Her lament was the non-representation of women in American Theatre - citing that a mere 16% of plays, which are actually produced, are written by women; the exact same amount which was true at the last turn of the century. The late Christopher Hitchen's thesis that women are incapable of being funny was of particular concern to her. She was comforted by the idea that he may be meeting Gilda Radner and Lucille Ball in heaven now. She pointed out, however, that dominant culture codes such figures as exceptions - thus reinforcing the prevailing notions about women's abilities.
She reminded us of the prevalent stereotype that Arab/Muslim/Middle Eastern women are oppressed and downtrodden and explicated the problems that poses for American society. For example, former First Lady Laura Bush used her position to bring the plight of Afghan women to light as a way to rally the U.S. left to support the war on Afghanistan. She pointed out that in America 1 in 5 women are either raped or suffer sexual assault - from an outsider's perspective it would seem extreme, just as from a US perspective the situation in Afghanistan would seem extreme.
She brought many excellent insights to bear on race, gender and class in American and Global society, but I will stop here. The final piece which needs to be shared is that her play "Roar" will be read on stage tonight. Please join us! http://breakinggroundroar730.
The Middle East Studies Center would like to express its appreciation to the Women's Place and the Department of Theatre for bringing Ms. Shamieh on campus and organizing these events.
