{"id":2198,"date":"2008-12-29T11:09:02","date_gmt":"2008-12-29T19:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.org\/?p=2198"},"modified":"2011-12-08T23:33:50","modified_gmt":"2011-12-09T03:33:50","slug":"the-medias-surface-level-fixation-on-libyas-female-bodyguards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2008\/12\/the-medias-surface-level-fixation-on-libyas-female-bodyguards\/","title":{"rendered":"The media’s surface-level fixation on Libya’s female bodyguards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The first thing anyone, male or female, Arab or not ever says to me when they find out I\u2019m Libyan is, \u201cWow, I\u2019ve never met a Libyan before.\u201d The follow-up question almost always involves a snide comment about Libya\u2019s female bodyguards<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Qaddafi
Qaddafi with bodyguards. Image via Reuters. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These lovely ladies, trained in combat, accompany Colonel Qaddafi, Libya\u2019s head of state, everywhere he goes and are credited to helping him endure 39 years of power, making him the longest serving Arab leader. These women, many of them married with children, wear their hair long\u00a0 and sport matching camouflage military uniforms, high leather boots and gigantic guns. They\u2019ve been sensationalized as Bond girls, dubbed \u201cLaura Croft badasses,\u201d and \u201cRevolutionary Nuns\u201d who \u201cwear Kalashnikovs like Gucci fashion accessories.\u201d They have and are expected to step into the line of fire (The woman said to be Qaddafi\u2019s top bodyguard reportedly took a bullet for him in Athens in 1998).<\/p>\n

The bodyguards do more than help the Colonel make an entrance, (which he is quite capable of doing on his own); they make sure the world knows they are armed by clashing with Nigerian police<\/a> and standing outside Qaddafi\u2019s Bedouin tent, which he takes on diplomatic trips.<\/p>\n

The women don\u2019t usually talk and are fascinating because they are in the public eye. For many, they are a chance at seeing not only the Libyan woman, but the Muslim woman, who is often kept behind closed doors. It is no wonder then that the media always describes what they are wearing. Still, the media\u2019s Orientalist fixation of Muslim women as sexy, exotic toys for men, is not aided by this description. The Colonel\u2019s \u201caccessories\u201d or\u00a0 harem entourage is demeaning, even if it is kind of hot. It reinforces the notion that Islam objectifies women, and they will never acquire the status of men.<\/p>\n

Ironically (or not given Qaddafi\u2019s inconsistency), Libya\u2019s plan to have women enlist in the military was a gesture toward full social integration. Qaddafi proclaimed<\/a>, \u201cWomen will not be free or respected or exercise their rights until they are strong and have taken possession of all the weapons: firearms just like the weapons of science, knowledge, culture, and revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1979, Tripoli opened a women\u2019s military academy\u00a0 for women aged 13 to 17. Four years later, about 7,000 women graduated, but the attempts to require women\u2019s military service never caught on, and the school closed. The women still exist and by some accounts are hand-picked and trained privately, as no public school currently exists.<\/p>\n

\"Ajamis
Ajami's film. Image via imdb.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since that is the case, it is unclear if they have a choice, and it is not unwise to assume many of them do not. Given the generally oppressed conditions in Libya and the low-level of women\u2019s rights, it seems out of place when Lebanese student film-maker\u00a0 Rania Ajami\u2019s tells the The New York Times<\/em><\/a> that Libya\u2019s female bodyguards \u201care really a symbol of this new feminism that exists.\u201d Ajami\u2019s documentary<\/a> Qaddafi\u2019s Female Bodyguards: Shadows of a Leader<\/em>n looks at Qaddafi\u2019s female guards and has won acclaim at several Western film festivals.<\/p>\n

As a Libyan woman, aware of how other Libyan women view the bodyguards, I can assure you, they are by no means the archetype of liberty or the crusaders of women\u2019s rights. I for one do not define liberal values as trailing in the footsteps of a dictator.
\nAjami absurdly says the bodyguards\u2019 sexuality \u201cdemonstrates modern views on gender equality and family life under the Qaddafi regime. They present themselves well. The girls are trained in weaponry, but at the same time they want to look good.\u201c<\/p>\n

Hold up, please. Certainly a modern view on gender is more than that which mimics Hollywood\u2019s? So\u00a0 women who don\u2019t look good using a gun are somehow given more rights by women who can?\u00a0 Ajami assumes the female bodyguards are liberated simply because their image kowtows to the western world\u2019s fascination of hot women kicking ass.<\/p>\n

Ajami, if you ever decide to follow up your film with a Qadaffi\u2019s Angels\u00a0 sequel, call me.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first thing anyone, male or female, Arab or not ever says to me when they find out I\u2019m Libyan is, \u201cWow, I\u2019ve never met a Libyan before.\u201d The follow-up question almost always involves a snide comment about Libya\u2019s female bodyguards. These lovely ladies, trained in combat, accompany Colonel Qaddafi, Libya\u2019s head of state, everywhere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":411,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,13],"tags":[219,762,1089,1215],"class_list":["post-2198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cinema","category-news","tag-bodyguards","tag-libya","tag-qaddafi","tag-sexism"],"yoast_head":"\nThe media's surface-level fixation on Libya's female bodyguards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The first thing anyone, male or female, Arab or not ever says to me when they find out I\u2019m Libyan is, \u201cWow, I\u2019ve never met a Libyan before.\u201d The follow-up\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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