dilemma of female employee [Archives:2003/647/Culture]

Fahmia Al-Fotih
Many think that the educated women in Yemen are happier and luckier than those who have not had a chance to go to school and university. Everyone thinks also that female employee has nothing to do and she lives in luxurious life and has nothing to worry about.
On the contrary, being a female employee here in Yemen requires a big price that every woman pays at the expense of her physical and psychological health.
Remarkably every year a large number of university girl students graduate and enter the battle of life. In the beginning they have no idea about what is lying ahead.
They are lively, ambitious, innocent and naive as well. They graduate carrying along the university beautiful image, carrying along their childlike behavior and carrying along their pinky dreams.
For many years they have spent most of their life reading and reading about the values, principles, honesty, morals and how to be close of being ideal and the books draw a fancy world that is different from the reality.
She has studied hard and struggled a lot either at home or school and university. She has challenged all the society barriers and traditions to pursue her career. She everyday suffers from all the wicked and nasty persons she meets along her way. Wherever she goes she finds those who look at her with contempt. She always hears cassettes on public passenger transport vehicles degrading the woman status and giving the idea that a woman has to move only twice in her life; one from her father's house to her husband's and the second from her husband house to the grave.
She tells herself that finally she will show the people and the society she has become someone to be pointed at with pride and admiration.
Many beautiful things female graduates carry with them usually end up in smoke as soon as they start working.
Really they look hard to find a proper and respected job and they become very happy when they pursue their goals. However, generally the life removes its mask to show how ugly its face is.
When a female joins an institution she feels that she is under constant watch and she is under the microscope of everyone.
Everyone starts to get close to her not to build a good relation rather he just wants to test her and see if she is one of the kinds he prefers.
She gets embarrassed by all these annoying curiosity and by all irritating silly comments and hints and it becomes no difference between the office fellows and those who used during university days and still to harass her.
In spite of all these, she tries to implement all the beautiful things and images. She tries to build her ideal friendship and brotherhood attempting to create good-family-like relations.
She mostly spends all her time in the job so she feels that she belongs to that community she works in. However, she finds herself the just an idiot and everyone tries to fool her. As much as she stays in her job day by day she discovers the ugly faces that hide behind human masks and everyday she witnesses the fall of the ones whom she has thought they are good and kind people.
Day by day she cried the past days and she cures the day she was born in. Day by day she cries over the principles that she has lived for and now become garbage on the roadside.
Everyday she forcibly bids a farewell to all the beautiful things she holds in her heart.
Female employee feels that tribulations always in her way either on the streets or in the office and there is no a safe place to relieve in or people to trust.
Then she has only two choices either to stay at home to save her reputation or to stay in her job but in case she must be harsh with everyone and she has to throw away all the noble feelings and emotions. In either way she has to forget her feminist features and of course she will not be safe from society's severe criticism. In either case she is a loser.
Moreover, most of female employees do not know their rights so they are exposed to be fooled and their rights in most cases get lost.
All the circumstances have assisted in oppressing the Yemeni female employees and hindering a lot of them to be creative.
It seems that Yemeni woman in spite all the surroundings, she goes on her struggle pay no attention to those who want to live in darkness and want to go back to the Stone Age. She goes ahead indifferent to thorns that have bled her feet and for the fatigue journey she has.
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