Or if you're too lazy, the picture below sums up what's going on :
There's a RM500 fine for those who go against it. As expected, the 'Do's and Don'ts list' has sparked protest and outrage in some quarters (as reported here)
Their arguments were, in my personal opinion, valid points. Women have always been blamed as 'the source of evil'. It is unacceptable to say if a girl dresses a tad 'too revealing' and gets assaulted that 'she asked for it'. Honestly, does anyone still buy that argument?
How are they going to determine what's 'tight' and/or 'revealing' and what's not?
Before doing IB, I spent one semester doing matriculation locally (in Malaysia, that is). After spending 11 years in an all girls' day school where most of my friends were non-Malays, I got my very first wave of culture shock there.
My first Pendidikan Islam lesson, the ustaz threatened us with his 'kad kuasa', and said that he was authorised to 'tangkap khalwat' any couples seen doing anything funny. I was like, "oookay..."
That was a 'nice' welcome.
The whole environment of the campus was...well..to put it in a way, very religious. Now, I had no arguments against that (in principle, that is). I was ok with the fact that they tried to take care of everyone's 'spiritual well-being'. But I objected to the way they did it, and how they targeted only us girls.
Friday night ceramah focused mainly on how girls didn't wear camisoles with their baju kurung, or how thin the fabric is, or even how some girls don't wear socks. They made jokes at our expense, and the boys snickered at the front while us girls seethed with anger at the back.
We were proper second-class citizens, the female students. Actually, even worse than that. I felt the scavenger cats at the canteen were treated better. Then a sequence of events took place which left me properly traumatized. But that's a story for another day. Let's just say I never felt so happy to leave a place in my life.
Back to our main topic. Yet another article here (sorry! I make you read lots this time around). Statements such as, and I quote “A woman who wears an indecent outfit does not respect herself, so how can she expect men to respect her?” and 'there was no denying that men would be aroused by a scantily- dressed woman, as this was human nature' are ludicrous. What is THAT all about?
At the same time, I do feel that we Malaysians have become too westernised - our clothes, our thinking, heck, even right down to our American accents we picked up from tv. Scantily-clad girls are no longer found only in 'large cities', as small town people would say. They now can be found in your own hometown. She can be your neighbour. Or your best friend. Or even your sister. It's such a norm now that people rarely bat an eyelash when they see such things.
A few years ago (when we Malaysians were still conservative...remember those times?), at a wedding reception, my mother made a remark about the bride, who wore a sleeveless, a-bit-on-the-sexy-side dress, saying that she 'tak tau nak hormat majlis,' showing her underarms to guests and her elders. At that time, I didn't understand what the fuss was about. Now I think I understand where my mom was coming from.
If you were to attend, let's say, your best friend's kenduri, you'd choose what you wear carefully. Or if you were to go to meet your relatives, your mom will surely ask you to wear something 'decent' (that is, if you have one like mine). If you go for a job interview, you'd spend hours deciding what to wear. Even in the medical profession, there are standards on what doctors should and should not wear. You may ask, why? Out of respect for the other person. You do not dress simply for yourself, it's also for every single person you meet that day, whether you know him/her or not.
As it is wrong for people to criticize you on how you dress, it is also unacceptable to impose your dressing on other people.
I guess what MPKB is trying to do is 'protect' their people from being keBaratan, while still trying to preserve eastern; and most importantly, Islamic values. And to be honest, when I went to Kelantan last summer, it was really nice not to see people 'flaunting' themselves, that everyone looked so well ummm... decent.
I feel SO old saying that.
But I still object to the statements made in the papers. Totally devoid of respect towards women.
That's the problem. They blame us for everything, and teach their brothers and sons that women are the root of all evil. They never taught their sons to respect their mothers and sisters, to love and cherish and protect. Instead they are taught to look at women with contempt.
And seriously, if you want to fight 'immorality' and 'indecency'? EDUCATE the people. EDUCATE them. EDUCATE them. Teach them good values; show them how to think for themselves; teach them the importance of respecting others, and also one's self. Only then will we stop being the mindless sheep we have become.
Not so easy, huh? We always prefer the quick-fix method, washing our hands off the problem afterwards, claiming we've done all we can. How myopic. How irresponsible. How typical. (Oh dear, it's the 't' word...again).
5 comments:
hahaha, its good that u got to see the 'decent' part of kelantanese cos i've seen the not so..
we might have a culture shock when we're back to the home country for good. dont u think?
even now the status of halal food is giving me headache. so much for the pleasure of being in Malaysia
well said.
i agree on the women-blaming-part.
u didnt go to MRSM (taiping to be exact) where the girls were treated in a similar way like in matriks. i was so used to it by then.
some people (guys) are so lame, look at the muslim countries that blame the evil on women (eye-rolling-typical)
EDUCATE-both sides play a part. men AND women. why cant they see that?
I hear lots of stories abt what's happening back home.
What IS going on??
Can't see things change for the better in our lifetime. If it does, I will be very surprised indeed
Ermm. Ntah la. Aku rase ape yg dieorg buat tu semata2 nak menjaga maruah n kehormatan kaum wanita. Org lelaki ni mmg suka tgk pompuan yg pakai seksi2. Bile dieorg dah suke, maka mule la timbul niat jahat ke atas pompuan tu. Tu adalah lumrah alam. Sbb tu la dieorg buat undang2 mcm ni utk avoid bad things from happening. Bukannye sbb dieorg anggap pompuan ni sbb source of evil or anything like that. Kadang2, enforcement is much more better than just giving advices. That's what I think la. As a man, I don't see women as the source of evil. OK Hani. Very good entry though...
Points taken, Jhaz.
Interestingly, you're not the first guy of that opinion.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're looking at the endpoint of the ruling, where as a result women will dress more decently. I don't deny that there's good in this, in fact, I welcome the result.
What I do object to is the way how they're doing it and the things they said about women.
'A woman who dresses skimpily is asking to be raped'. I am not ignorant of the fact that men are visually stimulated. But is that all it takes for a man to assault that woman? Dalam Quran Allah ada suruh lelaki dan wanita beriman supaya merendahkan pandangan mereka. Benteng pertama daripada melakukan maksiat adalah diri kita sendiri, bukannya orang lain atau persekitaran. So why don't they stress this point as well?
But I'm getting side-tracked. Once again, I have to stress the point that I DO see the good in the ruling. However, as a woman I feel that we're the ONLY ones being targeted. And please, I ask of men, don't speak of us as if we're 'objects' to be protected. We're humans with feelings too. And most importantly, with intellect as well.
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