worldwide women

Journey
A
Through
Poetry
Saudi poet Nimah Ismail Nawwab speaks of her passions outside of
poetry and the art of giving. In conversation with
Vani Saraswathi.

“... to mature, grow and flourish
in a barren wasteland of shackled
minds”
- The Longing
Nimah Ismail Nawwab had a privileged upbringing
– and we are not talking materialistic comforts.
Born to parents with eclectic taste, who were
ahead of their time in terms of attitude and convic-
tions, they provided the foundation on which Nimah
could build her future.
A published poet, descended from a long line of
Makkan scholars, Nimah is unafraid to sound her
opinions, however controversial they might be. At the
same time, she is willing to see the opposing point of
view. Like she does on the niqab (veil).
“Has she missed a prayer?
Has she been a disobedient daughter?
Cheated, lied, stolen,
Beaten a child, an animal, been cruel to Long viewed by outsiders with pity,
another soul? Barricade me from the world?
What did she do? Or does it open up vistas of wonder...”
Her scarf slipped, The Hidden Layers
An unforgiveable transgression,
In the eyes of the controller.” She was invited by VCU-Q to speak to and interact
Gentleness Stirred with the students. The above was one of the poems
that came up for discussion. The kind of emotions and
Nimah does not wear the niqab, neither does her views that the veil elicits is amazing, says Nimah.
mother who lives in Makka. She has strong view of “I was trying to envision what it was like for wom-
cultural practices overshadowing religious ones. Yet, en who do cover their faces. It is just not about the
in another poem in the collection Unfurling she tries physical, but all the emotional aspects of niqab. At
present the view from behind the veil. that time, I didn’t have a single friend who wore the
niqab, so it was challenging to write about it.”
“Some think I am hiding But in this poem, the niqab is spoken of as a mat-
Underneath my long black cloak ter of choice, but is it really? “When I talk to them, it
- is amazing, how many have made that choice. Each
- individual has a reason. For some it’s family or soci-
- etal pressure, some it is a choice, some it is religious.
Does my cloak, my masked visage The last I have my reservations about – but there are

20 December 2010
different schools of thought on that. Even in the Hajj
you are not expected to cover you face – but you see
them veiled, and it’s very strange.
“It’s a matter of choice – whether it’s the veil, the
abhaya or the hijab.”
In the generation her mother came from, it was
not the norm to be unveiled. Yet, she chose to do so.
Her mother, she says, was ahead of her times in more
ways than one.
“I don’t want to use the word ‘progressive’. But it’s
little things – she exposed us to healthy food, she
was into exercising, was a teacher before she got
married. She lived abroad with my father, who was
a professor (in Edinburgh, after which he returned to
Saudi Arabia and joined the private sector).”
Her mother has also affected Nimah in another
major manner that defines who she is today.
“Over 25 years she has been volunteering every
day. She would spend time either at a hospital or with
orphans or volunteering as an art teacher. I am into
volunteering as well – particularly youth empower-
ment. I headed relief efforts in Jeddah, when there
was a huge flood, combining the efforts of various
groups, because I was very much into organising, and
I like structure. This helped me mentor a lot of the
young people. I identified the strengths of the volun-
teers, and channelled them in the right direction.”
She relates this passion to growing up with a
mother who believed in giving.
“That comes from belonging to a middle class fam-
ily. We were not rich. My father is a self-made man.”
Her parents have been the most important influ-
ence in her life. “I owe my parents everything. I may
have moved on, but the seeds were planted by them.
I know I am doing that as a parent now. My father
exposed me to writing - he used to read Shake-
speare to me. He exposed me to classical music, to
photography.”
She realises the kind of mentoring that her parents
extended to her is not freely available to a large sec-
tion of the youth today. Which is why, she takes great
interest in mentoring young writers, artists, and stu-
dents. “I help them network, put them in touch with
each other. We have a lack of mentorship and a huge
gap between the generations in the Gulf region as a
whole. The gap between the younger and the older
generations is getting wider and wider, and we need
to take note of that.”
Her son and daughter – for whom she had put her
career pursuits on the backburner – study abroad.
As a Saudi and Muslim studying in the West, they
have a challenge of not only maintaining pride in their
identity, but also in conveying the right response to
uncomfortable queries. There are difficult questions
being asked of Arab youth, and not all of them are
equipped to answer or react properly to it.
Her kids’ exposure to global culture is what holds
them in good stead, she says. “They are avid readers,
Nimah heading relief efforts for flood hit jeddah
and they meet people whom I associate with from
around the world. I never ask people three things –
their age, faith, marital status. These are personal
questions. We debate, get them to meet people, ex-
pose them to diversity. You learn a lot from the older
generation, just as my father allowed me to meet his
peers, I do the same with my children. Whether they
are in agreement on the views or not, at least they
are aware of different streams of thought.”
“Will they be understood,
Their talents appreciated,
Their ambitions fulfilled,
-
-
-
Or will they be controlled,
Belittled
-
-
Unable to grow and bloom.”
The Coming
What she writes in her poem is what takes up a lot
of her time in reality, with mentoring.
“The youth are exposed to things different from
what we were. Their challenges are different. And if
they are unable to understand that, we cannot hold a
dialogue with them. It is not about debating the rights
and wrongs, but to accept that the life they lead is
different from what we understand. I do that through
my mentoring.”
In her packed day, late into the night is when she
finds time to write poetry. She writes in English, be-
cause: “I always write in English. Think in English.
Dream in English. I know this because my husband
tells me I speak in English when I am dreaming.”
Her poems are not about herself, or of her experi-
ences, and her favourite muse or themes are to do
with war, political discord, the Palestinian intifada...
“Writers, poets, artists, their mindset is such that
they can work and be true to themselves. Even if they
feel there are limitations and boundaries, that impede
their work, they will still continue to give.
“I’ve been asked why I don’t write about myself.
Until about a year ago – when I started writing my
spiritual pieces, that’s when I felt I was writing about
myself. My connection to God.”
That is the next thing to expect from her, a
book of poetry on spirituality, and the sequel to
Unfurling
2010 December 21