|
A different take on Laura Bush and the abaya
The controversial photo shows Bush donning a black head scarf decorated with the iconic pink bows signifying breast cancer awareness. It was the only time Bush covered her head during the trip and the episode lasted perhaps a minute. The scarf in question was a gift to Bush from a dozen Saudi women who shared their experiences fighting breast cancer with the first lady. The morning meeting was touching and intimate, the sort of bonding experience that opens hearts and minds in diplomatically useful ways. Upon receiving the gift, Bush did what any decent, well-mannered person would do. She demonstrated her appreciation by placing the scarf on her head. In Saudi Arabia, it was a sweet, wordless gesture of friendship and mutual respect. Yet to read and hear remarks over the past few days, you'd think Bush had organized a pilgrimage to the stoning fields. Remind me: When did rudeness work as a diplomatic strategy? Not only were the facts concerning the scarf incorrectly stated in some cases, but also in at least one instance, the alleged image was a retread. Sunday morning, when Chris Wallace interviewed Bush on Fox News, the cable program featured a photo of the first lady that the White House says was taken in 2005 at Israel's Western Wall. On Monday, a column posted on The Jerusalem Post's Web site carried the headline, "Our World: Laura Bush's embrace of tyranny." Huh? Columnist Caroline Glick wrote that Bush's donning of the scarf and her visit in general were symbolically "deeply disturbing." Glick's point, reiterated elsewhere throughout the blogosphere, was that Bush was effectively endorsing the subjugation of Saudi women by wearing the scarf. Camel dust.
At each stop along her journey, which by week's end will have included the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, Bush has managed a quiet coup of diplomacy. Bush's visit as part of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research, initially launched in 2006 has been historic on several fronts. Bush has moved easily from country to country, charming audiences along the way with her sincerity and gentle touch. Most important, she has helped women in this part of the world say the C-word cancer without shame. That isn't only a recent development, but one that will save lives and, perhaps, help build and fortify bridges between nations. As Bush told a roundtable of young female students: "We have many things in common. ... What we all find out when we meet people from around the world is that human beings all have the same emotions, desires, dreams and frustrations." At one especially poignant stop in Abu Dhabi, Bush met with breast cancer survivors at a "Pink Majlis" a circular pink tent situated within a hospital where women can come to talk freely about a subject that has been considered too embarrassing and frightening to mention. The consequence of silence has been that many women are diagnosed in later stages of cancer when a cure isn't usually possible. In the Middle East, 70 percent of women with breast cancer have been diagnosed late. In the U.S., 80 percent are diagnosed early; of those, 96 percent survive. Other cultural taboos and traditions in this part of the world are further inhibiting. Some women are still uncomfortable with self-examination, or reluctant to see a male doctor about so intimate a concern. Posted by: lotp 2007-11-02 |
||
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=204912 |