Sunday, July 18, 2010

Hijabs and Why-are-women-frisked-inside-cabins?

Went to UB City today. Part of the hunt-for-the-hijab. What stood out, apart from the slightly silly interior decoration, was the public frisking of the ladies. Which got me thinking, why do women get felt up inside the confines of a cloth tent? What warped sense of modesty makes it okay for a man to be frisked in public, but necessary for a woman to be shielded from public eyes when being thus treated? Very, very odd phenomenon.

On the one hand, women are treated as visual ice lollies; and on the other, their lajja must be protected, they must go forth into the world armed with modest clothing, mace and spiky stuff, and be frisked only inside a tent. I. do. not. understand.

Also, Ayush the perceptive recently remarked that it was a sad commentary on the state of our society how I saw my dooshang (wooden-hair-keeper-upper-thingamajig) as a convenient weapon to blind a gropey man; and how it was even sadder that as a society, we've made women so jumpy that often innocent men get lambasted for having looked in the wrong direction at the wrong moment.

I agree. Its almost heart breaking.

PS- Anyone who thinks all Muslim women must hate wearing the hijab would do well to just google it once. welovehijab.com is a starting point.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/hijabcanada4.htm contanis some interesting arguments for the hijab, which might make some of us think twice about how liberating it really is to strut about in almost-birthday-suits. I'm not arguing this way or that, just saying that there are people out their who love being hijabis, and who see hijabs as an expression of their identity and as a shield against lecherous men, and regressive liberation.

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