Maidens no more
A peep over the garden fence reveals the bearded brethren are as much of a basketcase as ever. Five poor women in the Evil Kingdom have been made so miserable by continued male oppression that they've opted for a sex change:
"Al Watan newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a "psychological complex" due to male domination."
A peek slightly further afield reveals a dwarf cafe in Cairo:
[Ahmad Al Kilani] recalls that one day he ran into a friend of Islam, who complained that he had been sacked from his job as a mechanic as he was short. "I thought that the best way to help him and his fellow dwarves was to start a café business," he told this paper.
"Once the café opened its doors, many dwarves showed up, seeking a job," adds Al Kilani. Four are now employed and some others have landed lucrative job contracts in the Gulf.
All cheer to the "Dwarves of the East".
"Al Watan newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a "psychological complex" due to male domination."
A peek slightly further afield reveals a dwarf cafe in Cairo:
[Ahmad Al Kilani] recalls that one day he ran into a friend of Islam, who complained that he had been sacked from his job as a mechanic as he was short. "I thought that the best way to help him and his fellow dwarves was to start a café business," he told this paper.
"Once the café opened its doors, many dwarves showed up, seeking a job," adds Al Kilani. Four are now employed and some others have landed lucrative job contracts in the Gulf.
All cheer to the "Dwarves of the East".
24 Comments:
I'd have thought being a short mechanic would have been an advantage. They could just walk under the vehicles, instead of using a pit.
@tim newman
Yeah but they'd probably end up with a killer cramp in their necks from looking up all the time.
1. The 5 women may end up being gay.Either way, they dont feel male, they are doing it out of a phychological complex. usually ppl undergo sex changes, because they feel like and have instincts of the opposite sex. Anyone seen that Oprah episode on twins where one of them underwent a sex change?
The female (of a twein pair) was a lesbian, underwent a sex change - now a man, was then attracted to men.pretty confused dating life.
2. I'm often mocked myself for being ultra short!
Anyway, this is what I say to ppl :"hum jab bhi baat karti hai, sar utha ke karte hai, hamare saamne sab sar jhuka ke baat karte hai"
which means.. I raise my head and speak to the world, whereas everyone bows their head when they need to speak to me.
@harsha
Actually, I'm guessing that these 5 men were born transgendered and decided to get a sex change done so that their bodies could match their mind. Of course, in Saudi Arabia its good to play along with the whole "psychological complex" that the authorities have apparently labelled them with, lest they could lose their heads for revealing the true reasons for the change.
I think Reuters framed the sex changes as "see look, Saudi is so repressive women are even having sex changes to escape male privelege." The truth is probably less patronizing: 5 transgendered Saudis, like lucky transgender people in all societies where sex reassignment is an option, had sex changes. This is considered legal in Shari'ah by the jafari school (followed by Iran), and is not technically prohibited by other schools, though cross dressing and homosexuality are (yes i know that sounds like a contradiction...I'm just attempting to explain, not condoning). Being transgendered is viewed in Shari'ah as an illness, hormonally and psychologically, the person being born into the wrong body. Now these ex-women will take on male identities and live as males. They have been transgendered since birth and probably always knew it subconsciously. That is WAY different than wanting to become a man to escape Saudi patriarchy. How ludicrous! Funny, Reuters portrayed this as happening cuz of gender issues in Saudi? It didn't occur to the author that if these women had that as a motivation, they could obviously find simpler options than a sex change. Like moving out of Saudi. Ugh, so stupid.
Actually, what I found most amusing was the sheer stupidity of some ppl living in Dubai...referring to that little gem of a story tucked away in GN:
http://gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10030465.html
Let's try again shall we:
http://gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10030465.html
And if that doesn't work, then just refer to the finger flasher story in GN
@luckyfatima
Reuters was merely reporting on what the Saudi newspaper Al Watan said.
Al Watan newspaper said the five women underwent sex change surgery abroad over the past 12 months after they developed a "psychological complex" due to male domination.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060403/od_nm/saudi_sex_dc_2
I like to think that any Reuters reporter can at least see through the obvious. In any case, since Al Watan doesn't have an international presence, Reuteurs is passing on the news, as it were, to a global audience, without directly reporting on it, as it usually does.
luckyfatima-
I agree with what you say. The girls probably changed their sex because they felt masculine. It is hard to believe that not one, not two, not three, but FOUR women did this just because they were fed up with Saudi's patriarch society! There is a preponderant probability pointing otherwise. If such a thing was done as Al-Watan suggests, then the 4 women are going nowhere because the real problem is somewhere between their ears rather than between their legs!
Also, sex-change operations are permitted in the other schools as well, although all of them (including the Ja'fari school) require overwhelming evidences to carry on with such an operation. Recently, sunni scholars from Al-Azhar had allowed 2 men to undergo sex-change operations because the evidences suggested as such.
It's a precarious predicament to be in and one that involves a lot of psychological support and overcoming social stigmas against such people. Albeit the Al-Watan story really sounds shady. But, then again, Al-Watan is known for its weirdness!
OK, I just noticed a few things in the original news item after reading off of Al-Watan. Firstly a little correction, there were 5 women who took this operation (as SD had mentioned).
These 5 women had these operations ABROAD. Now what sense does it make for women who can afford to go abroad and get such an operation done to do so and then come back to Saudia Arabia? Wouldn't it have been better for them to continue being women and living in a foreign country if Saudi was so bad for them? Apparantly they didn't have any pecuniary restrictions. It only emphasizes my previous statement: the problem seems to be between the ears and not their legs!
Something else that I noticed: Is this the first time SD took to reporting events outside of the "sandlands"? I remember when I first came in here (as anonymous) and asked why this blog was dedicated to bashing Muslims mostly, I was reminded by able SD fans (like samuraisam) to notice that this blog is about DUBAI and it's weirdness all in fun (even though even then I wasnt convinced as most of the bashing is centered towards RAK, which is NOT a part of Dubai). Why is it that SD, just like any other Western media source, gives so much importance to such stories that will only continue ostracizing the Muslims? As if Western media already hasnt battered and bruised our images already. And before anybody tries to point towards the dwarves story for "positives", that is HARDLY a consolation!
Some serious food for thought, I guess.
Well Al Republican if you want localised content I present to you the first transexual UAE National, Hamda, http://huriyahmag.com/summer/features.uae.htm .
I hope that link comes out ok.
shaper85-
Thanks for that article. I had read it some time back, but this is the first time I saw a picture of Hamada.
It is something that I feel Muslim countries need to take a little seriously. I hope you aren't making fun of her either, Shaper85. It is a very rare and hard situation to be in. I don't think such people should be mocked at if they are genuinely having problems with sexual deformities.
Cheers.
Hey Al-Republican,
If you dont like all the so called "bashing" there is a simple way to stop it....
Be more fair and open in your dealings...
Simple.
@al-republican
I think it is more insulting to suggest transgender people have "deformities". They are in no way deformed and are just as capable to live life the way they see fit. However, by chance, they were born with the wrong bodies and thanks to the advancement of science and medicine, can more convincingly transform to the other sex.
And before anybody tries to point towards the dwarves story for "positives", that is HARDLY a consolation!
Really? I thought it was a great story. Not only is it providing employment for the disadvantaged, but it is also putting them on public view, highlighting the fact that not everybody is physically abled in the same way.
And it was also funny. Nice funny, because the people doing it and working there clearly appreciate it's kind of quirky.
So it was upbeat, and it made me laugh.
Oh and double yay: it Farked.
SD, why in the world do you call Saudi Arabia, the Evil Kingdom. From what I remember, G Bush had called Iran, Iraq and Syria "axis of evil". Have I missed something?
I think it's an evil, oppressive, corrupt political regime.
It's nothing to do with Bush's view.
Oppressive and corrupt, understandable, SD. But how on Earth is it EVIL??
I rate oppression and corruption as evil. All the more so when carried out in the name of god.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I thought it was an interesting article that fairly shows the dilemmas faced by transgender people in the UAE, and in no way shows "Hamada" in a negative light.
I imagine other transgendered people would find it useful and reassuring to know that they are not alone.
shaper85 - My eyes, my eyes! Dude, you need a sharper image. Put some clothes on. Am I the first one to say his highness has no clothes? Ever heard the one about the moose on the table? Me neither. No one ever reported it. But everyone who followed "post a comment on" saw it.
If an operation to remove an appendix is called an appendictomy, and an operation to remove a breast is called a mastectomy...
If a woman has a sex change, is the op called an "addadicktomy"?
hee hee
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