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| curiosities |
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| megan |
| 11/13/03 at 16:32:02 |
| Hopefully these questions aren't silly but I was just curious... as a woman new to learning Islam, part of the Western culture.... I was just wondering how anyone here who also lives in the USA or a similar culture deals/thinks about the pressures put on women's physical appearances and how you deal with it. I guess that could be a question for any woman of any faith to respond to... but I was curious in terms of the hijab and if any of you here wear make-up? Or tweeze/wax your eyebrows? What kind of clothing do you wear? Modest? More secularized? Personally when I see a woman in a hijab I get happy. I always have and I cant really explain why... I just find them so beautiful; the hijab... the woman. I work at a mall so I get to see some women wearing them every now and then. I actually saw a girl who wears one that I went to high school with the other day, which was nice. And for some reason I was extremely flattered that she said I looked familiar. I think those are all the things I was curious of... there'll probably be more that pop into my head and if anyone does answer these questions mayhap I'll add the others, too. I apologize if this has been inquired before and answered to the death. :-) |
| Re: curiosities |
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| Caraj |
| 11/13/03 at 19:15:56 |
| Megan, When I see a woman covered and wearing hijab I have such admiration for her, such respect. What faith she had when the people around her think it is great to be uncovered she is strong enough in her faith to remain covered. There is a wonderful sister who works at the store my son does. Wonderful lady, lovely spirit. Always in hijab. When I first saw her I thought, now there is a woman grounded in her faith. As we talked and got to know each other after months I finally told her what I though when I first saw her, How grounded, how committed, how brave to stand up, be obiediant to Allah/God in spite of the world around her. I have never saw it as a sign of oppression, I always looked at it as a brave and committed statement of her faith. This woman is from Saudi Arabia and the nicest person you would want to know. Always kind, always smiling, always friendly, never a harsh word. A hard workers, a mother, a Muslim :) Hijab to me is like saying I DO NOT CARE what men think of me, what humans think about me, I only care that I am pleasing to God. May God give me the courage to feel that committed to him some day. I long to wear hijab but have concerns of business matters and other matters. I am beginning by a simple scarf. Anyway I have rattled on and on, but was what I think of and how I feel about Hijab. ADDED LATER: When I see a sister in hijab (have always felt this way and never knew why) I longed to go over and say hello, talk to her. I have no idea why. I know this may sound weird but my heart felt a sense of familarity even though I had never met her. Ok, hopefully many of you are not laughing I can't explain why myself. As to make-up. I am what I am and I have better things to spend my money on that that. I am 42 and have only worn make-up (completely) 4 times. I kid you not, I do now occationally wear eye lash stuff (whatever it is called) but hadly ever. As to complete make up only 4 maybe 5 times at a friend or relatives request to make me over. ::) My first thought was to run screaming, I longed for the nearest wash cloth I could find. :D I hate the feeling of stuff on my face except for moisturizer. Lip gloss in cold or windy weather and that is it. The idea of standing in front of a mirror for 20 mins to an hour UGGGG :( Who cares what a person looks like. I have no desire to look appealing to anyone else. My heart and character is what should matter. I am a plain jane country gal type and even though I am not Muslim, when I was younger and even now I find it insulting when a man looks (with unhonorable intentions) at me and boy do I get furious when they do it to my daughters. Men of planet earth WATCH OUT, when my granddaughter is older I pity them if they look upon my granddaughter with unhonorable ideas >:( >:( >:( (Grandma in kill mode here) Anyway, just me rattling again, what most woman pay in a year for make up I can buy a real good horse with ;) |
| 11/13/03 at 20:29:20 |
| Caraj |
| Re: curiosities |
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| Fozia |
| 11/14/03 at 06:22:48 |
| [slm] If you want to talk eyebrows you might be able to dig up loads if you go far enough back, that particular point has been around for a while I think. I've always found Hijaabi's to be very beautiful, it makes my heart jump to recognise a fellow muslimah, and after reading a post on here a while back I always make a point to say Salaam even though I am painfully shy. As for make-up I personally do not bother, I wear Kajaal when I'm at home but outside nope, I do however make sure I'm clean and well groomed although it's difficult to look anything but elegant in hijaab & abaya I find ;) Wassalaam |
| Re: curiosities |
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| SisterHania |
| 11/14/03 at 07:41:10 |
| Salam Megan, I wear pretty much anything as long as it covers my whole body and it is fairly loose. Favourite item is a short kurta pyjama top (Indian dress – did I get the name right?) that comes up to my knees mixed with flared jeans or trousers. Long skirts are really elegant too. I haven’t reached the abaya stage yet but I agree they look beautiful. http://store4.yimg.com/I/boutiquejewel_1768_237457 (a bit like the cutting of this top but with long sleeves and different trousers). I agree with Sis Cara regarding the hijab. My main reason for covering is because I am a servant of Allah and by covering I am obeying my creator. Period. Not only has Allah prescribed rules of modesty to women, he has also laid rules for men. I don’t understand why the hijab is seen as a sign of oppression. A Nun covers and is respected for her modesty and purity. When a Sikh man wears a turban or a Jewish man wears a shtreimel (black hat) they are not labelled oppressed. Is it because they are men……..? Sure you notice that people do treat you a little differently when you first wear a hijab but if you remember Allah, wearing it is a pleasure. [wlm] :-) |
| 11/14/03 at 07:42:43 |
| SisterHania |
| Re: curiosities |
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| sofia |
| 11/14/03 at 12:45:23 |
| Peace, Megan, and welcome if I didn't already welcome you, and excellent topic, btw -- :) I was driving past a billboard the other day -- one of the few that didn't have a scantily-dressed woman on it, and I was impressed that wasn't the case. There was barely anything on it but words and some jewels. It read: "Forget the tree, decorate her." I think it was a jewelery comp, suggesting that men buy diamonds for their wives for x-mas. Nice but, also sort of disheartening. The idea that a woman has to be "decorated;" something to be looked at...but isn't there a mutli-billion dollar industry backing that up (makeup, jewelry, clothing, surgery, etc)? I had a related conversation with some friends about this; we were trying to figure out what it comes down to, what really makes a woman dress provokatively (in particular)? It's not really something that's necessarily inherent in one's nature, and I also don't think men are to blame here. The most judgemental on appearances are usually women. And most school children tend to segregate based on gender naturally. Shy kids are normally taught to be more aggressive and outgoing, not the other way around. So what is it about dressing provokatively? Personally, I think there's a fine line between wanting respect and wanting attention. These are two completely different things, but the line sometimes tends to be blurred, and it says a lot about self-worth. Also, women in the west sometimes feel they have to use their "appeal" to lure someone of the opposite gender, while from an Islaamic perspective, Muslim women shouldn't have to (marriage is stressed. It's based more on "networking" in a way, and the reasons for marrying someone should be based on issues of faith, etc). Allahu A'lim/God knows best. Not to say that Islaam is against the idea of beauty, not at all. Any Muslim (man or woman) should at least be neat and clean. But the difference is, who "beauty" reserved for. A Muslim woman can beautify herself for her husband and close family members. The opposite seems to hold true for a lot of people (Muslim or not). That beautification is meant for complete strangers, and once you get home to your loved ones, forget about it. Doesn't make sense... |
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