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Platform of Arab Feminism: Khateera "Dangerous" Women

2023-08-09 12:01:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Platform of Arab Feminism: Khateera "Dangerous" Women

Khateera Feminist Movement

"What scares our societies the most? And why do we think about it every 40 minutes?" asks presenter Maria Elayan at the beginning of one of her videos. A drum beat is heard, followed by a reply: "It's sex. You're surprised, aren't you?"

The character played by Elayan, named Maria, is open and can be seen. This character should show that she is one of the women in the Middle East and North Africa region who are bold in their views, are women who follow their own path.

"But why are our societies so afraid of lust? Above all, women's lust? And what is lust?", they continue to ask in the video. "It's the feeling of wanting to have sex – or the feeling of wanting to have sex with someone you love, someone you want, or yourself."

Amanda Abou Abdallah from Khateera

Surrounded by books in a colorfully furnished living room, Maria then presents statistics and information on the topic of "Female Sexual Desire" and compares them to statistics for men.

"Be strong and make your own decisions"

The YouTube video described here is part of the second season of "Smatouha Minni" - "You Heard It From Me" produced by Khateera Women's Media in Beirut, Lebanon.

Khateera is the feminine form of the word "dangerous". They chose the name not only because it is understandable throughout the region, but also because it represents something that is at the heart of the media house. "Women in our region like to be called khateera (dangerous). It means that you are strong, that you make your own decisions. You are aware of the world. You are aware of your rights and your worth," says Amanda Abou Abdallah, founder of Khateera, in an interview for DW.

This is what the Khateera team stands for and is all about: The women wanted to create a platform where as many people in the region as possible feel informed through language, humor and facts, especially when it comes to sensitive topics that shake social taboos. "Khateera" wants to be a safe place where feminism, patriarchy and critical social topics can be discussed easily, as if you were talking with friends - this is the vision of its founders. Their credo: no arrogance and complicated expressions, all in understandable language with a large dose of sarcasm and an even larger dose of humor, always based on facts.

Khateera Movement

The idea and concept of Khateera came to Amanda Abou Abdallah before the corona pandemic. In the first year of the pandemic, the first season of "Smatouha Minni" was released online - on Instagram and YouTube. Meanwhile, the team has grown so much that three years later there are nine women working at Khateera, three of whom are full-time employees. The project is financially supported by various non-governmental organizations. Amanda Abou Abdallah is also the co-CEO of Khateera along with her colleague Rana Askoul.

Sarcasm, humor and intentions

Amanda says that she has seen a lot of misogyny in the field of comedy: "That's where the idea was born: Let's go to the same arena! We can also fight with the same tools. We use sarcasm, we give clues and information. All this in the interpretation of a brave woman who embodies many characters in her role," says the producer and director of the video.

And indeed: Maria Elayan embodies up to 20 different characters in her videos. It is always Maria, the moderator, but sometimes an elderly Arab lady or an old man with a mustache. They act as characters that many viewers recognize from their families that exist in the societies of the Arab world.

But Khateera offers not only "Smatouha Minni" video series but also other videos. On their pages, texts by authors from the Middle East and North Africa are also published that deal with topics such as sexual harassment, discrimination and gender stereotypes.

However, particularly popular is "Smatouha Minni", a satirical show in which a wide range of often sensitive topics are discussed - from women's health to menstruation to access to the labor market. "Smatouha Minni" aims to expose the prejudices and stereotypes that continue to prevent women in the Middle East and North Africa from being treated equally.

Arab vs. Western Feminism

Khateera movement - a man's role

Elayan (27) is of Palestinian-Jordanian origin. Amanda Abou Abdallah (34) comes from Lebanon. Both say that as children they wanted to have such a program in the Arabic language. "I loved seeing something like that in my own language as a young girl — not just Western content, which I didn't always find myself in. It's just not always the same context, even if the issue of gender is really a global issue. ”, says Amanda Aboo Abdallah.

Khateera speaks to all women in the Arabic-speaking world: "We have different problems than in the West, but we also have common problems in the Arab world. I'm sure if you listen to an Egyptian woman and a Jordanian woman and think about their challenges, the reasons will be almost the same", says the 34-year-old.

Maria Elayan agrees. She wants to mediate the Arab feminist narrative by "differentiating our feminism from Western feminism and closing the knowledge gap so that Arab girls and young women can lead fairer lives," says the 27-year-old. "Another goal is to show that women and girls are not alone in their thoughts. Many women think exactly the same thing! But they don't have the means to do it, or they can put themselves in danger if they do. And here "Smatouha Minni" is presented," says Maria Elayan./ DW