outlook
Honouring Mothers
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Jamilah Al-Harake
An American-Lebanese from the United States, Jamilah has spent close to a decade living in the Middle East. She currently lives in Qatar with her husband, is working for the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. She has a Masters in International Affairs, is an avid writer and traveller, and has two rescue cats and one dog. She hopes to one day start her own non-profit for children and use this column to inspire positivity to the community.
By Jamilah Al-Harake
The world celebrates Mother’ s Day at different times throughout the year. In the Middle East, including Qatar, Mother’ s Day is recognized on March 21st, coinciding with the beginning of the Spring Equinox. That means living as an expat in Qatar often gives many families the opportunity to celebrate Mother’ s Day on more than one occasion. It’ s undoubtedly recognized as an admirable and celebratory day to raise awareness about a mother’ s special role: providing immeasurable and overwhelming love.
The idea of celebrating Mother’ s Day,‘ Eid il Um’, within the region originated in the 1950’ s in Egypt. A famous Egyptian journalist and columnist had received several letters from mothers feeling unappreciated, undervalued, and continuously faced with challenges as the caretaker of their families. He was inspired by their letters to propose a fixed day for all mothers, as reminder of their favours, with Islam encouraging individuals to care for the mother of the family. The idea was later expanded and accepted throughout other Arab countries. Culturally, there will often be television specials to mark the occasion, and in the past there have been many beautiful songs written about Mother’ s Day by very famous Arab singers to highlight the value of the holiday.
I wholeheartedly believe that caring for our mothers should be continuous all year round. Don’ t get lost in the sea of commercialization, but remember the importance behind dedicating one day to recognize the enormous strength of mothers, everywhere. After all, mommas don’ t get sick days or weekends off. What’ s the solution to that? I’ m sure remembering to write a thank you note, buy her favourite flowers, helping out around the house, or buying a nice gift from her favourite store, is probably a fair enough start. When becoming a mother, life drastically undertakes a selfless direction, where for the first time you really don’ t get to make your own choices anymore. Everything you do in your life instantly and directly affects the life of another. I argue to all the critics of the holidays out there, that this is a well-deserved accomplishment to warrant a day of honouring all women who give birth to the universes’ creations.
Being a mother is also very much a part of nature’ s unique feminine power. It’ s a lifetime commitment, symbolizing openness, purity and good feelings. At the deepest level and greatest capacity, mothers know how to love fully and openly, and become our role models for understanding, patience, compassion, and wisdom. They encourage, help, and teach us, and provide nurturing love, tenderness and joy. At some point in each of our lives, we cannot rely on anyone except our mothers to help us grow. Personally, my mother taught me to fight for everything I believe in, all while she simultaneously believed in me. As a result, I’ m not afraid to stand up for my beliefs, I live true to myself, stand strong in my convictions, and I’ m a better person because of it.
Most of us will be far away from our own mums during this time of year. It is still a great opportunity to gather up your girlfriends who are mothers, have a beautiful brunch, and tell them they are doing a fantastic job. There will be plenty of opportunities in Qatar to spend the day honouring mum, but paying homage to the wonderful person who carried you into the world shouldn’ t be an expensive or difficult task. As a child, I’ d always ask momma what I can do to help more. Following the advice of my mother, sometimes the best gift for mothers is remembering to consistently say, thank you. Kind words can mean so much than we realize. On any other day we all often get busy and forget, but please remember to wish a happiest of Mother’ s Day to all the mothers of the world. We are so grateful and thankful for all that you do www. society. qa 29