We gathered in front of Addustour building, mounted on the bicycles and set out from there, in the direction of Al-waha circle. In the middle of the way, my cousin got dizzy and almost fainted, so we had to stop, wait for the first aid men to come and then following their advice by taking a breath to catch our breath before we joined the others on the way down from Al-waha circle and continue with them to Shmeisani, where we were met by members of JHAS (Jordan Health Aid Society) who received us with roses wrapped with brochures for the society…

The trip ended at Fun Factory in Al-thaqafah street, were they played Montaseba alqamati amshi

Given the sizzling weather, the thirst and the fatigue, I remembered what Ismail Shammout wrote about his memories as a refugee… The thirst, the starvation and the sun strokes. But those people had no bikes, no bottled water and didn’t end up celebrating in Al-thaqafah street…

I’m not here to victimize women or to draw any kind of empathy; it’s rather an attempt to spot the reasons behind this suffering.

The first thing that comes to mind when you say “suppressed women in the Arab society) is (Bingo!) Arab men. But seriously, why do they have to level all the anger at Arab men when we try to find a solution to lift the tyranny off women.

The question is not who is suppressing women, but: who gives those who suppress women (be it men or society) the chance to do that?

Answer: Women themselves.

Case in point: She married him because she wanted to get a new life, a rich man who lives abroad, what could be so risky about it? It’s true that she was engaged to him before she even saw him, but who cares!

Now she’s married, she starts to discover his dark side little by little… He drinks, he calls her names, he insults her, he treats her bad… yet, she’s dying to get pregnant and have his baby!

She gets pregnant, she gives birth, and her so-called husband tells her that she could go anywhere she wants and travel wherever she wants, but she should leave the baby with him, as if she was some kind of a brooder… Now, she gives divorce a serious thought.

I know that man can hardly be called a man, but no one forced her to marry him, she surrendered herself to him, and he’s preying on her accordingly…

Another one…

She has married him, though he was poor. Now, she doesn’t want her daughter to go through what she’d gone through before. Therefore, she wants her to marry a rich man.

Her daughter complied with her mother’s wish, and she turned down the one who was crazy about her to marry a rich man.

I can’t say that he was a bad man, but she didn’t love him, and I don’t know if he loved her or only saw her as a woman good enough to be his wife, or the mother of his children. Not mention that he’s hot-tempered and has some fatal flaws. How could a man say to a woman, who’s supposed to be his beloved wife, let alone the mother of his child:  Shut up or I will slam your jaw broken!

I don’t what her mother thinks now. She wanted her daughter to be happy, and seems like she thought money would serve the purpose… I think it was quite obvious to her that it doesn’t.

Now, if we want to cry about suppression and injustice, let’s try to be strong. Not stronger that what we can be but strong enough to choose the right thing to do and the right person to live with. Not to mention being brave enough to stand for what we want. Free your mind and don’t listen too much to what some people might say about being pragmatic, under the motto: “This is the real world”

You can’t throw a sheep among 20 wolves and then complain it got devoured…

Reasons to stop smoking

Smoking has become one of the unhealthiest habits men and women are undertaking these days. I have friends who fight the urge to smoke everyday and they are passing the strong-will test. On the other hand, I have other friends who are still trying to figure if it's worth quitting. If you are a woman, here are health benefits that start the day you stop smoking:

1- The first benefit lies within the reason why we go to work everyday, Money. Pick up your calculator and try to figure out how much you will be saving if you stop smoking today. Afterwards, you can think of things you can buy with this saved money. If you decide to quit, the best thing is to keep this money and reward yourself using it.

2- Beauty is one of every woman's biggest concerns no matter how old she is. It may sound irrelevant but studies have concluded that smokers have more facial wrinkles than non-smokers.

3- My family is the most important thing for me and for almost everyone I have come along in my life. You don't only need to think that stopping the smoke inhaling means you will live more with them but your family indirectly inhales the smoke as well. So if you think that you are the only one benefiting from quitting, think again because quitting means decreasing the risk of lung cancer and heart diseases for people around you.

4- Your heart is another reason and here I am not talking about the imaginary heart that you think falls in love. Women who smoke are, more than twice, as likely as other women to have a heart attack.

5- This tip was actually rather new for me because I didn't know that smoking can make you go blind. That’s rather a strong word for me but believe it or not, if you quit smoking, you are less likely to ever develop cataracts, a major cause of blindness. Not only that, but quitting may also decrease your risk of macular degeneration, another frequent cause of blindness.

6- We all know that smoking can cause lung cancer but did you know that lung cancer is the most popular of all and that nine to ten are linked to smoking?! That’s one disease no one wants, so the sooner you stop smoking the less likely you will ever come through it.

7- There is no way you can smoke while still being pregnant because you are risking getting your unborn child killed. Quitting cigarettes will increase the amount of oxygen your baby will get, therefore increase the chance your baby's lungs will work well. Don't quit and you are risking giving your child asthma and wheezing problems.

8- Most of us live with the myth that smoking relaxes your body. Actually I can't count the number of times I have come along friends and colleagues who run to a cigarette the minute they are depressed or down. As a matter of fact, researches showed that women who smoke are more depressed and more anxious.

9- All the previously mentioned reasons can be concluded in one thing do it for your life .Even if you have trouble quitting, reducing the number of cigarettes could save your life.