Femininity, the Feminine, and the Revolution of the Mind

“Al-Katiba” Returns Electronically After 10 Years of Paper Hiatus: Femininity, Femaleness, and the Revolution of the Mind

Friends and writers have recently asked me about “Al-Katiba” magazine and its return: What is the difference between the electronic “Al-Katiba” ten years after its paper discontinuation, which was published in London in the early 1990s, and the “Al-Katiba” that has returned to publication via the internet, or from every place? Did it return to continue its journey from where it stopped, or to start a new beginning stemming from different interests? And is there really a necessity or importance for a magazine to return to publication after a decade of absence?

One can assert that there have been no even reasonable attempts to deconstruct women's literary and intellectual discourses. There is no research into the components of women's culture, in the development of their view of themselves, of men, of their world. In fact, there is no recognition of the value of the literature they write, even in the traditional sense of critical practice.

Although the answer must be brought to us by actions, not words, here I answer that the magazine’s return is simply more than a necessity, to complete the files it opened and whose progress was halted by its suspension, and thereby to revive intellectual debate, discussion, and research on issues of femininity and femaleness that still, in my opinion, are alarmingly neglected. There are some realities, books, and projects that arose before or after "Al-Katiba" due to its influence, and this is not hidden.

The magazine was the first of its kind in the Arab world, but if the original program of the magazine was to publish literary and creative texts and open debate on issues related to femaleness and femininity in society, literature, and culture, then the new "Al-Katiba" in its electronic return will emphasize reading, examining, and provoking discussion around the creative and intellectual texts produced over a decade of years, which was the decade of "Al-Katiba"'s hiatus, and in light of the explosion and flourishing of expression among Arab women.

Therefore, the return will be to review and read what women have accomplished in culture, and to provide an opportunity for bold Arab voices to focus the question around the creations of Arab women writers over the past ten years, which is an undeniable literary and intellectual output, especially in its importance, but unfortunately it is unread in the true sense of the word.

We must remember that the 1990s witnessed a prominent appearance of creative women's voices in poetry and prose, and some geographies played prominent roles, such as Egypt, Lebanon, and particularly the West, and even in the Arabian Peninsula where women writers emerged and names shone, but, as I said, without critical readings that produce intellectual knowledge of the texts.

In this sense, a woman is on an equal footing with a man, and she is worthy of being loved and respected in this way, without us giving reasons. Arab women have written throughout the past twenty years, and we should read what they have written and read along with them.

One can definitively state that there have been no even reasonable attempts to deconstruct women's literary and intellectual discourses; there is no research into the components of women's culture in the evolution of their view of themselves, of men, of their world, and there is no understanding of the value of the literature they write, not even in the traditional sense of critical practice. This applies, albeit to a lesser extent, to men's writing, but here women are the most neglected and marginalized.

In contrast to all of this, there is a false and suspicious celebration by those responsible for literary pages and those concerned with promoting literature, or at least a celebration that needs to be examined in its motives and reasons.

For what is practically required is not celebration but rather understanding and accurate appreciation, and providing opportunities on the basis that does not make women's writing a watered-down writing out of kindness to women, for it is no longer acceptable to deal with women's writing in the previous manner, "whatever comes from her remains acceptable." There must be a relationship based on true respect for women's intellect and her creative energies as a creative being capable of innovation, to deal with her as an active writer, as a complete mind and a fully capable entity of creating her moment without us giving her watered-down reasons.

In this sense, women are on an equal footing with men, and she deserves to be respected in this way. Arab women have written books throughout the past twenty years, and we must read them and read with them what they have written. From here, "Al-Katiba" will return, from the idea of reading, research, and questioning, without neglecting, of course, the reading and deconstruction of literary works, nor the discourses, ideas, and topics that society and Arab culture produce regarding and concerning women.

Therefore, the return involves a great deal of critical thinking, reading, and critical research, and consequently, I will primarily ensure that opportunities are given to female pens in criticism, meaning that the critical writer and the intellectual writer will have the greater opportunity.

In short, the magazine wishes to complete what it began, by entering deeper into criticism and giving more space for critical deconstruction and critical reading, and for women to also be at the heart of the critical process, and I am confident that they are now capable of pushing their adventure in this direction, because they have a good academic standing; there are a large number of female academics in the Arab world, and if we follow the movement of free criticism in cultural life, we discover that women are also present, not to mention that they have established a literary presence and entity that must be read, and I believe that literary movements or artistic and critical movements flourish and perhaps are born within journalistic projects such as "Al-Katiba" and others.

"Al-Adab", for example, led to the birth of literary movements, and before it "Al-Risalah" by Al-Zayyat did the same thing. The literary pulpit can truly create a renewed creative force in the life of cultures at a historical juncture. In this sense, "Al-Katiba" desired to play a role, just as it played a role in the early 1990s, carrying with it to women the call to revolutionize the mind.

"The adventure of woman in writing and the adventure of writing in woman," which was the slogan raised by the paper "Al-Katiba" in the nineties, and is raised by the electronic "Al-Katiba" in its first experimental issue today as a non-profit Arab cultural project that seeks to achieve self-justice through the justice of women, and its electronic website: www.alkatiba.com.