Re: Ex-musilim Womens view's on the burqa, hijab ect
Reply #5 - July 27, 2011, 12:05 PM
Umm I've been thinking about this thread since yesterday, and have been collecting my thoughts in regards to the burqa and hijab. Personally, I have always considered this form of covering as a form of oppression. Such an intense form of oppression that does not only control a woman's clothing but also her voice of expression. All women may not allow their outer covering to cover their inner soul, and thence see this as a form of liberation for them because it allows them the platform to voice their thoughts without being judged by the way they look.
But amongst this popular argument in the west, people forget about those silenced women of the remote uneducated countries were they haven't had the choice to grow their own voice, let alone express it. If I ever am against this oppressive practice it is not for the women of the west, nor is it of the women who are exposed to the western lifestyle even if they are living or are from non western countries, because at the very least they are aware of another world. My heart cries out for the millions of women who have never seen life without the black cloth that this oppressive religion has thrown over them.
On a lighter note, it is reassuring to see women personalising their burqas and hijabs, even though it is forced upon them, and although they are illusioned to be believe that is their choice. My personal experience of a burqa has only ever been in the four walls of a mosque. Whereas I have worn the hijab on two different occasions in my life. The first time I was forced to wear the hijab when I was 11 for a year when I started secondary school. It was a terribly demeaning experience, and I hated everything about it. It also was one of the reasons why I was bullied at school, one of the reasons why I had no confidence in myself, one of the reasons why I had no friends.
Unfortunately the second time was my own choice, it was for a year again and this was all because of the effect that going on a Umrah had on me. This time when I stepped outside my house with a hijab on, I felt liberated, I felt like I hadn't lived my life all along, I had felt as if I was safe within the grasp of Allah's rahma. Fuck I feel so cringey typing all this out. But that's how I had felt at the time, wearing the hijab had given me my identity, the hijab gave me my confidence, it gave me meaning to life, and I could never have imagined anything beyond Islam. Spoke too soon, and before you know my world came crumbling down when I began looking into Islam and it's way of life, I read the Qu'ran and Hadith in a whole new light, all because the A levels I was doing forced me to question my own beliefs, which I am ever so grateful for.
Hope this is detailed enough for you LOL.
Topic: Ex-musilim Womens view's on the burqa, hijab ect