Sawsan Salim

BJ remembered

From a University of Texas conference in honor of "BJ" Fernea.



See my earlier posts, as well as this personal tribute by "Kamil Pasha".

Honor killings--excused murder in my book--in Turkey

Honor killings are hardly unique to Turkey, but also occur with distressing regularity in Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria and a variety of other societies, including parts of Europe and Latin America where "protecting family honor" is used to justify the murder of women who may have done little more than to behave imprudently.

In a case that I know of in Egypt, a young women who worked as a maid for a Cairo family was given leave to visit her family during an 'eid. She took the wrong train from Cairo and ended up in a town where the next train was not until morning. A sympathetic women put her up over night, but her brothers, sure that "something" must have happened, were intent on killing (the method in this case: to be tied in a sack weighted with rocks and thrown in the Nile). Incidentally, the woman was illiterate and could not read the signs at the train station. As it happened, she was saved through the intervention of her Egyptian employers, but perhaps she only earned a reprieve.

In her recent posts on Turkey, Jenny White has periodically addressed honor killings there. As she notes about a recent case in which a woman was horribly mutilated, as well as stabbed, but still survived, what is most appalling is the role of the police. After the woman fled the threats of her husband, the police foricibly returned her to her spouse, who claimed the woman was fabricating.

Important news from Kuwait: four women win election to the majlis

When a group of us launched the Civil Society in the Middle East program in the early 1990s, women were still struggling for the right to vote in Kuwait, which they did not win until 2005. The electoral victory of these women in Kuwait is a moment that deserves to marked as important.

Added: Greg Gause from Kuwait on the elections

Egyptian women not taking it anymore

Egypt's sexually harassed women begin to speak out - Los Angeles Times

Earlier here.

Sexual harassment in Egypt--a serious problem

BBC listen to segment on sexual harassment in Egypt that begins about two-thirds through the broadcast.  The segment is quite good.  It begins with an incident involving a man who was sport-groping from his car and got caught by his victim, whose breast he had grabbed.  The intro is followed by several thoughtful comments by Egyptian women, including the well-know intellectual Mona Makram Obeid.

Memorial service information for BJ Fernea

The Fernea family has announced that a memorial service will be held in Austin at St. Austin's Catholic Church early next week. Specific information will be posted on the CMES Web site when it becomes
available.<http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/cmes/> )

Also:
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies is planning a symposium on women in the Middle East in honor of Elizabeth Warnock Fernea to take place in 2009. A formal announcement be made after the winter holiday.

Earlier post.

Elizabeth "BJ" Warnock Fernea R.I.P.

Elizabeth W. "BJ" Fernea (1927-2008), I am sad to have to note, died yesterday afternoon (Dec. 2, 2008). A friend reports that she died peacefully holding the hands of her husband Bob and daughter Laila. She left this life with a smile on her face. BJ's many friends will know that tell-tale smile, which was so often accompanied by a knowing nod. Arrangements are still being made, but the funeral will be in Austin.

Added: A memorial page where you may leave your memories of BJ.

It is common to hear friends refer to BJ and her tireless energy, but she wearied like all of the rest of us. The difference was BJ’s capacity to drive herself even when she was pooped; all the while without relinquishing her humor or her impatience with silly rules. She did not know the meaning of “can’t” so she was hard to refuse–though you might have ten things on your to-do list, you knew that she had twice as many. BJ inspired people to reach down inside themselves and to do good things that they had never considered doing before. She was a mentor long before the word became a cliche.
I knew BJ, usually from a distance, for about a quarter century. During a brief stint as a visiting professor at UT in the mid-1980s, I spent some long, memorable days with her. At day’s end, I would discover that she had already organized a dinner party that would have her home brimming with delightful people, or that there was a dizzying evening agenda yet to come of meetings, receptions or lectures.
I cherish her memory as a caring, wise friend, an exemplary teacher, and, most of all, as a women who truly loved humanity, and who showed that love through her films, her books and her relentless compassion.
arn, December 5, 2008

UT-Austin Center for Middle East Studies obituary.

Austin newspaper obit.

LATimes.

London Telegraph.

Zaman (updated)

BJ

Friends and fans of BJ Fernea are all sad to know that she is gravely ill, and that the end may be near. Her family is at her side. BJ's Guest of the Sheik is a beloved classic, and thousands of students have watched her wonderful films.
Elizabeth W. Fernea - SourceWatch
Updated:
A 2007 tribute to the Ferneas by an Austin fan.