The burqa debate: Just so you do not have thoughts" - MUST Read!!!

[dukelondon]

The burqa debate: Just so you do not have thoughts
By Shazia Nawaz

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We all know that burqa does not have its roots in religion. Religion only asks women to dress modestly. Where did the burqa or veil come from then? Why do so many women in the world cover their faces?
Burqa is a mobile jail invented by men to hide the women they love. If love was involved, I would accept it. That makes the jail a little more acceptable in a twisted kind of way.
But then what kind of man will keep a person he loves in a jail?
So then, Burqa is more a jail to keep in the women they own.
Brain washing starts very early. At a very young age, you are told that you have to hide yourself from men. It is piety to hide your face. You are also taught to fear men. From a very young age, you are told that men are dangerous and should not be trusted. Only your father and brother are the ones you can trust. As someone put it very eloquently the other day, In Pakistan, women are told that men are wolves and women are sheep. and due to this teaching , most men do indeed start acting like wolves and women as sheep.
Our men say that women should cover up, so we would not have thoughts about them. Thoughts of harming women and thoughts of raping them. So, they want to put me in a mobile jail just so their mind would stay clean?! What a twisted logic!
But then does it really stop their thoughts? In the real world, they do not care if you are in a burqa, they will harass you. Covering my face never protected me from street harassment.
In a smaller city in Pakistan, always either my father or brother had to accompany us on the streets, or in spite of all the layers of clothes on us, men would yell taunts, follow, and even try to rub against us when were passing by. Due to this very reason, women can not leave houses alone, and always have to have a male of the house with them. Men have to protect their women from each other in Pakistan and in all muslim countries.
When we moved to a bigger city, Lahore, and got rid of the big chador, sexual harassment, believe it or not, was less. Men around us there were used to women who walked around with out covering their heads and faces. Men were more educated and their own sisters and mothers had more freedom too.
Coming to USA and experiencing the behavior of their men on the streets was an amazing experience. I can walk around wearing whatever I want. No one dares to harass me. That told me that it is not the burqa that keeps the dangerous men away, it is the mindset of a society and it is the implementation of the laws that keep women safe in any country.
My first experience of the cool breeze touching my skin on a beautiful beach in Hawaii was wonderful . Men rob women of their basic right of enjoying the nice weather by putting them in a tent called burqa. It is dark in there and it is hot in there. Just because you do not have thoughts about me, I should be suffocated?!
Doctors consider thoughts a God made healthy phenomenon. Acting on your thoughts without other persons consent would put you in a jail for 10-20 years in any civilized country.
It is difficult to understand for a man of an oppressed society that in a free world men indeed learn to control their thoughts and do not blame women for it. When it comes to France Burqa ban, the argument that women should be allowed to wear whatever they want to wear and that is freedom does not work. Every society has to have a dress code and limitation to freedom. Your freedom ends where it starts taking mine away. Nudist frequently demand their right to walk naked on the streets. They can not be allowed to walk around completely naked just to protect the other members of the society.
The same way, a person covered from head to toe is a security risk. You do not know what is inside. It has become a dangerous world. You can not let your kids play in a park where people are sitting completely covered from head to toe.
Also, what right do muslims have to ask France to not ban Niqab when a western woman can not walk around freely in a muslim country wearing shorts?
You expect them to respect your culture when they come to your country, you should respect their culture too when you move to theirs.

 

[Mughal1]

There is nothing that can protect a human from anything other than learning to search for information and learning to put it together in a way that makes sense to oneself and others.

This is the only way we can become thoughtful and concerned for ourselves and others.

Likewise fighting over things by putting logic and common ground aside is not going to solve anything rather if anything it is going to cause more and more troubles.

So learning each others points of views and explaining to each other how they make sense to us is more likely to bring us together than talking nonsense.


The burqa issue can be solved if people could look at it from a point of its usefulness or its purpose and whether it serves the alleged purpose or not.

As for the quran, all commandments in the quran and hadith are situation and circumstance based.

If situations and circumstances demand that burqa be used then it is fine but if they do not then it is not fine.

The time and place of the prophet needs to be understood in this context.

Sunnah of the prophet is only that which is according to this rule otherwise blanket use of word sunnah serves no purpose.

The prophet did things or did not do things and stopped from them the way it suited his situations and circumstances telling us to do the same. This is very important point to remember to decide all sunnah based issues.


There are definitely situations and circumstances where burqa protects and likewise there are definite situations and circumstances where it actually exposes one to danger.

For example, let say a man has something that others value eg gold. In an insecure place in time of danger others will try and take it away from him any way they can if they became aware of it. However if he had gold but no one knew that he has it then that will not be taken away from him because no one is aware of it. Here hiding things is more sensible than exposing them and endangering oneself.

On the other hand when things are normal and people are secure regarding their persons and belongings and there is no such danger then it is fine to behave accordingly.

What it means is that we should work towards creating a society wherein we feel safe and secure regardless men or women.

People must learn islam for themselves and not listen to those silly mullahs who have no idea what islam really is. They are a very dangerous group of people and if we are not careful we will be taken by these silly people in the direction that is opposite of islam.

It is important to question things for their worth because accepting whatever anyone says on face value can be dangerous or at least troublesome and problematic.

 

[moazzamniaz]

That told me that it is not the burqa that keeps the dangerous men away, it is the mindset of a society and it is the implementation of the laws that keep women safe in any country.

Very true.

 

[Muslimpower]

 

[Muslimpower]

I don't want to go into detail with you that burqa is Islamic or not but just think why don't Allah :subhanahu: use even the name of females unnecessarily in Quran except Hazrat Maryam and that was because of people who started to say that Hazrat Eesa that he is son of God. So it is not allowed to use even the name of female without any reason.

The most important thing; when Taliban said that burqa is cultural and it was in use even before Taliban time and it is part of Afghan culture. At that time people said they are extremist now what you will say about France government.

If a woman wants to do this at his own will then why France government is pushing to remove it.

For your kind information it is first time a law has been passed just for 2,000 citizens out of 62,616,488 (0.003% of total population).

Now please open you eyes and think why they are doing this.............................

 

[Muslimpower]

 

[usmanca]

Excellent sharing :jazak:

 

[Muhammad Tauseef A. Bajwa]

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What a twisted logic!
During early 70's females clad in 'Black' burqa in Lahore, were mostly prostitutes from Red-Light Area! burqa was a symbol to approach them without hesitation. Later, when the need for a 'clandstine' contact become irrelevant 'females' start staring right in the eyes of men to confirm they are approachable. Afterwards, this practice was more 'clearer' in hospitals (Para-Medical) where nurses were sex toys in Libya, Saudi-Arabia, Bahrain & UAE. Such females mostly belonged to Egypt, India, Pakistan, Phillipine, Bangladesh and from european countries, as well. There were no more "Slydogs" and it was a common perception that old, ugly and married wore "Hijab". I'm not advocating any school of thought but deem it necessary to say that irrespective of gender you will find the majority among such 'sick' minded individuals are '"Polygamists"!

 

[Wadaich]

We think we are smarter than Allah (SWT) WHO through The Last Prophet pbuh:naooz: who command women to clad in such a decent dress which hides the prominent parts of the female body. Face and hands may be exception. And don't be beauty of bazar. And the "Satr" defined for women is just useless:naooz:. Order to men to lower their gaze is also against the enjoyment laws of west:naooz:. How should we follow it?:naooz:

Then the best treatment is what is we getting right now- Zardari as rulers, TTP in tribal areas, and target killers in Karachi.