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Housewife poet unveils the truth
April 1, 2010
Hissa Hilal . . . favourite to win the $1.6m poetry contest. Photo: AP
DUBAI: A Saudi housewife who wears a niqab while delivering poetry denouncing attitudes to women in her country is poised to win the Middle East's equivalent of Australian Idol.
Million's Poet marries modern life to a 1000-year-old tradition, with prizemoney of almost $1.6 million offered to writers of Bedouin verse.
Hissa Hilal has become a heroine to many across the Arab-speaking world for her stance, made all the more dramatic for being delivered from beneath a niqab - the all-black face-veil worn by ultra-traditional Arab women.
''I have seen evil in the eyes of fatwas: now the lawful and unlawful are confused,'' she said in a poem. ''When I unveil the truth, a monster appears from his hiding place; barbaric in thinking and action, angry and blind; wearing death as a dress and covering it with a belt.''
Million's Poet was devised in Abu Dhabi four years ago and has been hailed as a success.
Hilal is no novice; she was a journalist and poetry editor for a Saudi newspaper.
She was not a favourite until newspapers and websites began discussing her radical poetry.
Many pointed out that she was drawing a direct line between the fatwas of some of Saudi Arabia's leading clerics and the suicide belts of Islamic terrorists.
She has been threatened with death for speaking out, but said that she was not afraid.
''This is a platform that can help you to reach the world,'' she said. ''There are some people who constantly look for a target.''
She also defended wearing the face veil, saying that she wanted to spare her husband and family from more criticism.
''When I went to some open [Muslim] countries, I noticed that Western people looked at me suspiciously because I was wearing the niqab, but they would not do the same when they see a Sikh wearing the turban,'' she said.
Telegraph, London
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