Comments on: Who Is Afraid of Alia’s Nudity?

By: Ahmed Awadalla

Ahmed Awadalla — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:32:43 +0000

Thank you for this invigorating read. I invite you to read my post on the issue and other women who were undressed in postrevolutionary Egypt.

http://rwac-egypt.blogspot.com/2011/12/when-women-are-undressed.html

By: Tausif

Tausif — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:36:42 +0000

“Female temples for goddess al Lat for example were nude houses.”

Oh, that’s REALLY going to go over well.

By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:41:33 +0000

I highly doubt things are going to get better any time soon for women in the Middle East. The “Arab Spring” is only going to make things worse, because now there isn’t that secular force (however oppressive in other respects) holding Islamic views somewhat at bay. Women are going to be more at the mercy of Islam whether they like it or not. And they probably won’t be able to move away, as Europe is starting to tighten its immigration in response to the disasters of mass Muslim immigration. About the only way out I can see is the appearance of some Attaturks or Mossadeghs, but that is highly unlikely.

By: shamsher

shamsher — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:37:08 +0000

all this is well n good, but there are other ways to show ownership or watever. this wont look so cool when its your own sister, mother, daughter, wife. and then millions of sad ppl all over the world are oogling and doing what not while staring at the pic

By: Garth V

Garth V — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:18:22 +0000

Men fear the power of the female body, specifically the power to turn them on. They feel that if they see a little too much thigh, or a side of breast, they are then forced to think about sex (more than usual), and are then out of control of their own thoughts; possibly to lose control and attack sexually. And they believe it’s her fault, as a man is an animal with no sense of self-control. But really it’s that they feel they can be manipulated by it, and they don’t want women to wield that kind of power.
The religious in general are very sex-phobic, especially about any one but your own spouse. So they firmly believe that this kind of thing leads to sexual freedom and perversion outside of marriage. This is how they equate a woman’s body with evil influences.
But it’s the assumption that you cannot control yourself which is what’s wrong. When you stop ascribing an evil or satanic influence to every loss of self-control and take responsibility for your own actions, you are taking control of your own body, for good or evil, and understanding that they are your own actions and you control them, no one else.
This is an issue of integrity. It has to become a cultural phenomenon; which transcends religious and social barriers. Like the occupy movement. I think nudity is as good a way as any to achieve that. It shows ownership of one’s body like nothing else and accepting responsibility for one’s actions.
We have to force the world into a reality where someone isn’t abused or ostracized for the fact the wind blew their skirt up or they had a wardrobe malfunction, or a child ran out of the house in less clothes than desirable. People have to accept this reality. A woman in a bikini, or nude, is still the same thing as a woman clothed, she is a woman, nothing more or less, with the same rights as a man to do the same.

By: Causette

Causette — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:27:52 +0000

My point originally was GIVE IT TIME guys!

By: Causette

Causette — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:25:49 +0000

“Arabs are inherently sexist people. And it’s going to take radical measures for them to recognize women as fully autonomous beings who have sovreignty over their minds and bodies.”

Being both French and Muslim I’d just like to ask people to please CALM DOWN with the racist comments !It’s plain stupid ! Just so you know darlings, Iran Affghanistan and all these East Asian countries if they are muslim are CERTAINLY NOT Arabic, thank you very much.

Sexuality has been an issue in western countries as well for a very long time, and in the renaissance, the open admiration of women and of their body was influenced by ARABIC LITERATURE. The road to freedom for women was extremely long, excruciatingly complicated and most of all NOT OVER. Let’s face it, nobody knows how to deal with nudity and sexuality. It’s always a tricky matter. Everybody’s trying to find a balance between too much and not enough. Westerners (and I include myself in this statement) are not more advanced, more educated, or better. We are just more LUCKY. In all western countries the feminist revolution took place extremely recently. In France, Great Britain, the United States and any so-called developped country, women have had the right to vote for less than a century. The French Revolution started in 1789 and it took almost two more centuries for women to try to rise to power. In the United States, when the constitution was first written “we the people of America” certainly did NOT include women. It took time. Arab countries need time to find their balance and honestly, I think as courageous as it might have been from Alia to pose nude, she didn’t really help the cause.

“If a Muslim man dared to live in France and married to more than one woman, he would have been incarcerated in France and all “Muslim men” in France would have been depicted as “barbarian, misogynist etc””

It actually happened and happens. If any man marries two or more women religiously in France, he would NOT be incarcerated. “Oh really?” you might say. Well yes, REALLY. That’s possible because the French government doesn’t recognize religious unions. Now if a woman sues her husband for getting remarried, then yes he might face prison and a fine (but hey if you’re muslim, don’t go behind your wife’s back to get remarried) but then again, you have to abide by the law of the country you choose to live in. Therefore, if one wishes to have several wives, one should do it in a country where it is legal. I’d like to add that France recognizes and authorizes polygamy for people coming from foreign countries where it is accepted. I would also like to point that in France most polygamous households are from the subsaharian region and not arabic countries.

By: onur

onur — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:34:05 +0000

At the first look at this picture i got very mad and i did say she is a bitch , but then i did look again and i start thinking , why she is doing this , you know what happen i start respect this lady because what ever she did it take allot its need some one has strong personality to do what she did , and yes we need wake up for how long we as middl east man we going to treat woman just as sex machine that need to stop . the lady she just trying to give message to all of us its personal opinion she is free to give the message at the way she want i thing all the lady’s should agree with her , this lady she is smart she maked all of us to think and talk about her i mean about why she did this is time to all of us to wake up and we should say thank’s aliaa really thank’s you stronger than any one in arab country atless you trying to say noooooooooo ,with your head is up.

By: Tughral T Ali

Tughral T Ali — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:02:56 +0000

Hmm.. I am not sure what gratuitous nudity has to do with liberation of women. As a man I have no objections at all if all the hot women around me were to doff their clothes in the name of freedom to choose.
I also would not object if they agreed to jump into bed with me to emphasize their freedom to sleep around.

And that would liberate women exactly how? In the end I am not looking at Alia’s nude pictures not in awe of her liberation.. but rather in exactly the way that women do not want to be seen.

I understand the objective.. I agree with it: break stereotypes.. allow women freedom over their lives and their bodies. However the expression of this objective has done more harm than good. Anyone now talking in favour of it in Arab society or otherwise will be dismissed as an ‘Alia’.

In Pakistan we have a model Veena Malik who has decided to appear nude on the cover of an Indian men’s magazine. When the (inevitable) furor followed she took the tagline of “I’m standing up for women’s rights”. The real reason of course being economic… she pockets millions of rupees for the shoot.

Resorting to the oldest profession in the book is in no way a liberation. I’m sorry. I would rather celebrate those millions of women who have broken stereotypes by doing jobs only men did before… or have led movements for equal rights in inheritance etc.

Taking your clothes off so some men can wank off looking at you is not liberation. Still.. I’m not complaining.. please go right ahead and follow suit

By: Bilal

Bilal — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:00:28 +0000

Salam,
I’ve never been here before, but googling the story of Alia Mahdi led me to this article.

By reading your comments, i’m wondering, is the Arab world left us no other way to show our rejection to our way of life? i’m sure that u all don’t think so, why Alia choose this way? is she really interested in showing her opinion in women rights? i don’t think so too, it’s obvious that she is a sex maniac, all what she is talking about is the women right to have sex, her last pronouncement was to the youth to do sex in front of the police offices, and her picture originally is about nudity and that she lost her virginity and that every women has the right to do sex -not that every woman has the right to live free-.

anyway, we all believe that what she did isn’t right, in the other hand, we were all concentrating on the fake goal of here act that she is a women rights defender, that’s why some of you saying “Well Done Alia”.

we are living in the Arab world, 90% of it are Muslims that refuses this, and 10% of other religions that also refuses this.

So wake please guys and don’t get fooled.