Links to Other Comments by our Students
Many of the students who traveled to the Women as Global Leaders Conference have written articles and posted photos of our trip. They are eager to share them with you. Check out a few of the articles.
Spring Break in the UAE: Day 1 - The Trip, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in the UAE: Day 2 - Zayed University, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in UAE: Day 3 - Conference Kickoff, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in UAE: Day 4 - Desert Extravaganza, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in UAE: Day 5 - Hanging with the Boys, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in UAE: Day 6 - Shop till You Drop, by Gillian McHale
Spring Break in UAE: Day 7 - Gold Sook or Sick, by Gillian McHale
And, a few photos from Kanika
To read our students' journal entries, view the comments to this page
posted by Shelly @ 4:42 AM
2 Comments:
Alison T. Meuse
UAE Comments
Friday, March 10th:
The first leg of our trip is coming to a close. Right now, I am sitting in the KLM lounge and waiting for the Dubai flight to board. Dubai promises warm weather, new experiences, and a chance to bond with my WLP peers.
I must say that I am glad to leave Amsterdam. The city was cold, rainy, and depressing. The city, however, has beautiful architecture and great shopping. During the stopover, Andrea and I visited the Reiks museum and saw enough Rembrandt to last us a lifetime. We also visited a diamond cutting workshop which featured replicas of famous diamonds. We finished up at a great Italian restaurant, and made it back to Schipol in plenty of time.
My expectations for the next and most important part of the trip are very high. As Dubai Ports World is undergoing scrutiny by the US Congress, it is an important time for UAE. This conference represents a way for the Emirates to show a modern and progressive face to the world. This conference has delegates from the US, Armenia, New Zealand, Oman, Turkey, and many other countries. We will all be staying at the Officer’s Club in Abu Dhabi. Together, we will hear inspiring speeches from today’s most prominent female leaders. I cannot put into words how grateful I am to have this opportunity. For someone who has never traveled overseas, I feel that I am more than making up for lost time.
Now, to get away from my narrative, it seems relevant to explain why I went on this trip. I am an international affairs major, and my area of interest is the Middle East. At this point, I do not know if this is an area which I should focus on. Arabic is obviously an important language in today’s world, but I still do not know what opportunities it holds. I do worry that I will not want to work in the countries which Arabic can prepare me for (e.g. Iraq). Although UAE is an exceptional case, it will still give me a valuable insight into a conservative Islamic state. I hope to come away from this trip with a better idea of the opportunities which the Middle East holds for an IR major. This conference will help me consider my future career pursuits and my true commitment to studying Arabic.
Monday, March 13th:
The conference was kicked off with a reception Saturday evening and the majority of our speakers on Sunday. Yesterday evening, Veronika, Andrea, Gillian, Alison, and I gathered to discuss our roundtable. With the prompt of “Are only extraordinary women capable of being leaders?” we were able to tentatively plan out how our discussion would go. Today, it turned out better than any of us could have imagined. We were thrilled to have an attendance of about 20 women. Previously, we had worried that no one would show up. I thought that people would show up, but I had worried that getting audience participation would be like pulling teeth. Happily, the entire audience participated from the very beginning. We discussed local leadership in the community and even in the family. A particular point we analyzed was where leadership comes from. Does it come about out of necessity? What constitutes necessity? We integrated the speeches we had heard the previous day, and discussed how Queen Rania and the other speakers lead. Queen Rania was a case which I had wanted to discuss, because she is a leader who does not have a financial need to take leadership, but she feels a duty to her people. Our discussion brought up many points of view and turned out better than any of us could have imagined.
Tuesday, March 14th:
Out of all the workshops I attended, there is one which will always stick out in my mind. It was titled Leadership on Many Levels: The Female Advantage. The title hardly could have foretold the issues which we would come to discuss. The speaker, Abelina Galustian, is an artist who began her presentation with a famous work of art. She projected a work which was done by a notable French painter in the Orientalist tradition. This work showed a nude woman being sold to a man in the middle of a marketplace. Galustian began by telling us that ¾ art history works are actually done of nude women. Orientalist paintings portrayed Middle Eastern women as devalued objects. Such paintings were done by Western artists. They were sold to Western businessmen to be hung in conference rooms and offices. Later on, they would be admired as fine art in museums such as the Louvre. Our speaker asked us how the projected painting made us feel. We all responded that it was wrong for the woman to be displayed in such a manner, and that it was offensive to look at.
The speaker then forewarned us that the next image might be shocking to us. She told us that we did not have to look, and that we could leave the room if we so chose. The next image displayed was one of the presenter’s own works. Galustian had remade the same painting by the French artist, but had switched the gender roles. Where there once had been a nude woman being sold, there was a man. The responses were very mixed. Most women in the room understood the point being made. We hated the image of the nude woman, but we accept such images in society. The image of the man in such a shameful state, however, is completely bizarre to us and makes us cringe. About half of the women in the room were Muslim and conservatively dressed. Some of them questioned our speaker as to why she had to show such images. They wondered why she couldn’t have used something less visual. Galustian restated that anyone was welcome to leave or look away, and that she wouldn’t be offended. She projected a second image, which was by an Italian artist. In it, there was a woman being displayed in the nude for a much older man. When our speaker displayed her work with the gender switched, discussion ensued once again. By this time, there were two factions in the room. Most of us were intrigued by the speaker’s method of making us think about male and female roles in society. While the original painting was acceptable, the second one was not. An older woman looking at a younger man as a sex object was something so foreign that some women in the room were visibly uncomfortable. A Zayed University faculty member was present, and she recommended that the speaker stop showing the images. By that point, there were many Zayed students who were supporting our speaker and argued that the essence of the presentation would be gone. One said, “But if she stops showing the pictures, won’t that take away the whole point? Aren’t we supposed to feel uncomfortable?” That was exactly the case, and with the support of the majority, and in the context of her warnings on the content, our speaker continued on. About five participants left the room. Our discussion continued and it was a truly amazing experience to see the effect that the presentation had on all of the women in the room. We all came from different backgrounds, but the majority was Middle Eastern, as was our speaker. She spoke of the hardships she had encountered with her art, and spoke of the leadership that we each must have if we are going to vocalize our ideas.
The room grew tense when one of the women who had left brought the Vice President of the university into the room. He sat down and our speaker continued on. He left after ten minutes, and a Kuwaiti student followed him out to make sure that everything was ok. The students who had left the room had informed him that the speaker was showing us dirty pictures. The Kuwaiti girl defended the presentation and everything turned out fine. It made the rest of us think, however, about how little our mindset has changed. We still accept the work done by the masters, but some of us still couldn’t comprehend the idea behind switching the gender. Galustian reiterated that it was not about sex or nudity, but about making us think about why each painting made us feel the way it did. The presentation ended with Zayed students coming up and embracing the speaker and wanting to speak more about the reactions she had received. This was by far the most powerful workshop I attended.
Wednesday, March 15th:
I am writing this reflection on our way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. Today was the perfect end to an excellent conference. We woke up this morning and took all our baggage to Zayed University. From there, we went to the women’s cultural center of Abu Dhabi. Under the leadership of Sheika Fatima, cultural centers have been set up in every city for Emirate women to work at. There, they can earn money for themselves and keep their culture alive at the same time. The women make mats out of palm leave, sew clothes, embroider scarves, and weave various fabrics. The center which we visited housed a museum as well as the awards which the centers have earned. Today, we experienced more of the generosity and hospitality of the UAE. When we arrived at the center, we were brought to a beautiful reception room where we were given coffee and chocolate. Next, we were brought to a short presentation and were given fresh nectar juices. We were then given a tour of the beautiful facility in which the women work. It is a lush courtyard surrounded by open-air workrooms. Our last stop was at an exhibition of the crafts, and we were able to purchase the authentic crafts made by Emirati women. I wanted to purchase some incense, but I asked the price and found out it was 100 dhs. Unwilling to pay that much to make my room smell like roses, I went to buy my mother a scarf. I had been walking and conversing with the two students who were guiding our tour. We had really established a connection and were enjoying each others’ company. While I was buying the scarf for my mother, one of the girls bought the incense for me. She said, “…so you can remember our country.” It would be easy for someone hearing about all of the generosity I experienced to assume that the Emirates just have money to burn. It is very true that the country is extremely wealthy. However, the generosity is sincere and it really comes from within the people. Thirty years ago, the country had no such wealth. The Emirate girls know how fortunate they are and they are the kindest and most giving people I have ever met. Just by walking and talking with the two Zayed students at the women’s guild, I was able to experience their warmth and feel like we were sisters. All of the Emirati students I encountered throughout my trip displayed the same kindness and thoughtfulness as the two I met at the women’s guild.
Friday, March 17th:
Sadly, my trip to the UAE has come to an end. As I sit on the plane, waiting to be fed some delicious packaged meal, I can’t help but think back to the sit down meals at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi. This trip went above and beyond my highest expectations. I learned so much about the Middle East, the gulf region, and the United Arab Emirates. My desire to learn Arabic and to study Middle Eastern culture is stronger than ever. As ambitious as it sounds, I have a tentative college plan mapped out in my head right now. I spent a good deal of time talking to a girl named Jahan, and I now feel surer than ever about studying abroad in the Middle East. I asked her where I could immerse myself in Arabic, seeing as the UAE has so many English speakers. Jahan made it clear that there was no Middle Eastern country where I could experience full immersion. However, she presented Lebanon as an option because it is a francophone country where I could use French as my default language rather than English.
I am very excited about planning for my career in the Middle East by building my resume during my college years. My plan is to work at the embassy of a Middle Eastern country next year. My friend can help me get an internship at the embassy of Jordan, so that is a possible option. I will also start Arabic sophomore year. This summer I plan to go home and make money, but the summer after sophomore year, I plan to live with my relatives in Paris. There, I will get a job as a waitress and practice my French with native speakers. After that immersion, my French should be nearly fluent. Junior year, I plan to go abroad in the spring, after having a year and a half of Arabic. Right now, American University of Beirut sounds like an excellent option. In addition, there will be another conference hosted by Zayed University in Dubai that spring. If I am in Lebanon, it will be easy for me to travel to UAE, and reconnect with women I met at this conference. I feel that the future is very promising for me. George Washington has, and will continue to be an excellent resource for my educational needs, as well as for making connections for the future. In addition, DC has excellent internship opportunities for students interested in international affairs and the Middle East. This conference in Abu Dhabi has motivated me more than ever to pursue an exciting career and to work hard in college. I never expected to be going to the gulf my freshmen year, but in retrospect, it was the best thing that has happened to me here at GW. I will always have amazing memories of my first trip to the Middle East, and of the generosity of the Emirati people.
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