Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

“You wrote about sexual harassment! What about color harassment, racial harassment, religious harassment, age harassment, class harassment?,” asked my frustrated caller.



• Please explain!



– Last week, a Saudi nurse, who happened to be black, was verbally attacked by a relative of a patient, who broke into her station and shouted names at her, like “slave,” and “servant.” The nurse took the matter to the police, but decided to forgive the abuser and drop the case. Then and there, the attacker’s husband arrived, started calling the same names and more, and tried to attack her physically. He was restrained, and the nurse decided to sue both, husband and wife. She told the media it was not personal anymore. These people were racists and should be faced and taught a lesson!

Now what do you call such incident?!



• Racial harassment, of course. It is one of the worst discrimination problems we still have in our society, 1400 years after Islam made all people equal.



• Look, I happen to be black, my father was a freed African slave. I am proud of my God-given color and background, as much as I am of my Islamic religion, Saudi nationality and Arabic culture. My colleagues include males and females, Muslim and non-Muslim, Shia and Sunnah, Arab and non-Arab, tribal and non-tribal, rich and poor, old and young, pretty and ugly, white, dark, yellow and black. I never thought of myself less or more than any, for only Allah can judge who is better or worse according to their deeds and purity of heart. As the head of my division, I treat them equally.



But then, I am not alone in this world. Others may think differently. My color has prevented me from marrying the girl of my dream. It took away my right to be the General Manager. It deprived me of my right to get ahead in my life without feeling lesser and guilty. Do you know what this feels? Worse than you can imagine. How can we fight that? How can we change people mentality?



• By education, awareness campaign and strict laws. And by courageous people like the nurse you mentioned.



Would that be enough? Any thoughts, dear readers? Here are you comments on my last article, “Sexual harassment! Report it!”



Courage



“Girls should be taught in schools how to tackle such situations and trained to have courage and self confidence. Sex harassment should not be tolerated and must be reported in any case.” Riaz Murtaza



Not maid!



“This shows how Arabs treat their own women. What then about others, like maids and expats?” Ibn-E-Islam



Be bold!



“A little boldness to speak aloud and turn the world’s attention to the culprit would give courage and a lesson of bravery to others. Your silence may prevent you from timely insult, but would be a source of depression and frustration for the rest of your life. You can share your experience with others through the Net, which is such a remarkable weapon for revenge nowadays.” Maria Khan



Equality



“Ibn-E-Islam mentioned that the victim was local, not a maid or expat. This is discrimination. A woman is a woman —sister, daughter, wife or mother —regardless of nationality.” Hiren



Societal responsibility



“It is not women's responsibility to learn self defense or find the courage to speak out, at great risk. This is all easier said than done in a society that humiliates women in the name of protection and respect. Asking women to react, automatically gives men the permission to continue this abhorrent behavior.” Johara Al-Saudi



Hire Haia



“The government should release new rule for companies to hire male and female ‘mutawas.’ Also, in every company there should be female managers and Saudi female interviewers for females interviewees.” Mahmud



Self-realization



“Everybody should try to realize their sphere and confine within that either male or female.” Waseem Ahmad



Where are the muttawas?



“Colleagues experienced harassment in a Riyadh souq that reached to groping and touching. They eventually had to be rescued because they were too afraid to leave. Where are the ‘mutawas’ in these situations?” Johara



Self-defense



“Girls as well as boys should be taught self defense at school. Even a few tips could help save them.” Umme Musab



Disgusting men



“The interviewer should be beaten up, deported, and blacklisted. What a disgusting shameful man. There is no reason for a job interview to end up where only the manager and the woman are left in the building. She should have gotten up and left. Jobs come and go, but traumatic experiences can last a lifetime.” Saad



Doubt!



“How could a sane, respectable manager send sexual materials to a married woman unless he received an encouragement?” Degnesh



Men!



“I knew men are the same, but I’m mortified to the core to read that even men from the holy land can stoop down to such levels!” Shahbaz



– Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com and followed on Twitter: @kbatarfi