Minister Majadla says: Women go back home!
I would have thought that a government minister, especially one who prides himself on being the first Israeli Arab to have such a position, would have an interest in ensuring that he does not look like he just stepped out of the Stone Ages. But apparently Science and Culture Minister Ghaleb Majadla does not have that concern. This is the why he felt completely at ease telling women at yesterday’s beauty contest that women should not work . “Women who have careers destroy their family,” he said. “They should stay at home. That’s the proper role of women.”
Lovely. So here we are, once again mulling over the fact that this is 2008 and women have not come so far after all. Sometimes it feels like we are in fact moving backward. Majadla would rather see women at home — or perhaps in a beauty contest — than in the Knesset or any other environment where they can be active, working, independent human beings contributing to society.
One can only imagine what he is thinking when he sits with his female colleagues over discussions of science. “Go back to the kitchen,” is what apparently is foremost in his mind.
What is especially ironic is that one of his female colleagues, MK Nadia Hilou who is the first Arab women to represent the Labor Party, is undoubtedly one of the greatest legislators that this government has seen. She has promoted a long string of impressive groundbreaking bills and initiatives on behalf of children’s rights, women, working class, and other vital populations who have little representative voices in the Knesset. I am astounded at how Majadla, a guy who supposedly acts to promote science and culture, can look at the awe-inspiring Hilou and think she would be better off serving him dinner.
Actually, I think Hilou - and the entire country - might be better off if he served her dinner.
