Moodhy Al-Khalaf, moodhy_alkhalaf@hotmail.com
A Reuters report on the first Afghan woman to participate in a beauty pageant in 30 years splashed the following title: âAfghan Beauty Trades Burqa for Bikini.â Catchy title? Yes. But I can think of a few other appropriate adjectives: Offensive, superficial and downright repulsive.
| That could have something to do with a lack of a sense of humor on your part. It could also stem from your determination to impose your provincial views on the rest of the world, most of which isn't interested in them... |
What does this young women hope to achieve by her participation? Well, the report quotes the 25-year-old as saying: âI would like to make people aware that as Afghan women, we are talented, intelligent and beautiful.â Now, how parading half-naked on a stage can achieve that, I have no idea. Whatever happened to common sense and good old-fashioned hard work?
| The "half naked" part kinda demonstrates the physical beauty part, doesn't it? Didja look? I thought so. A beautiful woman can also be a hard working woman. She can even possess a modicum of common sense... |
Wouldnât the world know more about the intelligence, talent and even beauty of Afghan women if she made their plight known to the world by campaigning for their cause? By trying to unite the voices of Afghan refugees all over the world to stand in the face of their enemy? By fighting to represent Afghan people in the United Nations and Afghan children in UNICEF? I can think of a million ways other than a red bikini that would accomplish the recognition she is seeking plus some more.
| This is a beauty contest, not a do-good contest. It's a mostly harmless passtime in which women compare their anatomies and their deportment, the prize usually being scholarships and good-will tours and the like. Since nobody'd ever heard of her before, and now they have, she'll actually be in a better position to be listened to, should she decide to join the horde of women who do make careers of "fighting to represent Afghan people in the United Nations and Afghan children in UNICEF." I might also point out that a certain percentage of those women who do indulge in "fighting to represent, etc." are harrassed by Islamist men and occasionally bumped off for doing precisely that. |
Vida Samadzai never wore a burqa, not in the real sense anyway.
| The artificial sense was probably enough for her... |
I am not here to sound the call for wearing burqas or for not wearing them. What concerns me instead are the general principles underlying the idea of the Islamic hijab. A Muslim woman who wears her hijab out of free will and true belief would never turn her back on it or even consider âtrading it for a bikini.â It is when a person is forced to do something that they flee it as soon as they have a chance. Let me say it more bluntly as it relates to us Saudis: That is why when Saudi women leave the country, the first thing they do is discard their burqas/hijabs â some are discarded along with half their clothes as well.
| I notice that Soddy men also have the habit of looking when they're out of the country. In some instances they have the habit of not only looking, but grabbing. Do you think this might indicate something lacking in Soddy culture? Besides good manners, that is... |
That is also why our system of upholding morals is constantly being criticized for being too forceful.
| I think the word we usually use is "repressive." Sometimes "oppressive." |
Belief comes from within: You cannot force someone to believe, you can only guide and try to convince them. Any other form of âforceful persuasionâ is useless. Yelling at women to cover up will only work on streets within your borders. Punishing women who do not conform by dragging them to jail and fingerprinting them will only work in a country where you have the authority to do that.
| And it won't work there indefinitely... |
More important is the question of what we are trying to achieve. Is it geographically-based piety or authentic piety?
| I believe it's called enforcing your beliefs on everyone around you. |
Conviction, not coercion, is the only path to true faith. One must convince peopleâs minds and win their hearts in order to achieve any kind of authentic religious effect on people. The verses from the Holy Qurâan verifying this are many: âLet there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error.â (2:256)
âInvite all to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious.â (16:125)
Moreover, one must believe that, in the end, only God can choose whom to guide: âIt is true thou will not be able to guide everyone whom thou lovest; but God guides those whom He will. And he knows best those who receive guidance.â (28:56) Yes, we have a hijab rate of almost 100 percent, but we all know those figures are not as impressive as they sound. How many of the statistics would be the same if hijab were not compulsory here? Who knows? One thing is sure though â whatever statistic we end up with will be worth a lot more than the 100 percent we have today.
| Assuming keeping your women in sacks is worth something, of course... |
Quality not quantity is the essence of the issue. I guess what it all boils down to in the end is this: Who do you want to represent Islamic hijab and all the sanctity that comes with it? Women like Vida Samadzai or women who understand its true meaning and who will treat it with the respect it deserves?
I'll go with Vida, and with all the women who aren't convinced somebody else has the right to tell them what to wear.
There is a certain percentage of women who're perfectly happy to be hidden away from the world and treated as breeding stock. There's another percentage — I happen to think it's higher — who have enough confidence in themselves to be proud of their looks and willing to meet men on terms of equality. There's also a percentage whose thought processes revolve around getting laid without going much further. There are many gradations among these, and probably a few I've left out. There are equivalent groupings among men, and the percentages of both probably vary with the age of the participants and maybe with mood. One size doesn't fit all, unless your host is Procrustes.
The point Moodhy Al-Khalaf misses, and that the Muslim world misses consistently, is that dwelling on other people's sins, or the possibility that they might sin, takes your attention away from your own sins. In Western societies, everyone's free to make their own mistakes. They get guidance, they're controlled by their parents in decreasing degree as they grow to adulthood — but we're not free to kill them, no matter how much we'd occasionally like to. Minding one's own business seems to be a Western concept. We stopped killing heretics and apostates 300 or 400 years ago, for the most part. The Islamic world never gave it up, and because they didn't, they never developed the concept of individual liberty. Liberty often translates into nothing more than the freedumb to do what you want — but sometimes it translates into innovation and fresh thinking. We take the good with the bad with the naughty, not without argument, occasionally even with violence, but we remain with that conviction that we'll do as we damned well please and if you don't like it, tough nails. |
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