the desert and goes into the city, where in order to find hospitality. Finding a commonplace in a bloodline means that you offer each other food and hospitality. The Children are forced to memorize their bloodlines of 800 years prior. If I had to do that, I would fail miserable, considering my memory isn't my faithful servant. When we travel in modern day American culture, we can seek hospitality from mostly close family, such as aunts, uncles, cousins. I can't even begin to imagine how weird it would be to introduce yourself to someone and begin listing off your ancestors in search of one in common to see if is okay to be hospitable. I think that the level of devotion to ones clan is so important that it not only affects the hospitality aspect, but can also be shown to cause other conflicts.
I found this very interesting because a lot of Ayaan's family do leave their clan in the desert and goes into the city, where in order to find hospitality. Finding a commonplace in a bloodline means that you offer each other food and hospitality. The Children are forced to memorize their bloodlines of 800 years prior. If I had to do that, I would fail miserable, considering my memory isn't my faithful servant. When we travel in modern day American culture, we can seek hospitality from mostly close family, such as aunts, uncles, cousins. I can't even begin to imagine how weird it would be to introduce yourself to someone and begin listing off your ancestors in search of one in common to see if is okay to be hospitable. I think that the level of devotion to ones clan is so important that it not only affects the hospitality aspect, but can also be shown to cause other conflicts.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
INFIDEL by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
For my 4th (and final sophomore!) quarter, I have chose to read Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
This book is about a woman who is very politically active and strong minded about her beliefs with a special determination to fight injustices. She had a difficult childhood, filled with civil war and beatings. She later escaped from an arranged marriage. She is under frequent threat by reactionary Islamists, was disowned by her father an expelled from her family. This is her story of being "freedom fighter".
I chose to read this book because I think it's important of current events, especially with the conflict in the middle east. The fact that its told from a woman's perspective makes it all the more interesting in an obviously more male dominated country. I also think that it is good to become more familiar with the Islamic culture and religion from a perspective that isn't stereotypical.
This book is about a woman who is very politically active and strong minded about her beliefs with a special determination to fight injustices. She had a difficult childhood, filled with civil war and beatings. She later escaped from an arranged marriage. She is under frequent threat by reactionary Islamists, was disowned by her father an expelled from her family. This is her story of being "freedom fighter".
I chose to read this book because I think it's important of current events, especially with the conflict in the middle east. The fact that its told from a woman's perspective makes it all the more interesting in an obviously more male dominated country. I also think that it is good to become more familiar with the Islamic culture and religion from a perspective that isn't stereotypical.
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