Postby CushiticReflections » Fri Feb 08, 2013 2:56 am
Back then, Somalis wore short skirts regularly, and while I don't agree with short skirts, I don't agree with the pressure in Somalia today to ensure that women wear abayas and hijabs. But that is a movement that stems from a shift in culture that influences what people think is the best way to observe religion, but does not directly derive from the religion itself. This is relatively new in Somalia, despite Somalia's history of being a Muslim nations for centuries. I think it's beautiful when Muslims dress modestly, whatever they feel that is, but jilbabs be enforced upon others. There is no compulsion in Islam, believers may choose what they want to do for the sake of their souls, so society should not try to be judge and enforcer. After all, we have been staunch Muslims for centuries and have never worn clothes influenced by Saudi on such a large-scale like this. But I don't see it as being oppressive as it is simply dress. What impacts a woman's rights are the laws and customs surrounding women's status and access to education, protection, and work. So Westerners need to focus on what's really important, like speaking out against many of their governments' (especially the US) use of violence (through the military and drones), exploitation, and propaganda that negatively impacts the rights and freedoms of Muslim men, women, and children. But then again, that would put at risk their dominance in the world and thus their nation's wealth and would involve people actually addressing inequality and the imbalance of power in the world. And why would so many people want to put their supposed security at risk? No, rather than addressing the current wrongs done onto others by the West, it's so much easier to take a stance of moral superiority and tell them how they should live, what they should believe, and wear. After all, America (and the rest of the West) loves "freedom" so much it must impose it on others, even if that involves the murders of many Muslim children and other innocents in the process.
Reading those comments from that link aggravates me. Westerners who are so quick to spout their hatred and ignorance on Islam, saying they represent Muslim women's rights, in reality never allow us to have a voice. If we speak for ourselves, they rally against that female as being "brainwashed" or "delusional" while trying to tell us what we really want. In many ways, they force their beliefs down our throats because, of course, their views are the only right ones and need to be enforced upon all of us idle, helpless people who aren't even intelligent enough to know what we want. They need to fudge off, I'm so tired of it.
/endrant
