Tuesday 24 September 2013

Hijab more than just a choice!

I have always been a staunch supporter of women rights, and there has been tremendous opportunities for me to tell the world what exactly I believe and what I stand for, but there are numerous occasions when I myself am let down by the attitude of my fellow female sapiens  who are ever so busy to treat themselves as a doormat ( No offense but it's true) so this Sunday I met this amazing lady who happens to be a distant relative as well, while she continued on telling me how her life was changed after marriage, not to mention that she is currently living in Canada and enjoys been a home maker, there was a point when she treaded on the soft issue of Personal choices and then she landed on the not so soft issue of hijab, " Oh so you do Hijab, well I also use to cover myself up when I was in college, back before shadi", She said, " but after shadi things change you know, my husband does not like it when I do head covering".Anyways I could not stop asking her, "But why? I think its your personal choice to wear hijab or not, did you not tell your husband that?  The answer was quite quite quite hard for me to digest! I swear. " You know I myself was not too willing , I am married now, so I am safe and I don't travel alone so why should I cover up, my father use to be strict because I use to travel through public transport and you know tha halaat of Karachi, but in Canada we are so safe. This was one of those moments when I chose to talk about anything but This!

But now that almost after two three days as I scroll through my Facebook profile I find numerous examples that certify that yes things change a lot after Shadi!  Where once all -Burqa cladded ladies adopt a more revealing avatar!  I keep all my religious debate aside and ask one question only? How can you classify the world into groups? These are clean people I should be naked in front of them, these are dirty minded people so I should cover myself up! What is the general criteria for Pakistani women specifically? As much as everyone back in uni covered themselves the moment they land into the workplace environment the Duppatas fly out of the office doors, the moment a rishta lands on their doorsteps, the burqas and Hijabs suddenly disappear! And I don't in anyway blame the husbands and In-Laws. When you can stand up for petty rights like, "Meri beti shadi k baad rotiyan nahe bnaigi, adat nahe hai" so you can very well stand for your real rights as well.  Yes this is our real right and no man be it your father, husband and son  can stop you from it, and please stop giving the stupid logic of shadi k baad I am very safe. duh! Hijab is your identity do not make it an item of showing the world how SATTI SAWITRI you are!  I request all the ladies who are married and all those who are planning to get married that please do not use Hijab for your worldly gains, stand strong be bold and do not let any worldly attraction drive you on the road of evil decision. You can look as pretty as anyone else while you are in Hijab, do not drift away and make a fool out of all those who are Hijabis because then there are people who comment and say, " oh ye Hijab jo hai tmahara, ye shadi k baad tou utar he jana hai" Stop embarassing us and stop embarassing yourself. Thank You.

- The above text is written purely from personal observation of Facebook friends , relatives and neighbors.

7 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. First, it is good to see these thoughts still exist. Second, i am amazed to know that there are guys who force their wives not to do hijab, may be they are more concerned about their status rather than religion while most mans like if there wives do hijab, that is what my observation is, well all an all Hell is hot and Heaven is beautiful so girls what you want to be and guys where you want to go....simple..

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  3. well expressed! very pure thoughts!

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  4. Well said!!! Keep it up Yusra.

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  5. 2nd Paragraph is very touchy  well expressed & well drafted.

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  6. Well said. Most of us, Pakistanis have very messed up knowledge and understanding of our religion and that is exactly where things go wrong. Everyone has made up their own so-called "eastern/islamic" cultural/religion mix with a western touch to it. The recent trend is where women want more freedom of expression and feel the only way to about it is through exposing their bodies. Majority of the men, on the other hand, have always supported this notion, and those who do not, they're either too extreme and adopt compulsive behaviour toward hijab. It is not a choice rather an obligation, and we need to be mindful that hijab isn't about covering your hair only. There's more to it, women are to dress modestly in public (including any non-Mahrams, which many of us fail to understand) so not to provoke lewd behaviour in the society. Our religion is all about peace and not about judging each other on the basis of dress code. Sometimes, all we really need is to pray for guidance and patience is the key (speaking for myself first).

    p.s. Keep it coming. Found your blog through a friend's facebook, good work:)

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