What?

There’s a lot of things I don’t “get” about society as a whole. And there’s some things about Kuwaiti society, in particular, that perplex.

One of these things is how “unnatural” everthing is, especially our “codes of civilized conduct”. I find it fascinating that, for women, it’s okay to be outdoors, in your car. But for you to take a stroll, معاذ الله. Especially if this stroll is at night, but it could be any time of day.

A few months back, I took a walk from grandma’s house in Khaldiya, to the co-op. It was a 10 minute walk. During those 10 minutes, I could swear to you, cars drove by with the people inside whipping their heads back to look at me.

It’s not that it’s unsafe for a woman to walk outside in Kuwait, be it during the night or during the day. Nor is it considered immoral for a woman to be “strutting her sex” down the street. It’s just that it’s so unheard of and abnormal, that you’d be breaking a cultural taboo, that makes the simple, basic task of walking, an act of social, cultural rebellion and defiance. No body walks.

I find it interesting, that for one to cease being an uncivilized barbarian, and become a civilized, cultured man/woman of this century, you have to defy all laws of nature, strip yourself of the last shred of human-ness, deny all emotion and individuality, keep yourself “in check”, and basically, look at things as simple as “walking” as an abomination which must be eradicated.

It’s unnatural.