Hullabaloo over Hijab in Kuwait

A hijab, as commonly understood in the English-speaking world, is the type of head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women, but can also refer to modest Muslim styles of dress in general. The Arabic word literally means curtain or cover (noun), based on the root meaning "to cover, to veil, to shelter". Most Islamic legal systems define this type of modest dressing as covering everything except the face and hands in public.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/6307598/Kuwaiti-women-MPs-refuse-to-wear-hijab-in-parliament.html

The following article tells us about how Rola Dashti and Aseel Al-Awadhi, who were among the first four women to elected to Kuwait's National Assembly in May, have angered their Islamist colleagues by refusing to wear hijab in parliament. They might be accused of flouting the sharia(It refers to the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Islamic principles of jurisprudence and for Muslims living outside the domain. Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene, and social issues.), but that isn't stopping them from protesting against what they think is not a required custom. In fact, one of them has gone a step ahead by demanding the scrapping of an amendment to electoral regulations that says they have to observe sharia in parliament.

A statement by Dashti, "you can't force a woman to wear hijab", might have created controversy in Kuwait, but it is good to know that women still are able to raise their voices as and when the need arises. Hopefully, history will be created with the implementation of this rule, or at least scrapping of the previous one.

Perfect Bride?? What the HELL!

I know it's slum development for this week, but this is something I just can't resist writing about. I came across this serial called "Lux Perfect Bride" on Star Plus yesterday when I was randomly surfing channels. So this is what I saw- some 5-7 young girls sweeping the floor, cooking, washing clothes, and doing all sorts of gharelu things, with a voice-over that said something like- "Itna to ladki ko aana hi chahiye. Agar khana bana aur saaf-safai nahi aati ho toh woh ek acchi bahu kaise bann sakti hai?"

What the hell? What exactly are these my-life-is-almost-gone-and-this-is-my-last-chance-to-gain-fame type aunties really looking for when it comes to choosing a daughter-in-law? Education comes way down their lists. It's almost like they are getting a maid to do all the household work, just that she should be VERY fair, and VERY good looking, and yes, their sons have a say in this too!

Just when I thought media was becoming a tad bit more responsible towards portrayal of women in ads, serials, movies, etc, there comes this superbly degrading show which burst my bubble even before it got shaped.

These are the things which should be banned. This not-so good looking aunty ji thinks only good looking girls will make nice bahus. What kind of people are these? They themselves have ugly looking sons who have nothing better to do than come on some reality show for their supposed soul-mate. Same goes for girls. I wonder what they were thinking, or if they were thinking at all! So much for fame and money!

P.S. Personally, I would want in-laws who can cook well so that I get good food when I come back home after woking hard all day (that is IF I ever get married).

The Plight of Women 'Empowerment'!!

"Empowerment means moving from a position of

enforced powerlessness to one of power".

"Tall claims of women empowerment and taking health care to the remote areas sounded hollow..."

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/jaipur/Woman-delivers-baby-on-road-dies/articleshow/4872324.cms)

With a phrase like this for the first line of a news story, one will be compelled to think how empowered we, as women, really are. The news item refers to a case in the Gatla district of Jaipur. Although the article mainly focuses on how the condition of women in India is still not as good as it is expected to be after so much (mostly false claims!) has been done to improve their condition, it also throws light on gender issues. The baby being a girl resulted in the husbands' reluctance to accept the child, seen as a typical case of gender discrimination. It also questions the efficiency of the government in times like these.

Ironically on the same day, i.e. August 9, 2009, another article was published in Times of India newspaper about a woman in Delhi who delivered a girl in a n open park near Nizamuddin dargah. Even she had been abandoned by her husband but now finds some strength in the Ladli Scheme under the Janani Suraksha Yojana. The article throws light on the various programmes by the government, and many more by non-government organisations (NGOs) to improve the condition, mainly health related, of women in our country. A number of names have been mentioned which are working towards this cause. "..she is one of the very few who have managed to benefit from the government's social welfare schemes..." With so much being written, maybe one can hope for a healthy future for Fatima's daughter, Alisha.

It is hard to gauge how much of it is really the way it is mentioned though. So many schemes that exist are hollow from within as their existence is mostly namesake. To actually measure the growth that is taking place we might need to wait longer, as such a substantial growth is yet to be witnessed.