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usually is something along the lines of “oppressed
female.”
The brave individuals who have mustered the
courage to ask me about the way I dress usually
You look at me and call me oppressed, have questions like: “Do your parents make you
Simply because of the way I’m The beauty of a woman: wear that?” Or “Don’t you find that really unfair?”
A while back, a couple of girls in Montreal were
dressed, Is not in the clothes she wears, kicked out of school for dressing like I do. It
You know me not for what’s inside,
Thursday, November 8, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 36
My body’s not for your eyes to hold, or the style she does make up. CONT’D ON PAGE 2
By Sultana Yusufali
You must speak to my mind, not my The beauty of a woman:
feminine mold, must be seen in her Hijab, and
I’m an individual, I’m no mans slave, Hijabed Like Me
It’s God’s pleasure that I only crave,
her eyes,
because that is the doorway to A Non Muslim Woman Experiments with Hijab
I have a voice so I will be heard, I walked down the street in my long white dress
For in my heart I carry His word, her heart, and inch-long, black hair one afternoon, and truck
« O ye women, wrap close your cloak, the place where love resides. drivers whistled and shouted obscenities at me.
So you won’t be bothered by The beauty of a woman: I felt defeated. I had just stepped out of a hair salon. I had cut my
ignorant folk», hair short, telling the hairdresser to trim it as she would a guy’s.
Man doesn’t tell me to dress this way,
is not in a facial mole, I sat numbly as my hairdresser skillfully sheared into my
but true beauty in a woman, shoulder-length hair with her scissors, asking me with every
It’s a Law from God that I obey, inch she cut off if I was freaking out yet. I wasn’t freaking
Oppressed is something I’m truly is reflected in her soul. out, but I felt self-mutilated.
NOT, The beauty of woman is in her By Kathy Chin CONT’D ON PAGE 3
For liberation is what I’ve got, modesty.
It was given to me many years ago,
And the real glamour of her is
With the right to prosper, the right to
grow, her honesty. The Virtues of Hijab
I can climb mountains or cross the It is the caring that she lovingly 1. An act of obedience.
seas, gives, The Hijab is an act of obedience to God and to his Prophet (May Allah’s Peace
Expand my mind in all degrees, the passion that she shows. and Blessings be upon him and his Progeny). God says in the Qur’an: `It is not
For God Himself gave us LIB-ER-TY, for a believer, man or woman, when God and His messenger have decreed
When He sent Islam,
And the beauty of a woman,
a matter that they should have an option in their decision. And whoever
To You and Me!
with passing years - only grows! disobeys God and His Messenger has indeed strayed in a plain error.’
(Holy Quran 33:36). CONT’D ON PAGE 7
8 The Truth
Hijab - My View The Virtues of Hijab
IF YOU WANT TO From PAGE 1
RECEIVE YOUR WEEKLY
You never can tell with those of body image is “in” or “out.” From PAGE 1
DIGITAL COPY Muslim fundamentalists. And if you have the “wrong” body God also said: ‘And tell the he in whose heart is a disease
(PDF FORMAT) Of course, the issue at hand is
more than a mere piece of cloth.
type, well, then, you’re just going
to have to change it, aren’t you? believing women to lower (of hypocrisy or evil desire
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE I am a Muslim woman who, like
millions of other Muslim women
After all, there is no way that you
can be overweight and still be
their gaze (from looking for adultery, etc.) should be
at forbidden things) and moved with desire, but speak
TO THE TRUTH’S across the globe, chooses to wear
the Hijab. There are many different
beautiful.
Look at any advertisement. Is protect their private parts in an honorable manner.’
MAILING LIST @ ways to wear it, but in essence,
what we do is cover our entire
a woman being used to sell the
product? How old is she? How
(from illegal sexual acts, etc) (Holy Quran 33:32)
HTTP://GROUPS.GOOGLE. bodies except for our hands and attractive is she? What is she and not to show off their 4. The Hijab is a Shield
faces. If you’re the kind of person wearing? More often than not, that adornment except what Prophet Muhammed (M) said
COM/GROUP/THET- who has watched a lot of popular woman will be no older than her must (ordinarily) appear that God, Most High loves
movies, you’d probably think of early 20s, taller, slimmer and more
RUTH110 harem girls and belly-dancers, attractive than average, dressed thereof, that they should Haya’ (Bashfulness) and Sitr
women who are kept in seclusion in skimpy clothing. Why do we draw their veils over their (Shielding; Covering). The
except for the private pleasure allow ourselves to be manipulated
of their male masters. In the true like this? Whether the ‘90s woman bosoms.’(Holy Quran 24:31). Prophet (M) also said: “Any
Islamic faith, nothing could be wishes to believe it or not, she is 2. The Hijab is IFFAH woman who takes off her
further from the truth. And the being forced into a mould. She is
concept of the Hijab, contrary to being coerced into selling herself, (Modesty). clothes in other than her
IF YOU WANT ANY popular opinion, is actually one
of the most fundamental aspects
into compromising herself. This
is why we have 13-year-old girls
God made the adherence to husband’s house (to show
the Hijab a manifestation for chastity and off for unlawful purposes), has broken
I was molested and raped. My with a scarf daily, this does not mean that
experiences with men who violated me I am not Muslim. These seem to be the
I’m not plagued with depression have made me angry and frustrated. natural manifestations of what is within.
I’m neither cheated nor abused How do I stop the violence? How do How I am inside does not directly
I don’t envy other women I prevent men from seeing me as an change whether I am Hijabed or not.
object rather than a female? How do It is others’ perception of me that was
And I’m certainly not confused I stop them from equating the two? changed. Repeated experiences with
How do I proceed with life after others in turn create a self-image.
experiencing what others only dread?
Note, I speak perfect English The experiences have left me with questions about my HIJAB AS OPPRESSION:
Et un petit peu de Francais aussi identity. A SUPERFICIAL AND MISGUIDED VIEW
Am I just another Chinese-American female? I used to
I’m majoring in Linguistics think that I have to arrive at a conclusion about who I am, I consciously chose to be Hijabed because I was
So you need not speak slowly but now I realize that my identity is constantly evolving. searching for respect from men.
Initially, as both Women’s Studies major and
MY EXPERIENCE OF BEING “HIJABED” a thinking female, I bought into the Western
I run my own small business One experience that was particularly educational was view that the wearing of a scarf is oppressive.
Every cent I earn is mine when I “dressed up” as a Muslim woman for a drive After this experience and much reflection, I
along Crenshaw Boulevard with three Muslim men as have arrived at the conclusion that such a view
I drive my Chevy to school & work part of a newsmagazine project. is superficial and misguided: It is not if the act
And no, that’s not a crime! I wore a white, long-sleeved cotton shirt, jeans, is motivated by conviction and understanding.
tennis shoes, and a flowery silk scarf that covered THE MOST LIBERATING EXPERIENCE OF
my head, which I borrowed from a Muslim woman. MY LIFE
You often stare as I walk by Not only did I look the part, I believed I felt I covered up that day out of choice, and it was the
the part. Of course, I wouldn’t really know most liberating experience of my life.
You don’t understand my veil what it feels like to be Hijabed-I coined this I now see alternatives to being a woman.
But peace and power I have found word for the lack of a better term-everyday, I discovered that the way I dress dictated others’
because I was not raised with Islamic teachings. reaction towards me. It saddens me that this is a
As I am equal to any male! However, people perceived me as a Muslim woman and reality.
did not treat me as a sexual being by making cruel remarks. It is a reality that I have accepted, and chose to conquer
I noticed that men’s eyes did not glide over my rather than be conquered by it.
I am a Muslim woman body as has happened when I wasn’t Hijabed. It was my sexuality that I covered, not my femininity. The
So please don’t pity me I was fully clothed, exposing only my face. covering of the former allowed the liberation of the latter.
For God has guided me to truth I remembered walking into an Islamic center and an
African-American gentleman inside addressed me as This article was originally published in Al-Talib, the
And now I’m finally free! “sister” and asked where I came from. I told him I newsmagazine of the Muslim Students’ Association of the
University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) in October
was originally from China. That didn’t seem to matter. 1994. At the time of its publication, Kathy Chin was a senior at
There was a sense of closeness between us because he UCLA majoring in Psychobiology and Women’s Studies.
>>>>
‘Hijab” – A Dress Code
for Men and Women
The dress code of Hijab is the most as much as women do? To answer this internal one which has a potential to grow as a sexual object from which they all
sensitive part of the entire concept. It is question, it should be noted that men with time, and its growth is dependent on desire to attain pleasure, even though
mistakenly understood that it is only for and women are equal in terms of rights, one’s attitude, care, love and respect. On her intentions are not to cause any sexual
women, when in fact it is for both men but different in their nature. The desire the other hand, external beauty fades with stimulation. This might seem to be more
and women but with some differences. to show off and display one’s self is a age or accidents. It is a form of justice of a woman problem because we don’t
Let us look at how they are expected to particular trait of women. She preys for men and women who, without their often hear about women harassing men.
appear in public and then discuss the on the hearts of men and man preys control, are not as physically beautiful Therefore, the visible Hijab is a means
differences. For men, they are expected on the beauty of women. Science has as others; because they have the chance of protection for women, as opposed to
confirmed that visual stimulation plays of increasing their internal a means of imprisoning
a predominant role in the physiology of beauty which is more women or devalorizing
men compared to women. Therefore, men valuable. It is important to them. In fact, it is a
Thursday, November 15, 2007. Vol. 2 Issue 37
>>>>
recommended that they cover as much since she would never be looked at as an Another unethical conduct that, the appearing in public. Here, Islam and
of their torso and arms as possible. Also, object from which to gain economically dress code aims to prevent is sexual Muslims today are not always equivalent.
their clothing can not be tight so as to or sexually. For example, we often see harassment that might arise due to More specifically, if Islam talks about a
show the figure and shape of the body. women barely covered, in commercials incomplete covering of the body. There certain dress code to be respected by
As for women, their dress should to promote the sales of certain products. are numerous cases of sexual harassment men and women, and we observe that
basically cover all body parts except Is this not a use of women for economical that women experience in common women often respect it more, it doesn’t
for the face, hands, and feet (below the reasons? Also, in other places, women are places such as schools, work, or society mean that they are inferior to men. Those
ankle). The hair and head (except face) used as an object from which to gain sexual in general. Such examples are readily men who choose not to respect the dress
should be covered with a veil, and this pleasure and economic benefits such as available from the Internet. An example; code are making a personal choice and
is the most pinpointed part of the dress. strip clubs. Furthermore, with the dress is the story of a woman who complained do not represent Islam. The same goes
So after knowing how men and women code, emphasis is not put on the external about continuous sexual harassment for other Islamic laws, if men or women
should appear in public, let’s ask about beauty of a woman, rather the internal. because of the size of some part of her fail to apply them correctly, then that is
the obvious difference, why don’t men Beauty is something desired by everyone, body. She says that she is only recognized nothing but a personal choice and not
put on a veil too or cover as their body however, the ever-lasting beauty is the for that and people at work treat her representative of Islam.
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The Truth The Truth