Last week I attended the Doha Debates, where the programme focused on whether or not “censorship makes a mockery of the arts”. The debate was between independent curator Nat Muller and Syrian composer Malek Jandali, who agreed with the statement, and Hay Festival director Peter Florence and Iraqi art historian Nada Shabout, who spoke out against the motion.
As it turned out, Shabout was the lone ranger in pleading for cultural sensitivity and avoiding offence. Florence spoke out against the motion because he felt it was “stupid”. Florence said that artists inevitably find ways to overcome censorship and the role of an artist to test the boundaries set against them. Muller and Jandali both highlighted the importance in creating unfettered spaces for artists, but Muller touched on some of the challenges of running exhibitions within the Middle East.
Inevitably, the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad and the topic of religious sensitivity came up in the questions from the audience. Shabout was insistent on respecting the specific culture of a region, and stressed the importance of respecting local culture and norms. Since we were in Qatar, it was unsurprising, and throughout my time there I had many conversations about censorship in the country, especially after spending time in two of Doha’s galleries.Examples of silly censorship in films, to struggles for foreign artists displaying work in galleries in the Gulf all touched on the question of censorship in conservative societies.
Often, I find these conversations to be frustrating, because it inevitably comes down to the rights of the artist vs the rights of the audience. I don’t think we should be framing it in this way. In the end, the solution is polarising — it is either to censor the artist, or to tell the offended to merely turn away from offensive works. What is usually missing is a conversation about the right to be offended, which should go hand-in-hand with artistic freedom. Art is not always beautiful, it often times brings to the surface the ugly components of our societies that we’d rather ignore. We can’t ban hatred or ignorance, and artistic expression can spark a conversation about some of the things that we don’t necessarily feel comfortable discussing. What we really should be discussing is not whether or not art should be censored, but how we create room for discussion and dissent.
Watch the full debate below. I make an appearance around the 26 minute mark:
Sara Yasin works for Index on Censorship. She tweets at @missyasin
The Bahraini government has a funny definition of transparency. Despite flowery invitations made during my last visit to the troubled country, an IFEX-affiliated delegation following up on our trip has been denied entry. Not entirely promising for a country that insists it is committed to “reform”.
Officials highlighted the importance of international cooperation, but I’m guessing they felt that a Grand Prix or Air Show is the only way to secure that one.
In meetings with officials, our delegation was promised transparency as long as we followed the rules.
Technically, we didn’t follow them this time around: it’s a hard thing to do when “new rules” are introduced with only days left to your mission. On 12 April, the Ministry of Human Rights wrote to the delegation approving our planned mission:
[W]e look forward to your delegations visit between 6th and 10th of May inclusive. The Ministry will also arrange any meetings with government officials if you so require.
Current regulations in the Kingdom of Bahrain for non-tourist visas issued to delegations of international organisations such as yours are granted five working day visas to the Kingdom. Also I will be requiring scanned copies of the details page of the passports of persons who are applying to visit the Kingdom in order to put forward their names to the special committee for revision and approval.
We sent in the information as requested, but now the Kingdom has now introduced a new rule that says that only one organisation can be in the country at a time — odd, as this hasn’t been a problem in the past. But this time, it was suggested that our delegation —consisting of Index, Freedom House, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, CPJ, PEN International and Reporters without Borders — might want to come one-by-one!
The sad part? This isn’t really shocking. Journalists, politicians and countless human rights workers have been kept out of the country. All of this from a country that allegedly values both press freedom and human rights.
We carefully followed what we were told by the Bahrani government were the rules, so Bahrain should hold up their end of the bargain. A nebulous visa process and sketchy attempts to whitewash human rights violations only makes me ask one question: what BICI report?
Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index. She tweets at @missyasin
The Bahraini government has a funny definition of transparency. Despite flowery invitations made during my last visit to the troubled country, an IFEX-affiliated delegation following up on our trip has been denied entry. Not entirely promising for a country that insists it is committed to “reform”.
Officials highlighted the importance of international cooperation, but I’m guessing they felt that a Grand Prix or Air Show is the only way to secure that one.
In meetings with officials, our delegation was promised transparency as long as we followed the rules.
Technically, we didn’t follow them this time around: it’s a hard thing to do when “new rules” are introduced with only days left to your mission. On 12 April, the Ministry of Human Rights wrote to the delegation approving our planned mission:
[W]e look forward to your delegations visit between 6th and 10th of May inclusive. The Ministry will also arrange any meetings with government officials if you so require.
Current regulations in the Kingdom of Bahrain for non-tourist visas issued to delegations of international organisations such as yours are granted five working day visas to the Kingdom. Also I will be requiring scanned copies of the details page of the passports of persons who are applying to visit the Kingdom in order to put forward their names to the special committee for revision and approval.
We sent in the information as requested, but now the Kingdom has now introduced a new rule that says that only one organisation can be in the country at a time — odd, as this hasn’t been a problem in the past. But this time, it was suggested that our delegation —consisting of Index, Freedom House, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, CPJ, PEN International and Reporters without Borders — might want to come one-by-one!
The sad part? This isn’t really shocking. Journalists, politicians and countless human rights workers have been kept out of the country. All of this from a country that allegedly values both press freedom and human rights.
We carefully followed what we were told by the Bahrani government were the rules, so Bahrain should hold up their end of the bargain. A nebulous visa process and sketchy attempts to whitewash human rights violations only makes me ask one question: what BICI report?
Sara Yasin is an Editorial Assistant at Index. She tweets at @missyasin
A year ago today, mass protests took place at the now demolished Pearl Roundabout in the Bahrain capital, Manama. This year protesters have been attempting to return to the square where, for a month last year, thousands gathered to call for change. Protesters documented their failed attempts to reach the roundabout on 12 February, when a march to the symbolic square was quickly crushed by security forces. Clashes have escalated in the lead up to the anniversary of Bahrain’s mass protests, which has now claimed at least 60 lives.
During the attempt to return to the roundabout on Sunday, activist and prolific Twitter user, Zainab Al-Khawaja was arrested by security forces, having previously been arrested and released on bail in December. According to her sister Maryam Al-Khawaja, head of foreign relations for the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Zainab was detained on charges of “illegal gathering” and “disturbing the peace”. She will be in prison for the 14 February protests, like her father, who is currently serving a life sentence for his participation in protests last year.
Still, protesters are determined to return to the heavily monitored square. Last night, hundreds were dispersed through the use of tear gas by officials.
Prominent human rights activist and director of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, said that he was taking his family to the roundabout to remind the government that they have “legitimate demands”, to “give people strength” and to show the commitment of leaders:
