Women's Affairs Technical Committee

Voice of Women

Issue no. 308

June18^th, 2009

In this issue:

· WATCA commemorate the women ministers in the new Palestinian Government

· Degradation of the Palestinian Woman in the Popular Proverbs

· Inadequate images of Palestinian Women in the Local Press

· Life Hardships and Agonies of Palestinian Women in Lebanon

· The Penal Code: Between Modification and Eradication

· Guarantees and Obligations of CEDAW and the Palestinian Women's Charter

· The image of women in children literature

WATCA commemorate the women ministers in the new Palestinian Government

Translated by: Samar Qutob

As five women ministers were appointed to take part in the 13^th Palestinian government, the Women’s Affairs Technical Committee Association received the news with much anticipation. The five chosen ministers are highly professional and committed to both national, and women’s affairs.

In the celebration organized by WATCA to commemorate women’s presence in one of the highest levels of the policymaking, more than 150 women including women activists, ex-ministers, and representatives of women committees and organizations appeared in the meeting, along with prominent PLC members and some politicians.

Rose Shomali, the general Director of WATCAA described the appointment of the ministers as an important development and a remarkable achievement for the Palestinian women’s movement and for WATCA in particular, as all five ministers took part in WATCA activities at some point in their political lives.

Shomali also highlighted on the interrelation between the women’s struggle and the national struggle, “which led eventually to recognition of the political role of the women within their parties and organizations”.

Nahla Qourah, WATCA president, said that since its establishment in 19992. The Technical committee made it one of its aims to assist women to take their places in policymaking positions. “We always believed that women have their own and special marks and can make a difference. Women that took part in the struggle can also be partners in the building of the country”.

Qourah added that although WATCA was happy with appointment of women ministers for the education and social affairs ministries in previous cabinets, we judged those appointments for those two particular ministers as sort of regular and customary positions to be saved for women. The true breakthrough comes with our women winning seats in territories that had always been exclusive for men like the culture and tourism ministries. “We are particularly proud to see Siham Barghoti and Rabiha Diyab who are members of our board, been selected for the cabinet; selection of Majeda Al Masri who is a member of a political faction represented at WATCA also means a lot for us”.

However, this triumph for the Palestinian women does not resolve the hard women issues that are still bending; the domestic affairs charter and the punishment law are just examples. The women’s charter on the elimination of all discrimination against women that was approved by resident Abbas, is still awaiting final endorsement and actual implementation.

Kholoud Duaibes, minister of tourism said that women should demand wider presence at the ministerial level and should work to maintain 50% of the seats there. “Women’s presence in higher ranking posts must be accepted and supported by the society, and the choice between men and women in those positions is to be decided only by their ability to participate in the development process”.

Zahira Kamal, ex-minister for the women’s affairs described her experience to be rich and important, “it is a very challenging experience for any woman with a vision and determination”. Kamal added that the political arena was not originally designed with a space for women, and although women are capable and ready for the challenge, they could not arrive to their current positions without the support of their political parties.

Tahani Abu Daqqa, ex-minister for both ministries of culture and youth affairs briefed the audience about her experience first at the ministry of culture, then when given the load of a second ministry and said that the load became heavy and many difficulties and obstacles stood in her way. She proposed for female ministers to get more support, hinting that when the load was doubled on her shoulders as she had to run the two ministries, she didn’t have the needed backup from the women’s organizations and bodies.

Minister of women’s affairs Rabiha Diyab gave tribute to president Abbas, Prime Minister Fayyad, the political faction and Fateh movement in particular for the steps they took to enable women to occupy their positions in the center of the decision-making. Diyab added: “women had always been active and represented in the top ranks of the Palestinian parties and movements, but this was not enough to reflect their true dedication to their country. Appointment of five women ministers is a qualitative step forwards in the attitude of the political institution with regards to women."

Siham Barghouti, minister of culture said that Palestinian women are moving out of the narrow circle to a wider one in their political involvement; women who have always been very active in marches and campaigns are taking their positions in the core of the legislative, executive and judicial bodies. “However”, Barghouti said: “Having 5 women in a 24 ministers cabinet is one step forwards but does not reflect the true balance needed in the political institution”.

Minister of social affairs Majeda al Masri agreed with Barghouti and described the appointment of 5 women ministers as part of the requirements of the nationalist and democratic Palestinian system to be developed. “Engaging women is a must in the combine and multilateral political system we try to establish, as it is based on partnership rather than competition”.

Degradation of the Palestinian Woman in the Popular Proverbs

By: Majeda Bilbisy

Translated by: Samar Qutob

Popular Palestinian proverbs which speak of women are by and large humiliating and degrading, and put women in a lower position in society.

Consider the following:

“Like a carpet, women can only be cleaned with a stick.”

“A mirror and a comb are the weapons of women."

“For a man, to be rich or poor has to do with the woman to whom he is married.”

“A girl is an exact copy of her mother.”

“Girls are a burden forever.”

“Death of one’s wife is the prize for his goodwill.”

Sadly, the above repulsive proverbs are just a small sample of the many sayings heard throughout some Palestinian communities.

In her comment on the above sayings, Hiba Al-Attar said: “Nowadays women do not only form half of the society but also hold far more responsibilities than do men. This must be received with great gratitude and respect.” Hiba adds that we must fight against the message of all anti-women proverbs and "We must refrain from using them, and take a firm stand against whoever recites these words.”

Umm Jameel from Beit Lahia in Gaza comments that “These proverbs are bad and humiliating for us women. They also go against the teachings of Islam which praise women. God specifies one entire chapter in the Quran for women to speak about their rights and privileges.” She adds that when friends and neighbors repeat the proverbial sayings in her presence, she becomes angry. However, she believes that such proverbs are gradually disappearing and will eventually fade as the new generations become well educated and develop better understandings of social life.

Umm Fayeq is a mother of eight: seven girls and one boy. She has much to say regarding the prejudices against women. "When my fourth girl was born, I was fine with this; but members of my family and neighbors who came to congratulate me made me feel very bad and angry. Some said that they were sad for me, while others advised me to approach God and ask for his mercy. I was furious and told everyone that I am happy and grateful for having a girl, and assured them that I regard her as a blessing to our home.”

Umm Fayeq believes that negative social attitudes towards women are disappearing as more and more people become exposed to awareness programs in the media and social institutions. "Everyone knows that it is not the decision of the women that determines the baby's sex. Also, husbands and wives are increasingly settled in separate houses, away from their extended families and their influence," and therefore the older generation's decreased tolerance of baby girls has a lesser impact on new families.

Arafat Hillis, a lecturer at al-Quds University, sees the popular proverbs as an important and honest reflection of the social values adopted by the people through different stages of their lives. As a sociologist, he believes that all proverbs--including those that are offensive--need to be preserved, studied, and analyzed in order to highlight the negative impact of such rhetoric and its contradictions with the teachings of Islam.

Hillis adds that popular proverbs are spontaneous and irrational rhetoric normally voiced without intention to harm anyone. In some cases, however, they are intentionally used to describe a specific person or incident, either of being good or evil, generous or stingy. When it comes to women, Hillis agrees that most proverbs are hostile and should not be handed down from generation to generation. He believes that they negatively affect the self-image of women and can undermine their self-confidence, which might eventually see them withdraw from participation in their societies.

Inadequate images of Palestinian Women in the Local Press

By: Lubna Al-Ashqar

Translated by: Samar Qutob

For years, women and civil society institutions have been monitoring the Palestinian and Arab press, disturbed by the poor image of women that the media presents. It is obvious for all concerned with the woman’s image in media that no quick or definite answers are to be expected, and that continuous effort should be made toward ensuring that women's issues receive the appropriate attention they deserve in media outlets.

Arab media generally portrays women as beautiful commodities or as sexual objects. Clearly, these images undermine the actual roles that Arab women fill in society. The woman, who in this case is not given any of the credit she deserves, is a human being, a mother, a wife. In most cases, wives are portrayed as subjects and followers of men; they are not depicted as partners and associates. Similarly, motherhood is associated mainly with the ability to become pregnant and birth babies; the deeper social, emotional, and human sides of this woman are ignored.

To avoid clashing with tradition and social mores, local Palestinian media do not exploit the image and body of the woman for commercial purposes, as many Arab Satellite channels. However, the image of the Palestinian woman in local media does not reflect the long history of struggle and resistance embodied in generations of women for social or political reasons. The honorable achievements of our women must be revealed and praised in the media to promote the continuous participation of women in the development of Palestinian life.

Through a look into the image of women in the three main Palestinian daily publications, Al-Ayyam, Al-Quds, and Al-Hayat, I examined commercial advertisements, pictures, articles, and news briefs from a day's worth of publications and discovered the following:

· Al-Ayyam Daily had three news reports on women: one for the mother of a Palestinian martyr; the second quotes the female Minister of Women's Affairs on marital law; and the third covers the story of two girls who won certain prizes.

· Al-Quds Daily also contained three reports on women: one on the same two girls who had won prizes; the second on an American female athlete; and the third covered a woman who had been caught torturing her children.

· Al-Hayat Daily had only published one news report on women, which was written about the female Minister of Women's Affairs.

With regard to the opinion pages and articles, nothing contained in Al-Hayat or Al-Ayyam was on the subject of covered women; Al-Quds had two articles, one on the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, and the second on Palestinian women and the legislative elections.

The photos of women in Al-Ayyam were as follows: one accompanied a news report on the mother of a martyr; the second captured a swimming trainer; and the third photo was of a model. In a group photo for Birzeit university graduates, only male students were shown. This same photo was also published in both Al-Quds and Al-Ayyam.

Al-Hayat had three photos of women. One showed a Palestinian refugee and accompanied a report on the refugees' status; the second photo was of a female Syrian poet; and the third displayed a woman performing at the Palestinian International Festival.

In the advertisements sections, Al-Ayyam had published eight photos displaying women, which promoted furniture, cosmetics, appliances, and other similar products. Al-Quds had many commercial advertisements for cosmetics, exercise equipment and weight-loss drugs, paper tissues, and appliances; all ads featured women in the photographs.

The above observations are intended to serve as an example of the traditional and backward-looking rendering of images of women in the local media. Women are still portrayed as shallow and narrow-minded, only interested in cooking, fashion, beauty, marriage and children. They are rarely spoken of when it comes to discussing crucial topics related to the production process and vital development activities in their communities. Women of certain higher social classes are reflected in media coverage, while the majority of women from other walks of life are overlooked.

In research conducted by the “Media Coalition in Favor of Women’s Affairs,” Palestinian daily newspapers were surveyed in an attempt to evaluate those papers’ coverage of “honor killings” in Palestinian areas during 2007; the survey concluded that all papers failed to properly and objectively cover such crimes. The finding suggests that in order for the media to be influential and truly professional when covering highly sensitive and controversial issues such as “honor killing,” they must consider the following:

· Provide greater coverage of stories and investigations on the killing of women for "honor."

· Elaborate and reveal facts in an objective and professional manner regarding coverage of "honor"-related crimes.

· Increased numbers of pictures and promotional materials should be used when accompanying information on “honor" killing.

· The media must follow up on key persons related to cases of such killings, and report on the impact of such a crime on the victim’s family, as well as on any legal actions taken by different parties.

· The three daily newspapers were found to publish news on crimes against women in marginalized columns and back pages; typically, little space on the page is given to cover such stories. This practice can be seen as an indirect method in which to abstain from publishing all necessary information on such crimes, which can be interpreted as misguidance of the public.

Life Hardships and Agonies of Palestinian Women in Lebanon

By: Lubna Al-Ashqar

Translated by: Samar Qutob

The conference of the General Union for Palestinian Women (GUPW) was exceptional this year, as some union members from Lebanon’s branch crossed the border to Palestine and participated in the conference. On their way back to Lebanon, some individuals from the delegation took handfuls of Palestinian soil; others embraced a piece of embroidery or items that tell a part of Palestinian history.

The head of the union’s branch in Lebanon, Amina Suleiman, was in tears when we first met her. It took her a few moments to gather her breath and speak to us. “I can’t describe the moment when my feet touched Palestinian soil. Feelings of joy, sadness and longing have been mixing and integrating. I still can’t believe that I am home; it’s the Dream that finally came true,” she said. Amina added that she was saddened by the denial of entry to eight of her colleagues, “but this would not stop us from believing that we would all be back home one day.”

Dina Khader, head of the Working Women Committees in Lebanon said that like all Palestinians in the Diaspora, the ultimate goal of Palestinians in Lebanon is to return home. “We grew up believing that no personal goal could win over the struggle for Palestine, and although I myself had quit my education to join the liberation movement, I now stress to our children that education and the struggle are inseparable and should go together.”

On the status of Palestinian women in Lebanon and the Diaspora in general, Amina said that women’s ordeals are partly related to the general agonies of the Palestinian people refugee countries; our women in Lebanon suffer from poverty, unemployment, deprivation of proper healthcare and educational services, and the lack of natural civil rights.

Palestinian girls in Lebanon must attend UNRWA schools in refugee camps before they can access any private Lebanese University. Nevertheless, and because of the limited financial resources of Palestinian families, girls are generally not able to cover the expenses of university education and stay at home. The small portions of girls who are able to finance their educations have to deal with regulations enforced by the Lebanese government that prohibit Palestinians from enrolling in specific fields of study. Journalism and law are among the disciplines which Palestinians students are barred from enrolling in.

Most Palestinian university graduates are unemployed or work jobs that have no relation to their previous studies. It is normal to see an engineer selling fruits in the market or working at a barber’s shop.

Dina Khader comments that due to all of these obstacles, very substantial numbers of Palestinian youth have been immigrating to the Western countries. “Camps are overloaded, and in a camp like Ein Al-Hilweh, where 70,000 people live in a single square kilometer, it’s getting awfully unbearable. The sun can’t find its way to most houses, which causes the spread of disease and illness; allergies and bone-related ailments, as well as neurotic diseases are widely spread among camp populations,” she states.

On the role of the GUPW in Lebanon, Amina said that the union, along with other institutes and societies, are launching projects that aim to lessen the misery of the refugees. Families are granted small loans to start businesses inside the camps and projects are initiated to help families, and women in particular try to overcome the challenges they face. "Projects that focus on children are our top priority. We are starting to establish kindergartens in most camps.”

With reference to children in the refugee camps, Khader explains that some children's activities are implemented with the intention to deliver Palestinian heritage and culture to them, and to ensure that they will preserve the national memory of the Palestinian homeland. “We try to make sure that the chain of memories from one generation to the other is kept solid and safe, and that the hope to return home never fades away.”

The Penal Code: Between Modification and Eradication

By: Itaf Yusef

Translated by: Samar Qutob

Until the present day, there exists no Palestinian-established Penal law in Palestine. Rulings are decided according to Jordanian law in the West Bank and Egyptian law in the Gaza Strip. In some cases, the two legal codes differ and are in fact, contradictory.

Article 18 of the Egyptian penal code and article 340 of the Jordanian law are undergoing serious debate within the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA), the President’s Office and women institutes in Palestine; some support abolition of both articles, while others support their modification and adjustment.

Amer Shaheen from the Palestinian President’s Office had said that the penal law in Palestine was discussed with the MOWA over several bilateral meetings: "We then called all interested parties to participate in a workshop at the ministry to discuss the law in general, as well as specific articles of law pertaining to what is called 'honor killing.' Both Jordanian and Egyptian laws were examined here, and all participants delivered their suggestions and recommendations.”

Amer adds that the problem with both laws is that the articles regarding "honor killing" are neither precise nor clear, and decisions are rendered up to the personal assessment of individual judges who rule on each case of "honor killing." “Judges are presumed to be transparent, decent, responsible and highly professional, but this is not necessarily true all the time,” Amer notes.

Amer suggest that both Jordanian and Egyptian laws on "honor killing" were lifted from French legislation, which provides justification for men who, when enraged or in a fit of anger, might harm their spouses if caught in circumstances deemed disgraceful. He states that, “What is needed is for our legislation to be accurate in identifying the victim and the criminal, as well as the specific settings and surroundings of the crime scene that make a certain crime constitute an honor killing.' Criminals must not exploit the light punishment accorded to 'honor killing' in order to escape the responsibilities and a harsher sentence of committing crime."

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is working hard at the international level in order to be classified as a member state in international treaties. The current status of the PA and the fact that a Palestinian state is not yet recognized by the international law hinders the PA from fully adopting and ratifying international agreements on human rights, women's rights and rights of the child.

According to Amer, the Ministry of Women's Affairs and the cabinet are given power by a special presidential decree to adjust the Jordanian and Egyptian articles of the penal code to suit the Palestinian case and its needs. This authority is to be cancelled and withdrawn from the MOWA and cabinet when the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) manages to meet and resume its regular activities; amendments should then be studied by the PLC, which would decide whether or not to ratify them.

Amer believes that abolition of both Jordanian and Egyptian articles of the penal code would create a gap in Palestinian legislation. Ratifying the articles in a way that would put the "honor" killer in the same category as any other criminal who has committed murder, is the solution and the step forward toward protecting women.

To maintain gender balance, Amer suggests that the amendment should refer to both men and women alike as killers and as victims. This, in his view, does not contradict with Islamic legislation regarding unfaithful spouses who are either men or women; Islamic law prohibits individuals from punishing their spouses for being unfaithful, and gives such authority to the formal judicial bodies to enforce the proper punishment for the crime or action.

Guarantees and Obligations of CEDAW and the Palestinian Women's Charter

By: Amal Juma’a

Translated by: Samar Qutob

When discussing Palestinian women's rights and the ability to implement them in society, specialists typically discuss and compare the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CIDAW) agreement and the Palestinian Charter on Women, as they attempt to discern which document better serves the women's cause and is more specifically applicable in the Palestinian case.

In fact, both documents are intensely discussed and viewed by the new generation to carry the seeds of change and challenge. It is widely agreed that a fierce debate is imminent before either document is legally implemented.

In the midst of the past decade’s political turmoil and the search for a way to establish the promised independent Palestinian state or entity, our women have demanded their own share in the political negotiations. However, after being kept out of such negotiations, women activists from all Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) factions came together and established their own coalition: the Women’s Technical Committee (WATC).

For its part, the Women’s General Union has long been at work drafting the articles which would form a legal document on women’s rights. The women’s charter was finalized more than ten years ago and is now adopted by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA). The late President Arafat had approved it during his time, and current President Abbas has also given his approval of the charter, which still awaits ratification by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in order to have real impact in society.

The PLC, while active before the political split of Gaza from the West Bank, had supported most women’s ordeals. When a factory caught fire in 1999, the PLC was the first to react and issued legislation to preserve the rights of the workers, the majority of whom were women. A few years later, the PLC ratified legislation to enforce the women’s quota in legislative elections. Yet, when the women’s charter was came several times before the PLC for ratification, council members failed to agree on it.

These developments had led some to reconsider the CEDAW agreement on women’s right as an alternative to the Palestinian women's charter; some said that CEDAW was powerful and more comprehensive, as it opposes discrimination of all kinds against women and can be used as a universal reference with which to deal with women’s issues. When President Abbas signed CEDAW in March 2009, the head of the A-Haq Legal Institute described the move as an expression of the president’s personal blessing and approval, yet it did not signal the commitment of the country to articles of the agreement.

Both CEDAW and the Palestinian Charter on Women must be ratified by the PLC and the higher executive bodies in Palestine. The discussion leads us to believe that while the gap between articles of CEDAW and the Palestinian charter are narrow, the process of implementing either must be the same.

A member of the Women’s General Union, Nihaya Mohammed, says that efforts should be put toward the Palestinian charter, as all women from all walks of life, political and religious affiliation, agree on the local charter and are ready to support it when applied for implementation.

The image of women in children literature

By: Rose Shomali Musleh

Translated by: Samar Qutob

“Where did Fullah disappear?” is a title for a children’s story draft that had been submitted to four different illustrators to draw sketches for the story. Three of the artist drew the main character as a little girl while the fourth drew it as it is in the script; a boy.

The bewilderment of the artists over the sex of the main character in my view, reflects a sort of preconception with regards to behaviors expected from both the boys and girls. In this case, the main character is a soft and caring child that is playing gently with a cat which led three of the artist to see the actor as a girl; boys are normally described and expected to be rough, unkind and cruel with pets.

The above instance is just an example of the sexual categories and patterns adopted when writing, illustrating, and building the characters in children literature. Female characters are kept to play the roles related to motherhood and housekeeping, while males are given unlimited and open space to incubate their characters. The result can be seen by the static pattern of behaviors and deeds that both sexes reflect in their daily lives and their involvement at home, working place, as well as in social, economic and creative activities.

The negative impact of conventional children literature had alerted the women movement in the Arab world and in Palestine that have been working hard in trying to break the stereotyped division of roles between men and women in early child literature in particular. Palestinian and Arab women activists agreed on the importance of literature delivered to the kids in early childhood, as it lays foundations for the stages to follow.

In this paper, I’ll be analyzing a couple of the Arab publishers’ conventional early childhood stories that are read by our Palestinian children, and would also highlight on some of the exceptional and unconventional stories written by Palestinian writers or been translated by Palestinians into Arabic. The paper would reflect on the plot, drawings, and other technical elements of a story only if related to the topic of research.

Nutty; a depiction linked to boys

In her story “I am not nutty”, Palestinian writer Safa’ Amirah gives a boy the chance to talk and reject the description given to him as “a nutty boy”; he likes to play, discover, and have fun even if he might harm other kids on his way.

Safa”s boy in the story is puzzled and wanders why his cousin (a she) does not play the way he dose. The illustrations of the book cover was the only part of book that showed girls playing normally with the nutty boy; two girls appeared riding on back of the boy that is faking to be a wagon for them.

The nutty boy insists to show us that he is not a fool but clever, strong, caring, and that he loves to play and jump. Illustrator Reem Bader presented the boy playing with a ball, moving things out of their places, annoying his cousin and make her cry and run away when playing with her. The pictures show the boy’s dad as the authoritative figure that disciplines the boy and threatens to beat him up; the nutty boy is weak and gutless when facing his dad.

The nutty strong boy is the narrator, and his pictures came along with pictures of the weak negative and weepy female cousin that runs from the boy’s hustling and seeks protection in her mother’s lab. The story ends by highlighting the dreams and wishes of the boy who imagines himself to be Tarzan or Superman as he climbs the trees.

The story has no doubt gave a true reflection of the children’s interests and fancies at a certain age, and it probably tried to focus on the fact that playing and movement should not be associated with being nutty as they are part of the children natural needs for growing. However, focus on the boy playing and being active while the girl appeared as a coward weepy and defenseless creature has gave the story another dimension; the girl in story is not portrayed as a partner in the game, but rather as an object for other players.

Knowing that girls in early and middle childhood grow faster than boys, I can describe the illustrations for both characters in the story as stereotyped and misleading. This reminds me of one of Dar Al Muna’s story titled “Jinan with the long socks”, as Jinan is a strong and tough girl, but still helpful to other kids and to fight against evilness.

Unfortunately, our nutty strong boy in Safa’s story threw things in all direction and left them for his mama to pick them, and he recklessly stepped on other people’s rights and borders.

The script’s most serious fault could be the part where the boy was trying to say that being a nutty does not make him a fool, as if Nuttiness and foolishness are presumed to be associated with each other. Such a linkage that had been there for decades was mostly harming for the kids with special needs, as they had been categorized along with retarded and fool humans for a long time.

Nuttiness from a different perspective

“Are you a wimp, Burhan?” is a Swedish story written by Junilla Bergstom and translated by Muna Zuraiqat. It deals with tendency among boys to be aggressive and nutty from a different angle. Six years old Burhan, the main character, avoids his mates and moves away when other kids are involved in wrestling and clashes; Burhan stays away because he does not like wrestling and not because he is a coward. When the boy is unable to avoid a fight, he would quickly surrender to his opponent to bring the seen to an end.

Burhan here does not match the stereotyped image expected from a male which could easily lead others to see him as a coward; in fact, Burhan’s grandma thought he is a kinder kid compared to the rest, but he rejected her description for he new that being kind according to grandma means being negative.

Burhan is trying to show us that he avoids fights because he does not like seeing anybody imposing things on the others through winning a fight. Burhan at the end proved his strength and ability by constructing a sort of box that was admired by all children who came to admit that he had been stronger than them as he managed to build his structure. The dialogue between Burhan and his dad on the last page highlighted the idea, Burhan asks his dad if he ever gets involved in fights, the father says that he never did, because he is somehow intimidated. Burhan feels great and thinks that his father is a very brave man to admit such a thing.

Democracy is not a selective practice

For children literature to become pioneering in changing social stereotyped images, writers and illustrators alike need to manipulate all their awareness and knowledge when writing to children; especially when it comes to the images of the women in a story.

We need to ask ourselves weather we have been endorsing images of partnership between men and women or if we are still trapped in the stereotyped division of roles and are trying to beautify them to feel better about ourselves? Aren’t we still assuming that women’s natural job is housekeeping and caring for the children? And when she goes beyond that wall, she would carefully chose a career that suits her original role?

On the other hand, the man figure we are presenting is normally associated a masculine figure with a masculine career; he is praised as a politician, as a social activist, a writer, an astronaut, or as an artist, but defiantly not as a partner in the bringing up of the children or in the housework.

This is probably what makes the stories of Junella Bergstom special, as she created characters like Alfons, (Burhan in the Arabic edition) and had him live with his dad that was fully responsible of the boy’s personal and mental needs, with the absence of the mother in the story.

While writers and artists are demanding that democracy should be fully implemented in our system, we don’t seem to be interpreting and promoting the principles of democracy in our literature and arts, especially the ones that are done for children. The old equation that presents dad reading and mom cooking, has to be changed if we are serious in fighting prejudice and discrimination and want to enhance “equality and similar opportunities for all” in our societies