a short poem in prose a la oscar wilde
my sisters who chose to shroud yourself whilst living or simply to hide your hair with rainbow colored scarves I want you to understand why i will never join the ranks of the modest and the chaste (if this is how you perceive yourself) so you may leave me to live the life i have choosen for myself though you may see it as a wayof paving a path to everlasting doom.
if i wear the burqa /niqab there is so much i deny myself that makes life beautiful . i will not feel breezes caress my face and hair , or truly feel the warmth of the suns rays though this very same sun renders my coverings unbearable . I will not be able to swim in the sea and feel the waves buffet my body playfully , i wont be able to really feel the tang of its salty breath upon my tongue . all these things that sing of the beauty of God will be denied to me .
dear sisters you forget that our bodies are not simply anothers pleasure, but servants of our soul
our legs were given to us to walk upon the earth, our arms for work and toil and our breasts to nourish our children
should we deny ourselves much of lifes joys because of mens lust ? but do we not lust ourselves
and long and yearn but strangely men do not cloak themselves from our gaze .
i do not deny you the right to do what you consider to be right and virtous but please tolerate me and do not condemn me simply because i am not dressed like you . all souls are equal in the sight of God and should be in the sight of men and women.
so leave me be as i do you
About Me
- Hebe
- the unfortunate elder progeny of a charming diplomat and a prim business woman .lived a nomad like exsistence till the age of 14 . am currently settled in egypt .I like to think that i am some form of transcultural , seeing as i have never really belonged anywhere. bookworm supreme, i long one day to write THE great egyptian novel , travel the world and create a time machine in order to marry the young marlon brando . humble aspirations indeed
4 comments:
u don't know how glad i am to find my feelings and thoughts put down in your words
yes, why should i suffocate myself, put up walls around me, that keep me from truly enjoying god's joys on this earth?
why can't they accept the fact that we don't all have to be the same, that i have a right to be the way i am?
Hi,
I'm just glad I came here before any of the "unappointed defenders of the religion of Islam" come here and start herrasing you for making a choice that I think is completely personal and is nobody else's matter.
As I may seem to contradict myself here by me commenting on such personal choice, I'm only complementing your courage for standing in the face of a rotten society that claims decency and commets every possible sin if nobody's watching.
Veil has been a major issue in the past few years and I think it was brought by the neo-islamists if I might call them, amr khaled and the like, I personally don't know why they're called "da3yas" if all their viewer base is already muslim... but, I'm not going to stop there.
Veil has spread to unbelievable extents in the Egyptian community, or maybe its only unbelievable to me, but unfortunately, I don't think it made up for any significant improvement in our behaviours which is a major failure for these neo-islamists. I think that most girls are only veiled so that they could protect themselves from the abusiveness of our culture against women, because they are afraid, and anything done under threat in my opinion does not count.
Grwoing up in Saudi Arabia, and being a the "sea loving creature" that I am, I have always thought that its completely injust against women not to let them enjoy the sea as much as we guys do.
I congratulate your for your choice and for knowing that being a good person in the inside IS what counts, no matter what you wear.
Thank you so much for such an eloquent statement on not being veiled in Egypt. Being Christian I do not veil not do I follow the preferred dress code here. On hot days I will wear sleeveless tops and shorts but I feel very uncomfortable because I can feel the eyes of those who disapprove on me.
I thought I would share my opinion on why women where the veil here:
1. No need to fix your hair, just veil.
2. No need to worry about dust, bugs or unknown objects to lodge in your hair since you are veiled.
3. Another way to add to the fashion sense (is there one?) to match one's veil to one's outfit.
4. No need to worry about your hair getting messy on a windy day.
5. No need to worry about the grey or damage in your hair.
6. No need to go to a salon that probably will over process or over iron your hair and charge you excessively for this privilege.
I personally love the feel of the wind and sun on my head and hair. I also would find it hard to accept a dictate from a man about how I dress linked to how spiritual I am. Love for God is from the heart and not from the clothing I wear or choose not to wear.
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