[::..I feel so blessed to be a woman!..::]
Some of you might know that I just came back from the most gorgeous holiday destination ever. This blog entry is not intended to show off or to show people that I'm some kind of pious. But it is truly to set things right for the non-muslims who always thought that Islamic women are oppressed.
Visiting th Prophet in his Mosque in Madina and visiting the house of God in Mecca opened my eyes to various things. I have for so many years been so pro feminism. I like the idea that woman is equal to man. And i love the idea that what men can do, women can do as well. But sometimes, it is just nice to sit back and relax being a women.
In Saudi, where many thought that women are oppressed, think again. Maybe i have only been there for 15 days and haven't seen the big picture. But really, the small picture that I have seen in 15 days, is good enough to make me realise, I am so blessed to be a woman.
First and foremost, I have never been a fan of the Niqab. Only because a woman's modesty is everything from head to toe except for her face and her hands. Thus, I find it not necessary for women to wear the niqab. But you know what? When I was in Saudi, I was looking for the Niqab. I was going to buy one because it was so hot in there, and everyone was in such close proximity, i just want to cover my face. I contemplated with the idea, but decided not to since the intention was not of a right one. But later as I walked around Masjid Nabawi, i noticed so many husbands holding their wife's hands and treating them with so much love and kindness. And these wives are the ones wearing the Niqab. And i was telling myself, it is not because they are oppressed that they wear the niqab. It is because their husbands and fathers are protective of them, they want them to be covered up to prevent other non related men from looking at them.
Once, we girls were waiting to go to the dates market, and a guy walk past us and said, "Sister, please cover your face!" I must say, i was offended. But I suppose, he must have a good reason for doing such. He was just being protective.
So in Mecca, while i was on a 36hr Ihram, we gals walk around sometimes in our long khimar and naturally we just cover our faces with our scarves. It became such a habit, for whatever intention, so much so that when i went to one of our guy's room, i was pulled my scarf across my face and one of the brother's asked, "Sister, what is wrong with your nose? Why are you covering it?" And I started laughing and told him that we are so used to covering our faces, it just comes naturally. But of course while in Ihram, the Niqab is not allowed.
Another reason why i feel so blessed to be a woman is because, in some Meccan restaurants, woman is not allowed in. And yes...some of you might complain. But hey, you know what? The best part is, either your husband, son, or brother have to rough it out in the crowds, or a guy from the restaurant will come out with a menu and all you do is give your order and money and in a few minutes, he will pass you your food outside. Best! No queue, personalised service and no need to sweat it out.
Another reason why I feel so blessed to be a woman is because the men in Mecca never want you to be in the same queue. So, they will tell you, go to the front, or to the kitchen and give your order slip and ta-da....in 5 secs you get your food. Luckily, our boys do not know this trick or else, they will start asking us to do the ordering! Same goes to the queue for ATM machine. They will let you have your way first. It is soooo sweet.
The Egyptian men living outside my hotel room, are so loud and noisy, but when it comes to a damsel in distress, they will help out. We were knocking our hotel room like crazy because the hotel reception staff told us that our key is upstairs already-meaning someone is in the room. But really, there was no one. So the Egyptian men took pity on us and called little Ahmed who is a cute little boy to go to reception and ask for our key.
In the lift, obviously, no one wants to squash a lady, so we always have like a 5km radius around us while the men will squeeze themselves. We also always get the right of way, and always get a women's corner at one corner of the lift. I feel so special.
Later, when we were at the airport, we don't have to queue up with the rest of the guys. We ladies go to one room with two lady guards in black and we were checked. And I don't even have to worry about any men pawing me up.
It's a land where women are not allowed to drive. You know what? Best! Who wants to drive anyway. And being in the crowd makes me see the importance of a woman praying at home. No need to rough it out by going out of the house. Just pray at home in the comforts of my own home. I love being a woman. To be more accurate, I love being a Muslim Woman.
So people, think twice about saying that woman are oppressed. What is so bad about staying at home attending to your family and kids? What is so bad about being covered up from head to toe? In fact, i miss my 'security blanket'. My white khimar which has covered me up for the past 10 days. I felt so naked without it yesterday on my way back home.
Farah
"My Lord! I am in absolute need of the good You send me."
Visiting th Prophet in his Mosque in Madina and visiting the house of God in Mecca opened my eyes to various things. I have for so many years been so pro feminism. I like the idea that woman is equal to man. And i love the idea that what men can do, women can do as well. But sometimes, it is just nice to sit back and relax being a women.
In Saudi, where many thought that women are oppressed, think again. Maybe i have only been there for 15 days and haven't seen the big picture. But really, the small picture that I have seen in 15 days, is good enough to make me realise, I am so blessed to be a woman.
First and foremost, I have never been a fan of the Niqab. Only because a woman's modesty is everything from head to toe except for her face and her hands. Thus, I find it not necessary for women to wear the niqab. But you know what? When I was in Saudi, I was looking for the Niqab. I was going to buy one because it was so hot in there, and everyone was in such close proximity, i just want to cover my face. I contemplated with the idea, but decided not to since the intention was not of a right one. But later as I walked around Masjid Nabawi, i noticed so many husbands holding their wife's hands and treating them with so much love and kindness. And these wives are the ones wearing the Niqab. And i was telling myself, it is not because they are oppressed that they wear the niqab. It is because their husbands and fathers are protective of them, they want them to be covered up to prevent other non related men from looking at them.
Once, we girls were waiting to go to the dates market, and a guy walk past us and said, "Sister, please cover your face!" I must say, i was offended. But I suppose, he must have a good reason for doing such. He was just being protective.
So in Mecca, while i was on a 36hr Ihram, we gals walk around sometimes in our long khimar and naturally we just cover our faces with our scarves. It became such a habit, for whatever intention, so much so that when i went to one of our guy's room, i was pulled my scarf across my face and one of the brother's asked, "Sister, what is wrong with your nose? Why are you covering it?" And I started laughing and told him that we are so used to covering our faces, it just comes naturally. But of course while in Ihram, the Niqab is not allowed.
Another reason why i feel so blessed to be a woman is because, in some Meccan restaurants, woman is not allowed in. And yes...some of you might complain. But hey, you know what? The best part is, either your husband, son, or brother have to rough it out in the crowds, or a guy from the restaurant will come out with a menu and all you do is give your order and money and in a few minutes, he will pass you your food outside. Best! No queue, personalised service and no need to sweat it out.
Another reason why I feel so blessed to be a woman is because the men in Mecca never want you to be in the same queue. So, they will tell you, go to the front, or to the kitchen and give your order slip and ta-da....in 5 secs you get your food. Luckily, our boys do not know this trick or else, they will start asking us to do the ordering! Same goes to the queue for ATM machine. They will let you have your way first. It is soooo sweet.
The Egyptian men living outside my hotel room, are so loud and noisy, but when it comes to a damsel in distress, they will help out. We were knocking our hotel room like crazy because the hotel reception staff told us that our key is upstairs already-meaning someone is in the room. But really, there was no one. So the Egyptian men took pity on us and called little Ahmed who is a cute little boy to go to reception and ask for our key.
In the lift, obviously, no one wants to squash a lady, so we always have like a 5km radius around us while the men will squeeze themselves. We also always get the right of way, and always get a women's corner at one corner of the lift. I feel so special.
Later, when we were at the airport, we don't have to queue up with the rest of the guys. We ladies go to one room with two lady guards in black and we were checked. And I don't even have to worry about any men pawing me up.
It's a land where women are not allowed to drive. You know what? Best! Who wants to drive anyway. And being in the crowd makes me see the importance of a woman praying at home. No need to rough it out by going out of the house. Just pray at home in the comforts of my own home. I love being a woman. To be more accurate, I love being a Muslim Woman.
So people, think twice about saying that woman are oppressed. What is so bad about staying at home attending to your family and kids? What is so bad about being covered up from head to toe? In fact, i miss my 'security blanket'. My white khimar which has covered me up for the past 10 days. I felt so naked without it yesterday on my way back home.
Farah
"My Lord! I am in absolute need of the good You send me."