Volleyball Ban for Women Revives Debate in Iran
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White man Volleyball sought in killing ban for women Emsak: 03:03 of nine in Fajer: 03:13 revives debate Dohr: 11:49 ‘black church’ Asr: 15:23 in Iran Maghreb: 18:50 15 45 Eshaa: 20:22 Min 29º Max 46º FREE www.kuwaittimes.net NO: 16556- Friday, June 19, 2015 Pages 10 & 12 A Muslim woman reads the Quran during the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan at a Mosque on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, yesterday. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic cal- endar, Muslims around the world refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn till dusk. — AP Local FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015 Just kiddin’, Local Spotlight seriously Of beggars and If you don’t like Kuwait, you can leave! prostitutes By Sahar Moussa By Muna Al-Fuzai [email protected] [email protected] have written a lot about Kuwait in my previous As Winston Churchill said: “Criticism may not be columns. Being an expat, I have tried to give an idea agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same func- Ion how expats live in Kuwait and have written about tion as pain in the human body - it calls attention to the our experiences, good and bad. I have written about development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is ne of the most disturbing phenomena in our sufferings and disappointments, hopes and dreams. heeded in time, danger may be averted - if it is sup- Kuwait is the increasing number of female As journalists, it is required from us to be objective: pressed, a fatal distemper may develop.” Obeggars on the streets during the holy month Report what we see without manipulating the truth I do not criticize for the sake of criticizing. I raise of Ramadan, especially in the markets and mosques. under any circumstances, even if it causes us problems what are obvious and serious social ills to highlight the These women are not always as poor and miserable as or harm. Truth is the torch that guides us in our profes- problems and encourage improvement, instead of leav- they seem. Many of them are hucksters who come to sion, although I do agree that the truth hurts some- ing them buried and neglected. It is a fact that the Kuwait on visit visas during the holy month in order to times and can be devastating, but still necessary, at all transportation system in Kuwait needs to be re-planned collect bountiful charity. times. and public transport definitely needs solutions. Ask Some are not even beggars but prostitutes in dis- On many occasions, I have received responses for my anyone who uses the public bus to get to work, about guise and they know exactly what they want and columns whenever I criticize or highlight a bad situa- the conditions inside the buses - how you can almost where they can catch their prey: men. All they want is tion that is harming expats in general and locals, be it cook an egg inside the bus, especially in summer, money and are willing to trade their bodies for it. the inferior educational system, the deplorable trans- where the temperature sometimes reaches 50 or 60 Recently, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of portation system, the high prices in restaurants, of food, degrees, because there is no air-conditioning. Interior Suleiman Al-Fahad addressed this subject and transportation, housing, and utilities, the hustle of pro- It is a fact that inflation is killing all of us - local and warned that begging is a crime in Kuwait. Vowing to cessing government papers, not to mention the expats alike. From food to rent to basic shopping, prices immediately deport any man or woman who is caught observed slacking of employees there, the discrimina- are skyrocketing, yet salaries are not keeping up. begging, he noted that this phenomena constitute a tion between expats and locals, between Kuwaitis and Discrimination exists and is spreading and getting crime against society and harms the appearance and other Kuwaitis, between people from the same religion worse every minute. Most maids are treated badly. spiritually faithful, especially in Ramadan. He also but from different sects, the polarizing politics and Some politicians do not do their jobs as they are sup- called for the cooperation of citizens and expats to racism. posed to, leaving the country to fall to a dark future. All report any case of begging by calling the police on Yet I always hear the same answer: “If you don’t like that I have mentioned above are nothing but facts. #112. it here, you can leave the country.” And my response In our culture, there is a saying that goes: “He who I agree that begging is despicable and unaccept- always is, “In criticizing something, Kuwait in this situa- keeps silent over injustice is like a mute devil.” I only able as a profession - either legally or religiously. tion, doesn’t mean that I have no respect for or don’t speak on behalf of the people that have no voice. I gen- There are plenty of charitable organizations in Kuwait like Kuwait; on the contrary, I only criticize because I uinely cherish Kuwait, because it has offered me a - not to mention that every mosque will provide iftar care. I criticize because it hurts me so much to see a future when my own country could not, and for this I meals for fasters. Beggars, however, are often just con country with so much potential, money and resources feel I have a sincere obligation to make it a better coun- artists and prostitutes and so will never dare to go to going backwards every year instead of flourishing and try. Only by admitting our mistakes can we change these places and risk being caught. prospering. A country that I am grateful to for giving things. Do we want to be ruined by praise or saved by You can easily notice that the number of these me a decent job. criticism? abaya-covered ladies with two or three kids in hand increase in Ramadan because they know that many people would tend to give them money as an act of charity and kindness. People are generous and in Ramadan many will give out of pity without even con- sidering the true nature of the beggars. Not all of them are even women! Sometimes men use the abaya as a disguise to sit and beg. I know some of you may think this is an exaggera- tion but the truth of the matter is that some people have taken to begging as a profession and what bet- ter time than Ramadan to practice their business? Those female beggars enter the country with a visit visa and use this permit to collect as much money as they can until their time is over or they get arrested by the police and sent back home. What they do is illegal and dangerous. It is impossible to find out who’s who from their eyes ... beside you would not even know if this person even has a bomb hidden within the folds of their gown. Isn’t that what happened recently in Saudi Arabia when a suicide bomber disguised as a woman in black entered a mosque? The bomb went off leav- ing behind many dead and injured!!! Due to the current security situation in the region everyone must be very careful dealing with such peo- ple because you would not be able to identify them. The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Social Affairs is cracking down on begging in Kuwait. The sponsor who helped the beggar obtain a visit visa will also be held accountable, whether the sponsor was a person or a company or a hotel. So if anyone finds themselves accosted by beggars, be careful and call the police and they will know what to do. Photograph from the book, Faces of Kuwait by Jack Wozniak, Cronion, Spain 1981. Researched by Mahmoud Zakariyya, Happy Ramadan! heritage researcher in Kuwait. Local FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2015 Conspiracy Theories By Badrya Darwish Ramadan Mubarak [email protected] alaam alaykum! I was not given the chance to offer (most companies do, in fact) but what I’m worried about meal, ghabqas or suhoor. This means these helpers are in you greetings on the first day of Ramadan but nev- are the laborers in the street. The street cleaners, the the kitchen nearly 24 hours. Fasting is not only fasting Sertheless greetings can continue throughout the valets, construction workers, security, all of those people but having mercy on the people who work for you. Give month. I wish the whole Muslim world peace and tran- who work outside, I hope that their bosses will have the them ample time to rest and give them a day off to rest. quility during this holy month. As for Kuwait, I have many heart to supply them with an air conditioned kiosk for the I’m not talking about government laws, I’m talking about wishes actually. Ramadan Mubarak and I pray to God in worst of the heat. Actually these workers should be pro- humanity and God’s law. this soaring heat there will be no electricity cuts. So far it’s vided with these places even outside of Ramadan. Beyond that, I hope this will be a peaceful month for going well, we’ve only minor cuts so far but I hope they I hope also that many families will consider giving everyone from Yemen to Syria to Kurdistan to Palestine.