Friday, July 04, 2008

Stop Wearing Lipstick or Be Prepared to Get Raped

Muslim council in Malaysia orders women to stop wearing lipstick and high heels to 'prevent them getting raped'

Authorities in a northern Malaysian city are calling on Muslim women not to wear bright lipstick and noisy high-heel shoes if they want to follow the "Islamic way".

The municipal council in Kota Baru, run by a conservative Islamic party, is distributing pamphlets with the advice, in an effort to prevent rape and protect women's dignity and morals....

Full Article

I tell you what. We muslims love to lecture other people. Dress is an extremely contentious issue and debates rage all across the globe between muslims themselves and with non-muslims. Veil has assumed the role of Sacredness and Oppression.

Dress is a cultural phenomenon. It has no religious connection. As muslims we are told in Quran to dress 'modestly'. Quran does not describe what dress to wear. Citizens of various countries dress differently according to their cultural traditions. A Muslim woman would take a headscarf rather than try a skirt.

Normally, when you see a girl observing 'pardah' (protection) you would naturally think she is a modest person as compared to a girl who does not cover her head. This happens because one thinks since she is observing pardah so she must be religious so she must be good. Though this is a flawed assumption but this is how it goes. A girl in veil is no more pious than a girl without a veil - their character is dependent upon their acts.

Now this assumption takes a really 'mean' twist and the mindset says that since the girl is wearing lipstick or high heel, she definitely is of bad moral conduct and the person observing her gets the license to do 'anything'. I am not saying it happens but IT WILL HAPPEN if the same mantra is kept repeating.

Zakir Naik is also a 'proponent' of this philosophy. According to him 'if there is a girl who is wearing mini skirt and a girl who is wearing hijab and they both pass through an area where they are some ruffians - who do you think would be more prone to be attacked? Naturally the one wearing mini skirt is more at risk.' I find it extremely sick. Its not dependent upon the dress but the sickness of the attacker. If the attacker is sick then it does not matter whether a girl is wearing hijab or mini skirt.

This is the worst kind of preaching for 'pro islamic dress'. Don't adopt this line that if a woman is wearing high heels and lipstick then she is more prone to be raped. No one should be granted the licence to rape a woman wearing lipstick or high heels and I fear this approach will lead to such acts.

Unfortunate.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting ! Supreme Court of India recently ruled in favour of women being able to take bartending roles. The argument Home Ministry and Police forwarded was that women working late (most such places operate till early morning) in an environment where people are drunk, endangers them. Supreme Court bench very aptly ruled that as a citizen with equal rights, a women should have freedom to pursue any career, that she is endangered in a bar is a law and order issue and Police should ensure her safety in her workplace and make streets safe fore her so that she can return home late at night or early morning.

A women should have freedom to choose her dressing, that she is vulnerable in skirt shows the poor law and order situation and a mentality that if women dress provocatively they deserve harassment or how long can the manfolk control themselves!!

Unknown said...

I don't think it's about giving them the "right" to assault. It just argues that clothing has a factor.

I personally don't see the selection of clothing a path to putting the blame on the female. The male is always responsible, even if the woman was walking naked.

Most rape statistics actually involve relatives, associates, and not random attacks. And in most cases clothing was not a factor.

Yet, you cannot dismiss the fact that clothing is part of the denominator, no matter how small. I think it makes the difference, but that doesn't mean the girl is guilty, or the guy has a "license".

Either way, Quran to dress modestly and that's all. How you perceive that is a whole other issue.