هلا فيك يا رغد
صح لغتها بسيطة و حلوة بس انها انسانة نشيطة في المواضيع اللي تهم المراة وعندها خليفة واسعة هذا قصدي

عموما ارسلت لي القصة اللي كا تبتها اقرايها زين وانا انتظر على احر من جمر تحليلك انت والبنات للكلام وبعد ارسلت لي تعليقين من ناس علقوا على الموضوع
بسم الله نبدا........

QuContemplating My Identity: My Encounter With The Hijab


Janah Ncube is currently studying for an MA in Gender and Women's Studies at the
University of Bradford. At the start of 2005 she had her first encounter with
the hijab.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked into the lecture room today January 31, 2005 to be confronted by an
issue that I never have had to deal with before. A young woman joined our
Engendering International Debate class and she was wearing a hijab, which
covered her whole body except for her eyes. A hijab is the headscarf worn by
Muslim women, sometimes including a veil that covers the face except for the
eyes. I have seen young women like her dotted around the University campus and
the nearby Bradford College grounds but have never had to talk to them,
interacted with them or even be in a confined space that grouped us together
before. She was curiously soft spoken and only did so when asked something
directly by the lecturer.

The whole class was clearly curious about her but none of the class members
spoke to her. In fact, at a certain point when one of the class members wanted
to find out how she would catch up with us since she joined a class which is
already in progress, she kept on asking the lecturer and did not or maybe could
not ask the individual concerned, despite the lecturer's protests and
insistence she address her questions to the new comer. I suspect that the rest
of us in a way intimidated this new student. This is true for any person who
enters a new space and discovers that there is a distinctive difference between
them and everyone else. This is an experience and feeling I have encountered in
many meetings and conferences were I found myself the lone woman in the midst
of a sea of men. What she may not have seen was how intimidated we also were
(certainly I was) by having to sit in this confined space with a person whose
face we could not see.

Throughout the lesson, I kept on wondering what she looked like. I tried to use
the extremely minimal material available i.e. her eyes, to construct a face
that could possibly go with them but knew that any of my mental constructions
were probably remote from the reality. I wondered if she would ever allow us to
see her hidden face so we can actually get to know what she looks like as we
discover who she is in the months we will spend learning together. As I mused
over these and many thoughts I realised just how much of my identity is tied to
my face. Actually, my face and not my hair, not my weight, not my height or my
body is the central point of identifying me and distinguishing me from
everybody else.

While there are many with my height, body size and shape and there may be people
with strong features that resemble mine like my young sister Clodia, none of
them however look like me and I value that actuality. Beyond me knowing what I
look like, I prize the fact that everyone else recognises me as "Janah Ncube"
once they see me even if I do not open my mouth.

According to the Institute of Islamic Information and Education, Muslim women
wear the hijab as instructed by their Prophet Mohamed. They are supposed to
'hide from view' their bodies and hair when they go out and when in the
presence of men. This will enable them to proclaim their faith as Muslims, show
that they are modest women with good moral character and it takes the pressure
from being chosen by a man because of one's looks but rather for their skills,
qualities and character.

Certainly in a world that is strongly influenced by looks, body size, body shape
and were many have gone to extreme extents to look like the standard of beauty
(a catwalk model), it is appealing to think of a world were people could be
judged by who they are and not what they look like. I know I want people to see
the beauty of my heart, the brilliance of my brain and the passion of my spirit
and not to dismiss me or ridicule me because I do not fit their definition of
beautiful face, lips, body or that my hips are too wide. But in as much as I am
these things, my looks too are part of the whole choreography that tells the
story of who and what Janah Ncube is. I am certainly much more than what I look
like and yet what I look like is very part of the story of who I am.

For a long time the world we live in has denied women their identity. While many
of us who are non-Muslim may not wear a tangible hijab, we wear
some-kind-of-hijabeveryday of our lives. Certainly in most African cultures,
women for a long time could not speak when 'men' were speaking and in many
instances today still cannot. "Men" really being any male person as the voice
of a 14-year-old boy is more acceptable when the voice of a 45-year-old woman
maybe deemed out-of-place. In many western societies, indeed the British one I
am currently learning about, women may be there with much less clothing on
their bodies but may be harnessed by fear of being beaten and live under
pressure to reflect sexiness. At times we hide our capacity and restrain our
potential to keep the man in our lives from fleeing from us lest we intimidate
them by just how much we can do. My frustration is, we still live in a world
that controls, restricts, defines women and does not allow them to acquire
their own identity, does not allow them the dignity of their individualism and
does not allow them to show the world who they are.

As a Christian, I know of how the Bible has been used to oppress women just as
it was used to oppress black people. As an African, I know how traditions and
culture are used to oppress women as if human beings do not design them over
time in specific contexts. As a woman I know how science was used to influence
subordinating the female to the male as if there were material differences
between the sexes. I also know what it's like to defend the religion, culture
and gender, which many times are used to subjugate me. Certainly this is not an
attack on Islam as a religion or the hijab. Rather, this is an expression for a
longing to know more about myself and a wish for every woman to get the
freedoms she needs to define and discover her identity. I certainly hope to
learn more about my new colleague.

Janah Ncube
Zimbabwe

اما التعليقات فهذي هي

التعليق الاول:

Sainabou Jaye , 15th April 2005
The Veil has more to it than subordination of women
Miss Sainabou Jaye
Congratulations, this is indeed a good and well constructed piece. However,let
us not condemn these women because we cannot identify them with a face. After
all, faces can be deceptive and do not often portray who we really are. They
might be the most visible element of our identities, but they provide us with
the least reliable information about our true nature. Let us not also assume
that the veil always signifies subordination of women. Some of these women are
proud to have them as part of their lives. We might even agree that the viel is
a symbol of the manifestation of freedom of conscience and cultural expression.
It is obvious that culture and religion are as much part of identity as the
face.

التعليق الثاني:
Hanadi Araik , 15th April 2005
great article !!!
Miss Hanadi Araik
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the hijab. i come from the middle east
and i wear the hijab not because i want to but because my society expects me to
wear it, which only reflects your thoughts on how man and society molds
religious beliefs to oppress women. Women are intelligent species and if i had
the chance to understand why we should wear the hijab when i was 16 years old,
i wouldn't be having many questions about the whole subject right now when am
30 .

رهاااااااااااااااااام
مشكورة على المشاركة وعلى الدعوة الحلوة
الله يجزاك الف خير
:26: :26: :26:

شوفوا ايش كاتبة لي في رسالتها
I personally like you a lot and hope to be good
friends with you.
Please do tell me what you
think.......

الله يثبتك يارب ........
رائيي من راي البنات انك تعزمينهم واذا عزمتيهم دقي الشيطان الرجيم (يعني تزيني وتمكيجي وتكشخي وسشوري شعرررك والله ان تفتح فمها واعيناتها تغدي كذا :32: :32: .......
عاد معروف الجماال العربي كيف.. ازين منهم ها الماصلاات....
والله يوفقك يارب

السلام عليكم ورحمه الله وبركاته
اختى في الله الولد الغالي .... الله يعينك ويثبتك من جد هادي المواقف جهاد وامتحان.
الله يساعدك تشرحي لها الصورة الصحيحة للاسلام وحرية المرأة المسلمة.
بالنسبة لي انا برضه طالبة وجاتني في الفصل طالبة مسيحية من الباهاماز وسألتني ليش المسلمين مختلفين ناس تتحجب وناس لا وناس تغطي وناس تتلثم , تقول لخبطتونا....
انا قلت لها الحجاب واجب كل كل مرأة مسلمة والفكرة الاساسية فيه انه تغطيه الشعر والجسم من الرجال ما عدا المحارم وانه اختلف العلماء في امور تغطية الوجه وكل وحده تشوفي حجابها مختلف يكون تبعا لرأي العالم اللي اختارته فالاسلام يسر يحافظ على حرية المرأة من حجابها لانها بالحجاب ما رح تلفت الرجال اللي حواليها وبالتالي تكون مصونه من الاغتصابات والمضايقات.... قلت لها انه الاسلام طالب المرأة بالحجاب لانها كالجوهرة " قلت يعني لو انتي عندك قطعة الماس ثمينة راح تعلقيها على الباب والا تحطيها في علبه مقفولة عشان ما احد يسرقها" قالت لا اخبيها .
قلت نفس الشئ احنا نتغطى من الرجال لنصون انفسنا لواحد رجل في حياتي " انا ما استحق اكون سلعة لكل واحد يشتهيني" وبعدين الاسلام حافظنا شوفي احنا ماكان عندنا الايدز والزهري واولاد بالحرام نتعذب معاهم..... الاوانه الاخيرة شوي ظهرت بسبب الناس اللي اللي اتخلوا عن مبادئ الاسلام وجريوا وراء شهواتهم.
حسيت انها انبسطت شوي وبعدين سألت
هل النساء لهم الحق في اختيار الزوج لاني سمعت من كثير انه لا الاهل هم اللي يحددوا, وكيف الرجال يزوج الحرمة تكون متغطية ما يعرف شكلها اصلا:
قمت قلت لها طبعا الحرمة هي اللي توافق والاسلام شرط على الاباء باعطاء الحق لبناتهم الزوج اللي تبغاه , ومين قال انو الرجال ما يقدر يشوف قلت لها: الرجال اذا عزم يتزوج وحده يكون عن طريق سمعتها يقدر يجي ويشوفها ويتكلم معاها وبعدين هم الاثنين لهم القرار . " طبعا هي رفعت عيونها مو مصدقة"
وشرحت لها كمان انو في السعودية في ناس يتحكموا في اختيار الزوج لبناتهم بس هذا عادات قبلية الاسلام نهى عنها بس بعض الناس تخلط بين الاسلام والعادات ولانهم خالفوا الاسلام سببوا لنفسهم وبناتهم مشاكل.
بعد كذا هي قالت لي شرحك هذا وضح لي اشياء كثيييييرة لاني كنت فاهمة انو بعض العادات هي اصلا تعاليم الاسلام.
بعدين قالت لي تعرفي انا دوبني اتعرفت على وحدة مسلمة بس ما تححجب برأيك انك احسن منها او هي ما تعتبر مسلمة ؟
قلت لها انا ما اقدر اقول من احسن من الثاني لان الله يحاسب الناس بقلوبهم وممكن هي سوت شئ احسن مني بس انا اشوف انو الحجاب جدا ضروري.
وقلت المسلم او المسلمة شرط دخولهم الجنة نطق الشهادتين والقيام بالاركان الخمسة وشرحت لها.
الخلاصة انها صارت دايما تشوفني وتسلم عليا وانا دوبني اشتريت كتاب بالانجليزي عن حجاب المرأة وحريتها في الاسلام بس قلت اقرأه كويس قبل ما اعطيها عشان اتأكد من المعلومات صحيحة والله يكتب اللي فيه الخير.
لا ودحين هدا الاسبوع عزمتني مع مجموعة في الفصل في بار وتقول لي بليييز تعالي انا عارفة انك ما تشربي خمر وانا كمان ما اشرب لاني اؤمن انه ضار وراح نطلب انا وانتي كولا. قمت انا ضحكت وقلت على حسب الظروووف اشوف " بس طبعا ما رحت" واعتذرت لها.
ما ادري ان شاء الله يكون موقفي افادك بس من جد الدراسة في الغربة معاناه الله يثبتك.
وعلى سيرة انك تعزمي زميلاتك في البيت انصحك باللبس المحتشم وعدم المبالغة في التزين
اولا: لانهم ما يسموا بالله
وثانيا: راح يوصفوكي برا عند الرجال وهذا ما حصل لي
لمن كنت ادرس لغة كانوا معايا كوريات راح يموتوا عشان يشوفوا شكلي قمت قلت لهم انا راح اعزمكم بس بشرط ما توصفوا شكلي قدام الرجال لانو ايش الفايدة من حجابي وقالوا ابشري.
والحمد لله جوا وكنت لابسه طويل بس احسن شئ عندي وما ركه وزبطت شعري واتمكيجت وطبخت لهم عشاء ما يحلموا فيه .... ولمن جوا البيت بس فتحت الباب صاروا يزععععععقوا ويقولوا او ماي قاد ما هم مصدقين انو شكلي كذا
وكانوا يعتذروا منى انو ملابسهم مو قد المقام واني احسن منهم " وطبعا ذكرتهم انه ما يطلعوا سيرتي عند احد"
كوريين ماعليهم شرهه ........ ما سابوا احد في الفصل الا قالوا له كيف انا كنت حلوه وانهم مو مصدقين انه هادي اللي معانا شكلها كذا
وحتى بعد كم شهر قابلني واحد مدرس في المعهد يقول لي اني فلانه قلت ايوه
قال سمعت من زميلاتك انك جميلة وهو يضحك
قلت له آسفة المفروض هما ما يقولوا وانت المفروض ما تقول لي كذا لاني انا اتغطى من الرجال ولا احب احد يوصفني " قام اعتذر"
بس انا ندمت على العزومة هاديك والله يجازينا على قد النية
وعلى سيرة المسلمات واختلافهم لوحده معاناه لو تشكي لي ابكي لك بس خليها على الله ان شاء الله في رد تاني اقول كيف شوهت وحده طالبه مسلمه صورتنا قدام الفصل بس الحمد لله على كل حال.
الله يوفقك ويساعدك اختي