I wrote this column for our local newspaper .. and it got some of my friends laughing and others wondering: one day you are all for women and the next day trashing them.

Well, the truth is that I am supportive of the 'right' type of woman and not the type who will make a fool of us all..

Here's the article, which appeared in today's GDN:

Cooking up a stink in the workplace...

A friend of mine called me yesterday wailing and crying.

I had thought that there was a catastrophe, or perhaps someone had died.

But no. Her problem was with a colleague of hers…who was cooking her lunch in the office during lunch break.

Before my friend knew it, she was gasping for fresh air. The entire office reeked with the smell of cooking fish. There was smoke everywhere. And the fire sirens didn’t go off, because there simply wasn’t a fire siren in the building! But we will not go on about safety in the work place now because it was no longer an office. It was a dirty old kitchen with very bad ventilation.

And what was worse, was that my friend had a business meeting scheduled in 10 minutes.

She had to cancel the appointment and evacuate the office and was still angry about the situation way into the night.

When she told me about her ‘situation’ I was simply speechless.

It took me back to the days when I was at university and had to teach in a government school for three months as part of the requirements for my Bachelors degree in English and Education.

Do you know what I saw in the teacher’s room everyday? No. This isn’t a scene from an Egyptian sit-com. It was real. The honourable teachers had their vegetables sprawled all over their tables and were busy chopping cucumbers, aubergines and lady’s fingers to name a few. Of course, they were also peeling potatoes and carrots and exchanging recipes, among other things!

What is it with people who have ZERO respect for their workplace? If the aforementioned woman was mad keen to fry her fish and eat it, why didn’t she go home to cook her offensive meal? And if those teachers were so torn between wifely duties and their teaching profession as teachers, why did they find it so difficult to make a choice?

A woman’s place is in the kitchen indeed but this is no excuse to bring the kitchen to the office.

Make up your mind woman…there are a lot of jobless people out there! Who says you are indispensable?

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12 comments:

أبو سنان said...

Good post. Some of the stuff that gets heated here is enough to make your stomache turn. I think rotting fish is a staple in some countries. You can smell it from a football pitch away and the smell lingers forever.

حسن الخزاعي said...

Honestly, I find it quite difficult to belive all those funny stories,,, but I know for sure that nothing is impossible for a hungry woman :D

and I totaly agree with you that woman’s place is in the kitchen because they are good for nothing else ;)

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

Thanks Abu Sinan ;)

Mohammed, in the case of the former, the boss was away on a business trip...and in the case of the latter, the fact that I am NOT a school teacher today is enough to tell you why!

And Khozai, YOU ARE SCREAMING for trouble.

T
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U
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Girls... please shred him to bits..and guys.. thanks a lot!

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

Also... Khozai, sexist comments aside, is not ANYTHING possible in wonderland?

ainialyaman said...

Exaggerated article and unbelievable.
Women have not the courage to do it in the office.That scene is only in Egyptian movies.Regards

حسن الخزاعي said...

Well, looks your girls are asleep and non of them heared your call, I think I'm safe now ;)

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

Poor thing ainalayaman...

Maybe the women of Yemen are more civilised..but these are things I have seen with my very own eyes!

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

hahaha

Girls Khozai thinks he can get away with murder!

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/globalvoices/-/world/middle-east-north-africa/bahrain/

marco said...

hello! ;)

marco
www.elblogdemarco.com

8291 said...

great post!
being female, capable of cooking, and working... i got it. i laughed my head off, and i confess that it is not that funny when you look at it for the sad reality that it presents.

luckyfatima said...

hee hee, in Muscat they tried to make the work day 9-5 but all the Omanis were bringing their marg/salona, fried fish, and aish to work and stinking up the office so the govt changed the work time back to 7-2 so the workers could eat at home :)

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