I am just a high school teacher, but I am also a woman and a feminist. The western world's perception Islamic oppression of women seems to be slightly askew.

I think we need not accuse each other, but rather try to understand each other if we wish to create a sense of solidarity that mobilizes and empowers women across the globe.

Here is a poem I use to help my students question and understand the hijab:

This is a Letter to Your Beautiful Mind

From Rahat Kurd

From the scarfhead you glanced at
uneasily as you went past in the street today
as you pretended to take aim and fire
as you scornfully called out go back to iran or
wherever
how old this is getting
i'd rather write about the sky

response #1: go with your gut, girl

i wear this for fun, actually.
it's a scarf. deal with it.

response #2: politics and the
fine art of the reactionary

no, i'm not oppressed -
not a soldier of wrath - no, i'm not
patriarchy's last victim -
no, i do have rights -
i'm not a fundamentali -
hey. Hey! I'm talking to you -

response #3: the appeal to intellect through reason

I want someday
to manage the word God in a poem
without committing travesty

response #4: it's ironic

how what covers my hair
slows traffic
scares boys
stops ultraviolet rays
starts riots

keeps my ears warm in winter.

Rahat Kurd
copyright 1997

Thoughts?

 Can you tell us what you are quoting here?  It doesn´t make much sense  at the moment.

Thanks!

İ know İ am a bit past the topic date but yes İ totally agree with you Catwoman,  İ have also noticed this side of things when we get the newspaper.... My boyfriend rapidly skips past them though which İ find respectful.

On the main matter of conversation....İ believe that everyone has the freedom of choice whichever religion they are it doesn´t make you a better person than the other person if you have a different religion to them we are all equal - man, woman, whatever religion you believe in.  We live in a world today where too many people judge each other or try and out do each other to prove that they are the better person.  İf you are in a Muslim country then that should be respected, it is only right, but it doesn´t mean that you should have to wear head coverings etc etc.  But İ personally find seeing women with practically nothing on in the street makes me think instantly ´tart´ sorry, but that is the first thing that jumps to mind.  İ´m not saying people must wear head to toe or anything like that don´t get me wrong.  But to look nice people don´t have to show absolutely everything.

A woman is beautiful with or without make up, beauty is within, not just what is on the outside.  Freedom of choice should be allowed always, but what is one persons choice may not be anothers.

Tiffiny

WOW!!! Thıs topıc ıs on fıre!!!!! So many dıscussıons and arguments!!! okay now fırst of all the truth ıs ı feel kında offended because of the huge steroeo types people have about muslim women and theyre opressed and have no rights ect, ect,ect. And i know theres a lot of examples and you guys showed some and but common theres a 2 sides to every story!!! Now, there was hanan who you guys told her youve never seen anything different in your life this is all you know blah blaha blah.......well, ive seen both sides!!! This si on;y my second year to live in egypt, and before that i lived inSaudi arabia for a year and before that i lived in the US all my life, so i thin ive seen all the sides and how different it can get!!! Now i know canli talked about egypt and that guy told her .....I dont really remember, but anyway, i he told her you must be from an upper class family because she can do whatever she wants and canli weras hijab.Well, i sure dont and guess what My grandma doesnt!!!while on the same side, my mom does.... intriguing right??? My mom was a teacher in america, a teacher means she woerked in a school, really nobody told her anything, actually i was really litt;e when 9/11 hapened and i remmeber that everybody was so nice to her and everything and the principal of the schoolw as so worried about her, and gave her like all this time off but my mom didnt take it, anyway, in Saudi Arabia...well...Woman cant drive!!! They cant work, but thats okay most of them are REALLy rich anyway and loaded with $$$ but theyre not really treated ;like some kind of cattle or livestock either, or maybe thatw as just in Riyadh i dunno, now Egypt is actually like this place that i wa sso amazed by, If you come here youll see everything!! Really, especially that theres lots of christians here, and that guy whos aid he went to egyopt i dunno but i dont think he like visited marina or sharm el sheikh or hurghada gto see smthg there, like okay then now you truly do see everything, and nobody´s foced to wear anything, you see ppl wearing from bikinis to those swimsuits that are from head tot oe, its so diverse, and d like em i wear whatever i want and nothing happens nobody can judge me, or force me to wear or do anything i walk around in skirts and and stuff its okay , like i know on;y God is teh one whose gonna judge me, and well, i dont feel like theres any difference between men and women here when it comes to jobs, but maybe thats because i never tried sending ina  CV before, byut i dont think its much of  a difference. And ill tell you something and i think not a lot of you will belive it, guess what?? i have a bible at home, yeah, and i ahve a koran too, because it simportant to know about other ppls religions and respect them, like for instamce at school, there are christians with me in classokay? In ramadan we dont eat or drink right? but they can, but do they??No, they dont i sware they never even eat or drink anthing infront of us the cafeteria is open but no one goes there,a nd if they get thirsty or smthg they go drink in the bathroom lol, So everybody respects everybodya nd theres no discrimination and this sint only about me, my friends also, like one of my best friends , shes 15 okay? and she weras hijab, but she also ha d a fight with her parents to wear it, and she isnt what you call wearing a burqa and stuff, actually she goes nad follows fashon and everything and she like only wears luije some kind of sleeve underit to cover her hand, but she sstillr eal stylish ,i mean i pray, and i dont get wy ppl think its so ahrd to mix religion with life,I eman really i dont feel anything different, I do everything the same as everybody else, really, i mean taking 3 minutes from my day to go do one prayer really doesnt take antime (even though sometimes ig et real lazy or forget ), and i dont blame ppl for thinking this way, i mean thats what it hought about egypt and Saudi arabia before iw ent there because tast what the media was showing me, and i didnt watch the enws, lol, thats what they told as at school when iwas 11, so ppl are programmed to thinkthat way, the media only shos the bad side, howcome they never come and say, oh look what they ddi for women in this contry or that coy try, or looked what they just built or the sattelitie they justs ent, theyonly show the abd because it make ppl feel safer to know that, okay,sigh of relie, were more advanced theyre stupid, my lire may suck but theirs sucks more, lol, i know its so funny, and you probably dont notice that you do it, but, hey, everybody does, i do it! I just look at the for exalestimnians,oh thank goodness imnot in their shoes!, so , thast the end of teh story, its everybodys decision and you cant force anybody to do anything because of religion,i know of course there are some places like that but ppla re fightimg it, like ppl i rurlal aeeas theyre seeing the media , theyre starting to have their own voices and make their own freedona nd the govermets helping them , theyre also helping them get educated thx to this campaign thing made by the presidents wife. So again this is the REal end, everybody ahs their own decision on this ytopic and this is only my opinion and i respect everybodys opinion also, a slong they respect mine, cause thats what were taught in Islam in school and my parents,

Thx for reading this i know it took a long time!

oh my god i cant believe i just saw this post,

i love your mind!

Well, every person has a different experience and is subjected to various rules and restrictions in varrying degrees depending on what social rank she/he is from, how lucky/unlucky she/he is... and lots of others. Although individual women and men do not always experience oppression/privilage to the same degree, it does not change the fact that we live in a system that is patriarchal, oppressive to women (objectified, half naked women are as much of a symbol of male dominance as covered up women are), capitalistic (upper class has much more privilage and is subject to less social restricions then working and lower class) and depending on the country, there may be also other sources of dominance and oppression. I can´t comment on the christians living in egypt, because I haven´t read about it, but it is quite possible that the dominant muslim group is exerting some pressure on the religious minorities.

You said you cant comment on the christians living in egypt, because you haven´t read about it,also you havent live there,therefor i believe you shouldnt come up with such comment too !

On what base ?

Theoretically ?

Ok,theoretically let me give you some clue

You live in USA,does the dominant Christian group is exerting some pressure on the the religious minorities for example the jewish one ?

 Even if the jewish claim there are some....would you believe there are ?!
They have both power and money...yes ?!

I´m not Catwoman, but yes, I would believe those claims. The idea that all jews have power and money is a very ridiculous prejudice. They don´t work all in the diamond industry (or other well paid jobs)! 

Canli, why are you taking this as an attack? It wasn´t meant that way. Historically, religious majorities HAVE oppressed religious minorities in many instances. Historically, any dominant group have oppressed the non-dominant groups, whether it comes to religion, ethnicity, skin color... etc. That´s why I can make this claim. And although you don´t believe that there is any religious oppression of Christians in Egypt, (although as I said, I haven´t studied this topic in depth) I did encounter articles that suggested otherwise. (I didn´t say that that´s how it is, I said that it´s possible).