Continuing Work

The women in the NGO were very busy today. The website team was being trained on new software and formats to help improve the websites over all appearance and accessibility. Due to this I was sent to the library to work on editing and research.

Shaimmaa sent me her two articles late so I focused the majority of my morning on correcting her articles. I have to say, her writing has already improved greatly. I am happy because I am the one helping her with her skill and it is making a difference for her. Right now she is working on translating the Tabbaa volumes from Arabic into English. So far, she has Volume One, Two, and Three done. I was sent Volume Two and Three, so those are the ones I edited. Volume Two discuses the different types of resistance that women face on a daily biases, this resistance can be explicit or implied. The volume mainly focuses on Palestinian resistance to the Israeli army and the differences of the Intifada of 1988 and 2000. It also mentions the role that Arabic American women play in the resistance to this type of enmity. Volume Three discuses the different cultural discourses that contribute to the formation of social roles of men and women in Arab societies. Media and literature appear to play the biggest role in helping to shape those identities. From this editing ,I learned a lot about the roles of men and women in Arab societies.

I am worried that I am not having the same type of experience as other people working in different NGO, or even as Heba may be having in ours. Even though the women are friendly language does seem to be the biggest obstacle. I am usually given my assignment at the beginning of every meeting and expected to have it done by the time I leave. The women on my campaign team, the website team, are always hard at work so talking about how they feel about the work they are doing rarely happens. I feel like I am at a slight disadvantage, because if I spoke Arabic, I think the conversation would happen more naturally. Instead when I try to raise these questions, while we are all working, I do not think the women realize I am talking to them, even though I address them by name. I know they think the work they are doing is important, otherwise they would not be working at this NGO, but as of right now I do not know more than that. I feel as though my first meeting with the NGO was my first and really only insight into understanding how these women feel and think about their lives and the lives of other Arab women, and this mainly has to do with the fact that Heba was with me and translated most of the conversation for me. I am going to continue to look for opportunities to have these discussions again, even if I have to schedule them.