so i have something i suddenly feel like sharing

There's this one day when i was in charge of the exhibition during our Islamic Aspiration Week, and i was on duty along with Acap and Mas. then this guy came up to me and just looked at me with great interest, and went (this is only verbatim),

"hi, i just want to ask, in the point of view of a Muslim woman...are you really oppressed? i mean...most feminists think that you are. is it true, that Islam is a religion that is run by men, and is for men?"

now, i was pretty much flabbergasted when i got this question, right. why, you might ask?

1. I was in deep thoughts about things revolving around our exhibition title ("The 5 Pillars of Islam") and so i wasn't ready for this random question about women in Islam.

2. Mas and Acap are both preoccupied with another visitor, so i was all alone to handle him.

3. He looks (and sounded) like he knows an awful lot, and he was also very interested to know the answer, which gives me the pressure of giving the right answer and also saying it right, coz i wouldn't want to cause any misunderstanding.

i think what i said to him was that i grow up in an all-girl family and went to all-girl schools up until the age of 14, so i would consider myself as a feminist, and that i wouldn't be happy if i'm in a religion that oppresses women. and i also told him about Khadijah, the Prophet's wife, being a rich businesswoman (i.e. she can work!) and that i like wearing the hijab, it makes me feel protected from the perverted glances of the....pervs?

or something to that effect.

now, last weekend, a thought suddenly came into my head;

so here's the thing. i think Hollywood female celebrities are oppressed. not the Muslim women. you see, they're expected to wear drop-dead gorgeous dresses to events, which costs a bomb, and then they're not allowed to wear it again. ever. and they're expected to wear these possibly lethal (lol) shoes with, like, 5 inch heels (lol. read: exaggerating. or am i?) . and then they're not supposed to have any tummy at all, BUT they're also not supposed to be TOO thin...like seriously. how is that even possible?

the Muslim women have to wear clothes that cover their body except for the palm of their hands and their face. this, had it not been for the pressure of the Western influence, is actually not that hard, it's more comfortable, even.

name one, just one, girl that is not mad/embarrassed when they get honked and shouted obscene words by men as she is walking down the street, or when they have their guy friends glancing/looking at their chest instead of their face when talking to them. it's friggin condescending and men are just too perverted to care. (i realize that not all guys are like this, SORRY in advance for the generalization)

so why are these feminists worrying about Muslim women being oppressed? i highly suggest to them feminists to start worrying about Nicole Richie being oppressed instead. OR maybe they should worry about the 'modern' women in general being oppressed. can't they see how we're expected to be beautiful to a specified and unfair definition of it? do they seriously think that 18 year olds consulting plastic surgeons for tummy tucks and facelifts a normal thing?

whatever is going to happen to this world....?~

x
Atiq