The Binat

Bint = girl

Binat = girls

There are currently 11 binat living in the closed women’s compound, which is within the larger work compound. The guys also live within this larger one, but their rooms are scattered throughout and not enclosed like ours are.

The binat are a mystery to me. When I arrived, they were so kind to me, and I felt like a she-male, in that I could take part in all the men’s activities (lunch, sports, walking freely outside, etc.) but I was still one of the women. The binat are very protective of one another, to make sure that in such a place like this, without their families, that they are still upholding the strict Yemeni gender expectations. A typical Yemeni family would need a lot of reassurance in order to let their daughter, sister or wife come live in a camp setting like this. They’ll be under no supervision! Imagine the things they might do! They are unprotected, out in the wild, with all those men living close who are not their family. Oh, the bad things that could happen.

Rarely do they allow photos... guess which one is me?

For this reason, they are extraordinarily strict: They always eat inside the binat compound, they are covered when they go out, and some remain covered at all times - others take off the nicab once they’re safe inside their offices. They do not interact with the men at all, save for office activity or a rare goodbye celebration inside the office.

This is as close as I'll get to showing you the black baltos they wear

But I learned a new aspect of this today that astounded me. There is a Somali wedding in the camp tonight and the norm here is for the women to be invited to the big rec center, and the men congregate in the men’s center. The rec center is a 3-minute walk outside our compound and into the camp. I asked the women who was coming with me and they paused before discussing who would ask permission. … … Hold up. What? What permission?

“Because it is after dark,” they say, “We must have permission.” From who? “Well, it would typically be from our father, older brother, or from our husband if we’re married. But since we are here, the responsibility lies with our managers. What if something were to happen to us? Someone has to be held responsible!” I see… (mind you these are grown women, ranging in age from 19-38)

“And what if your manager was female or foreign?” Besides me, all the other managers are Somali or Yemeni males.

“As long as he is male they can give permission. But if she is female, we must ask someone else in her place.”

I found it so interesting the nonchalant way in which they explained this to me. They even made a joke that when I return to America and marry, I will ask my husband for permission, he will become surprised and ask why and I will tell him, “I learned this tradition while in Yemen!” [Clap twice if any of you who know me see this happening]

Completely veiled but she forgot her gloves

One girl explained to me later, “There are times when we have thoughts about this, about why it is this way and what is right. But often times we do not think about it at all, because this is our tradition and we want to carry on tradition.” Okay then, fine, no qualms here I guess.

As for me, I also have to get permission from a man to go tonight. The UNHCR field officer is the focal point for security and any foreign staff (aka me, being the only one) needs to inform him if they want to leave the compound after dark, in case there are any security problems. So I guess in this context, we are the same and I should accept my fate as a woman here. However, it’s still pleasing to know that if the UNHCR field officer were female, it would be her that I asked. Hmmm, at least I think so.

January Wrap Up

I began to sleep like a normal human being again. Learned to ‘keep it light enough to travel’.

One of our staff members died. It was of natural causes but he was so young – late 20’s. He left behind 2 adorable little ones and it was quite a tragedy. Rest in peace my dear.

Spent 2 Aden trips at the beach with small children. Splashing around with little Noor and her siblings was quite entertaining and somewhat relaxing. 

Ethiopian coffee ceremony meets Arabian shisha session

Tried shisha with some of my staff... I've never wanted to try it and always refused to go to hooka bars in the States but here, any chance to do something out of the ordinary and 'fit in' is taken gladly. Good thing there are no heavy drugs commonly used here, haha!

Spent an hour trying to download episodes from Season 4 Glee. Sighhh… got nowhere. Op! Update, I found a way! Takes bumping across 3 web sites and waiting 3 minutes, then downloading episodes for 2 hours each, but it worked!

It was peaceful with songs and speeches

Walked alongside rebel demonstrations – southern Yemen wants to break away from the north and sometimes holds massive protests in the streets – this one commemorated January 13, 1986 when a civil war broke out and killed thousands of southern Yemenis. I was told to stay inside for the day but I needed food. They were peaceful and included a lot of flags waving, men chewing khat, holding their guns and chanting/clapping. Once I returned to the house I watched the events happening outside my window on the television.

Danced in the kitchen with the women – felt so nice to move and laugh and feel free.

Henna’ed my hands in the simple way that many Lahj’ii women do: the tips of the fingers dipped completely with a stenciled print in the palm of the hand.

Holding my birthday present

Discovered another core food to add to my lifelong list of Food-I-Can’t-Live-Without – dates! I wasn’t too excited about them at first but the more I ate them, the more I loved them. They are mostly grown in Saudi Arabia and although they have a high calorie count, they are very nutritious, with

Dates come after honey, lemon, red wine, green tea, olive oil, raw dark chocolate bars and raw almonds. Essentials.

Turned another year older. This seems to come about every year, and I hope I never stop looking forward to it. I wasn’t successful in pulling off a beach trip, but the guys made me cake a flower lei and celebrated with me which was sweet.

Me and 10 guys drinking soda and eating cake for my 27th, aww

Favorite words learned this month:

Arabic: aish fee?  Local slang for ‘what’s wrong’ or ‘what is it’, or ‘you okay?’ Literally translates to what is in?

Somali: dip, meaning challenge diplo atahay means “You are a challenge”

Funny moment: The social unit manager stopping the home gardeners from doing their work.

“Why were they pulling out all the greenery? We need green to make the place look beautiful!”

“Uh, Mo, the area needs to be a seed production garden, so they’re pulling weeds”

“No, they need to stay, we need as much green as possible to keep the place beautiful”

“Sighhh, the weeds are not there for beauty, carry on…”

Yemeni Gangnam Style

I wrote 2  blog posts and left them on my other computer. But... fear not because what I am going to post below will make your day. At least it made mine. I've watched this video so many times by now and there are so many reasons to love it. First, it is silly fun just like the original gangnam style video and everyone could use more silly fun.

And second, it's coming from Yemen. How many films, shorts, comedians, funny news do you see coming out of Yemen?

Lastly, it shows streets of Sana'a, the old city and the traditional men's wear that you see all throughout the country (mostly in the north).

So enjoy. And share it with your friends!