Now that the title grabbed your attention, read on, it will be good for you I promise.
As the world trips over itself
with the news of the birth of
Shakira and Pique’s son, a Lebanese woman
reached her tipping point, taking justice into her own hands by kidnapping her
children from their school by gunpoint.
The woman, identified as Nadine,
has been prevented from seeing her two children for a period of two month by
her husband, who even changed the children’s school to further hinder his wife’s
attempts at seeing them.
To read the full story click on
this link.
According to the woman’s lawyer,
the children are at an age which legally asserts custody to the
mother.
However as in most cases in
Lebanon, trespasses against the law are seldom reprimanded on the part of
governmental authorities, who in turn are further feeding the notion of
patriarchy and male domination.
With the elections drawing near,
not one political party offered a solution or a promise to women activists
calling for:
- A quota for women in parliament
- The right for Lebanese women to
pass on their nationality to their children
- Civil marriage in Lebanon
The above mentioned issues are in
my opinion the most basic rights that Lebanese women lack, not to mention a law
to protect women against acts of rape and domestic violence.
But on an even higher level, so
to speak, the media are to blame for this embarrassment we call Lebanese laws
and action, or lack thereof, and so are the women who believe themselves immune from
the threats of being on the wrong side of the law, or lacking the connections, i.e.
wasta.
But most of all it’s your fault.
Yes you!
When I first decided to study media,
I was naive enough to think that it could change the world. I thought that newspapers,
magazines, television, social media platforms, telecommunications etc. could
bring the people of the world together as to mobilize global action!
Yes…that is the sad dream that I once
had…to use media as a means of creating awareness on the pending issues facing
the world and yes, Lebanon.
But here’s a little secret. Media
outlets in all their forms depend on viewer ratings to steer their "money making vessels". That is why we see models posing as news anchors, incompetent gossip
writers passing off as journalists and thieves taking on "responsibility" in our
governments.
If people wish to see change,
even on the smallest level, then they should start off by carefully
choosing what they endorse as “quality” television programs, newspapers, magazines,
music etc.
By continuing to feed the beast that we have created by solely using television for entertainment and nurturing
our sexual frustrations, we will never break the cycle.
Here’s just a little example, the
LBCI team posted an article a few months back on a scientific breakthrough: "The
first man to be cured of AIDS". The article with multiple tweets only received a
fraction of the views that a blog on Myriam Klink did.
Choose what you read and watch
wisely, after all this is the age of information and what you put out affects
you both directly and indirectly.
Media has been dubbed the
fourth estate; a force to speak on the people's behalf against the
dictatorships passing off as democratic governments, but when you, the viewers,
lead it to steer away from what’s important by choosing over and over again to watch
skull numbing programs, you are taking your power of endorsement and nurturing
what has no effect on your life whatsoever instead of garnering support for
issues that would affect your life on a first degree level.
Its 2013, the 21st century,
the age of information…an era when all questions can be answered with a mouse
click, or an engine search and the age which has also sadly degenerated into
the age of misinformation, lies and hypocrisy.
Don’t feed the beast, slay it
instead.
"Be the change you want to see in the world."- Mahatma Ghandhi
Nadine Mazloum is
currently the editor for LBCI Online English News. She received her
Honors in Communication Arts (Media Production) from The University of
Western Sydney in 2008.