Fingerprints as Metaphor for Feminism Intersectionality
Fouz Aljameel
Aljameel, Fouz. (2021). Fingerprints [Digital collage].
Poetry:
يقال إن خطوط يد الإنسان
تعرجاتها
تعقيداتها
التفافها من جهة لأخرى
وانسيابها
تشبه رحلة الانسان لاحقا
في مجاهل الحياة
تلتف في مكان
وتنساب في آخر
بحيث لا تشبه رحلة إنسان
إنسانًا آخر
كما لا تشبه بصمته
بصمة إنسان آخر
وكما تنبان البصمة واضحة
في يد المترف الناعمة
تبدو ممحية في يد الفقير الخشنة
أنهكته طرقات الحياة
ومحت بصمات يديه
أهوالها.
لقيت مرة عاملاً
في مطار
وقد وضعوه في انتظار طويل
خائفا وحزينا
لم تكن ليده؛ بصمة
،،
تتصافح آلاف الأكف
رجالا ونساء
كبارا وصغارا
يهودًا من برلين
وعربًا من فلسطين
سيخًا وبوذيين ومسلمين
وحفنة أقباط في شارع
في أحياء القاهرة القديمة
لا تشبه بصمة في تلك الأكف
أي بصمة في الكفّ الأخرى
تتوحد المصافحات
رغم اختلاف البصمات
الهويات
القضايا
آلاف الأكف
آلاف المصافحات
وملايين البصمات
المتوحدة في اختلافها
..
العرّاف ينظر إلى يدي،
يقرأ خطوطها،
العرّاف يخبرني أنني سأعود
يوم ما
إلى الهند،
وسأكون أميرة قلب
رجل شرقي
العرّاف يرتكب خطأ
فجذوري عربية
يقرأ العرّاف أحكامه المسبقة،
لا خطوط يدي
،،
It is said that the lines of the human hand
its meanders, curves
its intricacies
Its movements from side to side
and its flow
looks like a human’s journey
in the unknowns of life.
when we go through away
And shifts into another
No one’s journey will be the same as another’s.
Nor does fingerprint resemble
another person’s fingerprint
And as the fingerprint is clear,
in the soft luxuriant hand
it looks almost invisible in the poor’s rough hand.
Those life pathways exhausted them
It almost erased their fingerprints.
at an airport
I once met a worker
The system placed him on hold for a long time
scared and sad, he was
was not in his hand, a clear fingerprint.
,,
Every morning
Thousands of hands shake hands
All races and genders
Old and young
Jews from Berlin
And Arabs from Palestine
Sikhs, Buddhists, and Muslims
Copts on the street
At the neighborhoods of Old Cairo
At the fingerprint in those hands
There is a united of the differences
Handshakes unite
Although the fingerprints are different
Identities
Issues
Thousands of hands
Thousands of handshakes
Millions of fingerprints
United in different
,,
The fortune-teller looks at my hand,
Reads my lines,
The fortune-teller tells me that I will return
One day
To India,
And I will be an obedient woman
To Eastern man
The fortune-teller is mistaken
I do not have gender or place
I am neither eastern nor western
A fortune-teller reads her prejudices,
not the lines of my hand
Context
The focus of my final project is fingerprints. Fingerprints inspire a new sort of autonomous system. Since the Chinese discovered in (221-206 BC) that each fingerprint is a unique pattern distinguishing the individuality of each specific person, prints have been used as evidence in criminal cases in various cultures to identify suspects. (onin.com, 2021) Prints have also been used to secure business agreements and contracts.
Our identities are represented by two layers of unique fine lines on our skin. Each person bears two imprints: visible and invisible. The visible surface imprint is what can be seen with the eye, while the invisible imprint is appear with the skin exposure to the sweat and oils, which are regular skin secretions. (2017, Science Buddies).
In this fascinating fingerprint system, I recognize metaphors for feminist intersectionality that defy all racist, ableist, and sexist preconceptions. Lines in the soles of the fingers are equal to all human beings in that they belong to everyone first and do not determine your color, gender, abilities, language, religion, or nation, but the lines offer one unique identity. Fingerprints are evidence, not only revealing the truth in criminal cases but also in social justice causes.
References
Finding Fingerprints, (2017, April 27). https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/finding-fingerprints/
The history of Fingerprint, (2021, November 11). https://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html