One of my regrets in Syria is that I didn’t get the chance to meet many women.

While contact was very easy with males – in fact, Syrians are among the most friendly and hospitable people in the world, and we ended up being invited for a cup of tea in Damascene houses more than once – it was much more difficult to talk to women. No matter how hard I tried to smile and say a few words in my broken arabic, they would always look at me with fear/aversion and run away from me.

It took me a little while until I realised that I had a reputation problem.

And I am not talking about sleeveless top or revealing dress here…

Smiling at others, particularly at men but also at women, meeting someone’s eyes and even accidentally bumping into others or allowing others to touch you lead others to question your morals. Not to mention my unmarried status!

No surprises when you know that traditional gender roles and subjugation to fathers and husbands have been ingrained by religion in the minds of women from birth.

Mothers, sisters and aunties pass this mindset on the little girls and so most women defend their second-class status whenever it is challenged.

In the West, women have succeeded in freeing themselves fully through their struggle, especially against religion. In Islam, women do not have parental authority, polygamy is permitted, divorce and domestic violence also, homosexuality is forbidden…

This proves we can not speak about equality between men and women in a religious environment. Only secularism allows to do so. Why must women in Middle Eastern countries/cultures be forced to define themselves according to religious terminology at all? Women’s liberation does not require the rubber stamp of Islam or any other religion.

This is a man’s, a man’s, a man’s world. This is a man’s, a man’s, a man’s god.