Respecting women

This is one of three winning entries in a teen essay contest for Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians that was sponsored by Heart of a Nation. The essay prompt was “What do you most want to improve about your own society and how?” Winners were chosen by the organization; the Monitor supported this cross-cultural program by agreeing to publish the winners’ essays. Views are those of the writer, who is from Nablus in the West Bank.

My society is a society of religion, books, and the past. We are still stuck in a scary time. We take the rules and ways to live our lives from the commandments of the Messenger, and that applies to education, communication, lifestyle, and everything else. These commandments dictate how we should live – after all, we have learned before them, but we feel other societies’ contempt. Other societies see us as horrible, infidel, and murderous. How did we not recognize what is lacking in Arab society? Where did we go wrong?

My society is degrading to women. It sees her as a private thing to hide and be ashamed of. It sees her as less than: She is incomplete, and only suitable for the kitchen. She is forced to marry young to a husband who is her father’s age. My society has insulted, despised, beaten, and killed her with pathetic excuses to justify such disgraceful acts. You argue that this is what the Messenger taught us and what he commanded us to do – that we, as Muslims and Christians, have the right to transcend women. They are disgracefully wrong. The Messenger taught us to protect women, put them above our heads, treat them with kindness and love, and forbid causing them pain. Our society lacks humanity. Religion doesn’t matter; we are all humans after all.

There is no solution but to remind these men of humanity. They will not learn or change; we will not influence them except to remind them that we, too, are human beings, and that what they do is contrary to the Messenger’s commands and other religions. They are making a terrible mistake.

What I can do is write down what I see in our society, point out who doesn’t believe in humanity, and push change for these mentalities. What I can do is say out loud that we are not something to hide. We are bosses, teachers, managers, doctors, mothers, and sisters. We can reach space if want. We can write a book or make the impossible happen. Don’t underestimate a woman. Make her a crown on your head; she will be your princess. She will complete your religion’s text and be your half. She will be heaven for your children. Remember humanity and remember how you came to the universe safely.

The writer is from Nablus, in the West Bank. At the writer’s request, this essay is being published and distributed with an alias instead of the name it was submitted under.

To read other Heart of a Nation Teen Essay Competition winners, visit Teens Share Solutions to Global Issues.