Ghada can wear what she likes on screen as long as it is doesn’t look ‘strange’

I have waited six years for this moment – to present television wearing my hijab.

I only started wearing it in 2002. The rule is, when a girl gets her first period, she has to cover her hair. I didn’t – but sometimes you don’t do many things you should.

But as the years passed, I began to feel I wanted to do what God wanted. I struggled for about a year, before deciding to wear it.

More and more women are wearing the hijab, especially here. Only one or two in 10 Alexandrian women are not covered, so I was part of a wider movement of change. But I don’t think I was aware of that at the time.

Cairo is different, because it is such a big, cosmopolitan city.

Anyway, when I put the hijab on in February 2002, I was banned from being on screen.

There have been many cases like this – female presenters losing their jobs when they want to wear the hijab on air. A colleague, Hala el-Malki and I were the first to take it to court.

When I covered my hair, I didn’t lose my ability to read the news

We got two rulings in our favour, the most recent in July 2005. It said we could wear what we liked on screen so long as it wasn’t ‘strange’. It’s taken until now for our employers [Alexandria's Channel 5, a state channel] to apply it.

There are now five of us wearing the hijab on screen.

I don’t know for sure why the management doesn’t like us wearing it. Maybe they thought we belonged to a very religious group, or something. They never gave us a proper reason.

But the reality is, most women here cover their hair. I come from Alexandria and as a presenter, I now reflect and represent my audience more closely than before.

I present a discussion programme focussing on social issues, it’s mainly aimed at women. On my return to the programme last week, so many people congratulated me in live phone calls on air!

However, my employers still haven’t let me return to my other job of reading the English-language news bulletins. I did this job for 12 years before I was stopped – but now they said I needed to pass another test. I refused to take it on principle.

When I covered my hair, I didn’t lose my ability to read the news. I can’t see the point of the ban, can you? To let me do one of my previous jobs, but not the other.

I hope I will win this next case, too.
]]> http://alamode83.wordpress.com/2008/11/05/egyptian-life-on-tv-in-a-veil/feed/ 0 lulu83 Ghada El Tawil presenting her programme Ghada El Tawil http://alamode83.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/to-bleach-or-not-to-bleach/ http://alamode83.wordpress.com/2008/08/30/to-bleach-or-not-to-bleach/#comments Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:17:02 +0000 lulu83 http://alamode83.wordpress.com/?p=157 Continue reading →]]>

Loreal denies digital lightening of Beyonce Knowles …

So now all heads turn to Beyonce Knowles, as allegations of the R&B spokesperson of L’oreal was said to be digitally bleached in an advertising campaign by the cosmetic giant.

We say…

You be the judge.

Bring bold style to a big space with our wall-sized multiframe mural. The striking aerial image of Manhattan and the Empire State Building is presented in nine individual 18 x 24″ prints that form a grid when mounted together, creating the illusion of seeing the city through a large loft window. Simple black wooden frames surround the prints, which are covered in glass.

I was feeling the design and idea, but not the price. 799? What?

Nonetheless, I came to the conclusion that it was a must have for my study/office/guest room.

I got a great photo in black and white of the net…and I am having it blown up at Kinko’s…

I’ve asked them to cut it up in 9 pieces equal size. I bought some large black frames at Ikea, and voila I am on my to having my own customized art piece. I’ll post some photos soon. Of the actual turn out. I am really impressed, and no where near 800 dollars…

I love this magazine for their great artwork and neat articles. I happened to be drawn to this issue in particular because of the cover.

JULY SWINDLE

The issue focuses upon the city’s absorption of a rising Muslim population—and we feature the young Islamic artist Sarah Maple.

Here is an excerpt:

If you want to see where London’s future lies, look to its Muslim demographic. Today, about 40% of Britain’s Muslim population resides in London, where they make up just below 10% of the residents. And half of the city’s Muslim population is under 24—the youngest age profile in the capital. According to the BBC, over half of all British Muslims were born in the U.K., making this subgroup an increasingly intrinsic part of British society. “We’re the second generation, we’ve grown up here like the kids around us and we haven’t faced the strains most of our elders felt such as not understanding English,” says Warsan Nur, a 19-year-old anthropology student at the University of London, and aspiring journalist. “Racism isn’t so common because people are growing to accept us, so the possibilities for this Muslim generation are endless.”

Fore more visit: http://swindlemagazine.com/issue16/

Nile cruise ships, Luxor, Egypt. © Michael Poliza.

A Maasai market scene North-East of Maasai Mara, Kenya. © Michael Poliza.

Grassland plains in Northwest Katavi, Tanzania. © Michael Poliza.

Water meets land in Cabo Delgado, Mozamibique. © Michael Poliza.

Deserted flamingo nests in the red salty patches of the Pans, East of Kubu Island, Botswana. © Michael Poliza.

See more of these amazing images at the Eyes Over Africa website, and order the book through Exclusive Books or Amazon.

Publication shows candidate dressed as a Muslim, his wife as a terrorist…

WASHINGTON – Barack Obama‘s campaign says a satirical New Yorker magazine cover showing the Democratic presidential candidate dressed as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist is “tasteless and offensive.”

The illustration on the issue that hits newsstands Monday, titled “The Politics of Fear” and drawn by Barry Blitt, depicts Barack Obama wearing traditional Muslim garb — sandals, robe and turban — and his wife, Michelle — dressed in camouflage, combat boots and an assault rifle strapped over her shoulder — standing in the Oval Office.

The couple is doing a fist tap in front of a fireplace in which an American flag is burning. Over the mantel hangs a portrait of Osama bin Laden.

“The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama’s right-wing critics have tried to create,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. “But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree.”

In a statement Monday, the magazine said the cover “combines a number of fantastical images about the Obamas and shows them for the obvious distortions they are.”

“The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. And that’s the spirit of this cover,” the New Yorker statement said.

The statement also pointed to the two articles on Obama contained inside the magazine, calling them “very serious.”

Republican John McCain‘s campaign spokesman, Tucker Bonds, agreed that the cover was “tasteless and offensive.”

By Omar Hassan

I’m sure most readers of my blog are familiar with heyl (cardomom), for those of you who aren’t it’s a seed that most Arabs, East and North Africans, and South Asians use with tea or coffee and sometimes dessert!

For this smoothie depending on your taste you can grind the cardamom seeds for more impact or just drop in the seeds. Mind you, might get seeds in your drink that way. For someone who has never had cardamom seeds it might be a bit overwhelming.

Blend cantaloupe, cardamom, honey, milk, and yogurt for about 3 minutes and voila you have a tasty treat!

Be sure to take seeds out of the cantaloupe when cut into. And you can save whatever you don’t use in your fridge.

Enjoy!

I got some of the best advice that people tend to overlook…

Read for yourself below…

by Frederic Patenaude

Everyone wants to know what’s the best way to get rid of a cold, and it seems everybody has her own remedy for it. In this article, you will learn how to eliminate a nasty cold the PURE HEALTH way, which is Nature’s Way.

I probably won’t be very popular for saying this, but the truth is that “there is no cure for the common cold.” That’s right. Even modern medicine is aware of this.

All of the remedies sold, at the drugstore or from your health food store, only alleviate the symptoms of a problem that shouldn’t be stopped in the first place!

Let Your Body Heal

Here’s a little known truth: all attempts to “cure” the common cold are completely futile, since the cold isn’t something that should be fought or stopped in the first place. The common cold is a *symptom* that the body is undergoing a healing crisis. The body is trying to get well!

Whether you can “catch” a cold is another subject of controversy, but without even going into that, only the body’s own powers are able to take this healing crisis to a favorable conclusion.

The common cold is believed to be viral in nature, and there is no treatment that directly fights the virus. In fact, there are hundreds of those viruses, with new ones being discovered all the time!

The more you interfere in the process, either by taking a drug or making some sort of herbal concoction, the more you add on to the body’s stress of dealing with the situation. You might be able to get rid of the symptoms, but the root problem is still there. Is that what you want?

Instead, get rid of a cold the Pure Health Way, in 2 easy steps:

Sleep It Off

The main problem people have when they get a cold is that it interferes with their already busy life. How are you supposed to work if you feel like crap? So you take drugs or even just herbal medicines to alleviate the symptoms, and you continue working like crazing, staying up late, going out, eating out, and *never giving your body the chance to heal.*

When you get a cold, you should do this opposite. Think to yourself, “Great! A cold! That’s my opportunity to catch up on the rest I desperately need, and my chance to let my body heal itself!”

What you’ll need to do is start spending long hours in bed. Rest as much as possible. Cancel those appointments that are not urgent, those nights out, and other activities. Stop your exercise program for a few days, and rest as much as possible.

If that’s not possible, at least take it really easy, and go to bed super-early. Give your body a chance to heal and it will do an amazing job at it, I promise.

Eat Properly

95% of people I’ve met still think that there’s some kind of food they should eat that could “increase their immunity” or “boost their metabolism” and help them “fight” the cold better.

They still haven’t realized that *the common cold isn’t something that should be fought or stopped!*

Here is however a few recommendations that will definitely help you recover from a cold in the shortest time possible.

- Eat only fruits and vegetables. Those are the easiest foods to digest. Avoid protein foods or fat, or starch.
- Drink plenty of warm water.
- Eat a very simple diet. Smoothies, fresh juices, raw fruits in vegetables. No cooked foods except at the most, steamed vegetables.
- Eat according to hunger and if not hungry skip a few meals. There’s no harm and only good in doing that.

Eating a simple raw food diet (such as the one I described in my book “The Raw Secrets”) when you have a cold will help you recover in the shortest time possible, without doing any harm to the body. A short fast is also advisable (2-3 days max).

Combine that with plenty of rest, and you’ll have a winning formula to getting rid of that nasty cold.

By learning proper nutrition habits, you’ll also make sure that you stay healthy all the time and never have to go through that again!