Taboos

If you want to know the plot of this post, you will have to read every word of it.
You know there are sometimes things that you hear or see and you just never forget. Things that immediately make it into your permanent memory and pop out as flying-by thoughts every now and then. They don’t [...]

Friendship has many definitions and it has been a topic since 2500 years ago when Aristotle in his book, Nichomachean Ethics, tried to define it. By the way here I don’t want to talk about Aristotle or definition of friendship.
I’ve been an author here at MEY when I felt I have something to share [...]

It’s oppressive. It’s degrading. It’s this, it’s that. Jack Straw claimed this, Nicholas Sarkozy mentioned that. Let us liberate them in Afghanistan, let us liberate them in France. Yawn. I am getting fed up of these burka stories. They seem to be never ending and at times very cringe worthy. ’Burka woman sacked from her job!’  ’Lets [...]

This is the first podcast in a long series on homosexuality in Sudan. Mideast Youth talks to Ali, a single gay Sudanese man living and working in the Gulf. When Ali started his blog, black-gay-Arab, he was only trying to find himself. Three years later, Ali has a lot of followers and writes about his identity [...]

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Yesterday was celebrated as Iran’s Clean Air, Blue Sky Day. Air pollution is a major issue in mega cities like Tehran. Most days, Tehran is clouded by a thick layer of smog making it difficult to breath especially for children and elderly.
Every year on January 19, they celebrate Clean Air day, encouraging people to use [...]

We’ve broadcast today a new Arabicast episode on MEYArabic; an interview with Dr Sahar Al Mougy.
The interview was recorded during Ana Al-Hekaya (I’m the Tale) workshop, that has taken place at the AUC from 27 to 29th of December 2009.
The workshop, which is held annually since 1998, focuses on rewriting and renarrating the Egyptian folkloric [...]

“Oy” which means ouch, is the name of third studio album by Iranian controversial musician, Mohsen Namjoo. In his new released album he sings “Shams” song once again.
“In 2006 he was sentenced in absentia to a five-year jail term for allegedly ridiculing the ash-Shams, a sura of Quran in the song named “Shams” by Iranian [...]

Most of the time, I leave the cinema hall feeling disappointed, offended and ripped-off. Here I am, after wasting nearly two hours of my precious life, feeling slightly older and bitter that my intellect wasn’t stimulated in any way.
The question we need to ask here is not why such pathetic attempts at film-making are still being made, it’s simply: why is the public still interested in such films?

In this podcast, I speak with Nadia from Tunisia about relationships and the perception of sex in the Arab world. What is accepted, what isn’t, and what’s hypocritical about our current societies. This is an important discussion but still surprisingly a taboo in the MENA region. Amongst the things we discuss are: virginity, independence (specifically [...]

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As an honor graduate, I’ve always been proud of myself, and so were my family and my friends. After all, I’ve worked hard to earn my degree and I spent days and months gaining experience through extracurricular activities; whether by volunteering, doing internships or representing my country abroad. [...]