As you all know, a couple of the bloggers have been interviewed by the Times of Oman. Big thanx to “Sandhya Menon” for her time and effort. Here is a list of us all:
Reality in Oman
The article was published in two parts: “For the love of change and blogging” & “Keeping it real in English“
Copyright @ Times of Oman
Here are the Questions I have been asked and the answers…
1) Will you ever blow your cover?
I don’t think I will. My identity does not define my ideas and I find that I have more freedom of expression writing in anonymity.
2) Are you afraid you might be found out?
No
3) If you are, what do you think the consequence would be?
4) How was it for you to have moved back after living in environments that afford women much more freedom that Oman?
I love my country, but understandable had a difficult time adjusting when I first returned for living abroad. A big part of having this blog is to maintain a sense of intellectual freedom. In the US, I did not have the family ties and obligations that I have here. Most of my friends were other students at my university, who were of different nationalities and religions. In the course of my studies I had to answer many different types of questions about my culture and beliefs. That allowed me the opportunity to reflect on my own feelings and to form my own independent ideas. Oman is a very social-centric and family oriented society and it is often difficult to form a solid sense of individuality, or an identity that is distinct from that of the immediate family group. The primary difficulty that I face here is having freedom in being an individual with my own “identity”
5) Apart from realization of writing skills and a wonderful level of comfort with English, what was the reason you started to blog?
Well, before I moved back to Oman I was aware of the difficulties many of my Gulf female friends face. I decided after considerable thought, that it might be beneficial to my own mind to write a blog where I was able to reflect on and discuss the issues faced myself and others.
6) Do you think you can bring about a change in society, however slow and tedious, with your writing and the awareness that your blog spreads?
My purpose is to spread awareness through my writings. I do not shy away when it comes to talking about sensitive issues in Oman. I believe we can and should talk about love, divorce, racism, and gender roles in society without feeling we should be embarrassed or ashamed. Real change is often slow and tedious, but I hope to encourage others to think outside their comfortable zone and to form their own opinions.
It certainly gives me great pleasure and a sense of accomplishment when someone reads a post and replies with “this is thought provoking” or “I never thought of it that way”. Also, personally, my blog also allows me to continuously develop my thoughts and opinions, which allows me to grow intellectually.
7) Has your blog ever been noticed by anyone who has objections to what you write in there?
Of course. With writing, you can never please everyone, but this is often a blessing as it allows you to see things through other people’s eyes. Even though at times it contradicts your own beliefs, other’s opinions are not less valid. We all form our beliefs through our own experiences and that’s what makes us so diverse and complex.
There are, however, times where people have responded to my blog in a negative an non-constructive way, calling it useless, or stating that it does not add any value to the writing sphere in Oman. With these comments I disagree.
8 ) If yes, how have you responded/reacted?
I do moderate the comments that I receive. Any comments that are in any way constructive or pertinent to the post or general topic I publish, even if these comments disagree with my point-of-view. However, I do not tolerate the use of insulting or profane language. The purpose of my blog is to initiate a discussion and debates are welcomed. At the least, I hope that my posts allow people to look at certain issues in a different light, but it is important to me that people feel the blog is a safe place to express their ideas and post their thoughts.
9) How far do you plan to take your blog in that that it reveals a side of Muscat/Oman and its people that is not very well known?
There are many aspects of the Omani culture that foreigners find hard to understand. I like to provide my own interpretation of what goes on in the society and I base it on my own observations and readings. In my experience, many times people prefer that foreigners see our society from a narrow perspective, such as saying “dating is not allowed, and abaya’s are for showing modesty”. However, dating does happen in the society and many times abaya’s second purpose is fashion rather than modesty alone. Here, foreigners become confused and my role as an intellectual is to show this side of the culture rather than cover my face and be embarrassed that normal behavior exists in the society.
10) Do you have any ambitions for the blog?
Yes. I look forward to the day where my blog becomes a hub for discussing the different issues we face in the Omani culture.
11) Does it bother you that you have to be anonymous to tell it like it is?
Not at all. Being anonymous is exciting because it allows me to give my opinion and develop different ideas without having to worry that my opinions will be seen as the opinions of my entire family or friends. Being anonymous allows me to more fully express myself as an individual with my own ideas.
12) Does anyone know of your identity? Family, close friends?
Very few do.
13) What is their response?
They follow my blog, but rarely ever comment. I think it allows them to see the other side of me. Most choose to discuss “offline” the issues that I raise.
14) How does having this unlimited space affect your personality? For eg: Are you more interested in the goings-on of things so that you can have material for your blog? Are you more socially aware because you realize you can’t put up something that you don’t understand.
Since beginning the blog I have certainly become more outgoing and I pay closer attention to what happens around me. I think the advantage I have is that I lived outside of Oman for almost ten years. I was out of the culture, which in turn allowed me to question different behaviors and have a different view at my surroundings when I moved back.
I have to confess though that sometimes my views and experiences are limited to my environment. This does not make them less valid, but it might contradict with another fellow blogger’s experiences. For example, I talked about female circumcision in Oman, and how the act is more of a symbolic ritual that does not involve any sort of deformation to the female’s genitals. However, I came to know that in certain areas in Oman, deformation of female’s genitals is the common practice of female circumcision. We live in a diverse and varied country and I though I can only provide my own viewpoint I hope that in doing so I am able to hit on wider societal and cultural issues.
15) Do you write in Arabic as well?
I speak and write fluently in both English and Arabic, but at this time choose to write the blog only in English.
reality as we know that most of omani people dont read in english, so are you planing to write in arabic to allow most of omanis to read your blog?
Great article, I didn’t read it in Times but I will do… I only cried a little at not being asked ;0))