Laying WOMEN to positions of your choice!

[DamallaXagare]

An early 20th century poet, Cali Dhuux, said in one of his poets, "laying women to positions of your choice without protest, is because of the natural synthesis of their menstruation and femininity"--rough translation.

The article reveals points with deep moral implications of how we treat our women. In specific, the introductory quote of the poetic verse from Cali Dhuux was used to urge one clan to fight for a small village called Dhannood . It was then the prelude of the battle of poets in the Guba series. However, the article in particular updates with these beliefs in our society up to now, taking a finding by Medical team from Jordan as an example in Hargeisa.

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Rise A Knight
By: Ali H. Abdulla
March 28, 2006

"Naagahaa dhankii loo dhigiyo, Dhinacna diidayn e
Dhedigaanshahaa lagu arkiyo, Dhiiga Caadada e"
Cali Dhuux Aadan
An early 20th century Somali Poet



The name of the late 19th century Somali poet, Cali Dhuux Aadan, conjures different feelings in Somalis. Many know him as the man who kicked off the famous Guba series in which many poets participated and ignited clan conflict in the areas known as Dannood and Ciid. These are parts missing from the Somalia of today but inhabited by fellow Somalis.

Cali Dhuux lived in a period that glorified the male member of the clan. Poetry was used freely to urge men to go to battle over perceived slights, grazing areas, water wells and beautiful women.

Many Somali and foreign scholars analyzed Guba for its poetic talent and rich powerful words. The late Muse Galaal and Andrewiski are among these scholars. However, none of these scholars paid any attention to the chauvinistic tendencies portrayed by some of the poets.

When I first read the series, the above verse caught my attention for its demeaning portrayal of women as helpless creatures that are born to satisfy the whim of men. Today, women all over the world would consider Cali Dhuux as a male chauvinist. But many famous men in history could have been labelled as such if judged by the standards of our modern and civilized world. Remember that US women gained their right to vote in 1920 after being jailed and humiliated by men when they started fighting for their rights.

Women in 19th century Somalia and other parts of the Arab world were indeed helpless. Unfortunately, present day Somalia does not treat Somali women any different.

Even today, if a clan kills the male member of another clan, the wronged clan receives 100 camels in compensation plus a girl. The girl has no say whatsoever in this forced marriage and in many instances the sisters and cousins of the diseased can treat her in an inhumane manner. Genital mutilation is still practiced widely in Somalia and even by Somalis who live in the West. Many men in cities like Hargeisa, Bosasso and Mogadishu make their women work selling the narcotic leave kat and other goods in open markets where they are harassed by kat crazed addicts. A medical team from the Jordan recently visited Hargeisa and examined some of the women who sell kat. To their dismay, they discovered that these women do not drink water from the time they arrive at their stalls until they pack up for the night to overcome the natural urge of going to the bathroom. As a result, many of these women suffer from urinary tract infections and kidney diseases.

Although I care about the plight of Somali women, having 6 girls of my own, my article is not about their plight but about the plight of a whole country that does not fare any better than our wretched mothers, sisters and daughters in present day Somalia.

Cali Dhuux perfectly described the helpless condition of women in his time and used that fact to urge a clan to recover its grazing land from another clan by comparing the first clan to helpless women. The words moved the wronged clan, and Guba was born.

Somalia as a country is as helpless as the 19th century Somali woman. It is helpless, and defenceless. Its beaches are used as a dumping ground for nuclear and chemical waste. Its trees are burned and sold as charcoal for burning incense in the homes of rich Arab Sheiks in the gulf thus causing recurring droughts and flash floods. Its fish is looted with illegal fishing methods known to Somalis as Jariif. Hugenets dragged by huge fishing trawlers are used to scoop fish from the seabed, destroying in the process precious coral reefs and God knows what other unknown treasures. European doctors sneak into remote mountain areas such as Galgal in eastern Somalia and steal precious medicinal plants without compensating the residents of these areas. Hundreds of innocent women and children die in their attempts to escape from their helpless country. The overloaded ships that sink in the Gulf of Aden are not longer front-line news; they have become routine occurrences. Sex-crazed maniacs prey on young girls traveling on foot between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Some have even been captured into slavery in remote villages in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In fairy tales, knights on white horses rescue helpless, beautiful maiden. What Somalia needs today is knights on white horses to rescue it from its plight, so that Somali women can also be rescued in the process. The words of Balian, the son of the crusader Godfrey, in the movie kingdom of heaven, come to my mind. When the Great Muslim hero Salah-Uddin surrounds Jerusalem, Balian urges those trapped in Jerusalem to defend the city, and asks common men to kneel down. He then draws his sword and calls upon them to ‘Rise a knight”. Somalis all over the world need to rise as knights to rescue their helpless country. If you are a writer, use your pen as your sword. If you are a politician, use your political acumen as your sword. If you are rich, use your dollar as your sword. If you are a poet, use your words as your sword. If you are a religious scholar, use your sermons as your sword. The rest of us should find something to use as a sword.

I conclude with the words of the young Tunisian poet, Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi who urged his people to become free from colonial tyrrany:

‘If, one day, a nation resolves to live
Destiny has no choice but to oblige
The dark night has no choice but to dissolve
The chains have no choice but to break”

Ali H. Abdulla
Ottawa, Canada
aliegeh@gmail.com

[FaaraX-TaaJiR]

Its a very nice article, although reading it made me very sad.

[Homer Simpso]

I am too lazy to read all that