The Muslim Woman

A Muslim woman police officer refused to greet Britain’s most senior police chief with a handshake just because he is a man and she a woman. And that her religion prohibits her to do so. The incident occurred when Sir Ian Blair was inspecting a line-up of 200 recruits during a passing out parade. Not only she showed reluctance for a formal hand shake but was clad in a traditional Muslim hijab headscarf and refused to be photographed with him as she did not want the picture used for ‘propaganda purposes’. I personally feel that this is not done. If one is not in a position to fulfill the official formalities, then must not choose the kind of profession. One must go in for a job where there is comfort zone. Here, the officer is not able to greet the chief with a handshake, what she will do when she would have to seize the criminals or has to go in for fieldwork one can easily imagine. After all, people must adhere to the rules and regulations of the country where they are living. Had she been residing in some Muslim country, she would have escaped the chance but when living in UK, well, she has to follow the norms of London. Read

Recent report by the Equal Opportunities Commission has revealed that Muslim women are amongst the most deprived group in Britain’s labor market. They experience high rate of joblessness and the lowest represented in senior level jobs. The report asserted, ‘racism, sexism and anti-Muslim prejudice based on widespread stereotypes make it harder ethnic minority women to integrate in the workplace and to get promoted’. They also faced a bigger gender pay gap than white women. The report advocated that if these women are given chance, they might make a ‘big difference to social exclusion, community cohesion and child poverty.’ Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities Secretary, Andrew Stunell MP, commented, in the longer term UK businesses and firms won’t be able to maintain their growth unless they start tapping into the skills and talent that young black and Asian women can provide. We’ll also fail to build more cohesive communities unless our black and Asian women can get the jobs they want. Image Read

The veil is increasingly becoming a torment in Britain, not for those who wear it, but for the rest. Even in a secularly tolerant society like Britain, the veil is becoming hard to absorb. And efforts are going on to place legal curbs on the burqa to the dismay of the Muslim community. Muslim women in Britain wear black gowns that cover them from head to toe in leaving only a slit for their eyes. There have been many instances where citizens of Britain have shown their reluctance to accept the veil draped Muslim women. The past year has seen numerous examples, where the veil-covered women have been targets of abuse. An immigration judge told a lawyer dressed in a niqab that she could not represent a client for he could not hear her. A student lost a case she was fighting for being barred from wearing a niqab. Moreover, the British education authorities are proposing to disallow niqab in schools altogether. While few like David Sexton, columnist for The Evening Standard, find Britain to be too deferential toward the veil. Young Muslim women who started wearing niqab since Sept. 11, 2001 concede that it is a frontal expression of Islamic identity, which they have embraced as a form of rebellion against the policies of British Government in Iraq and at home. Few feel it is an act of faith towards Alha, while some take it as a symbol of Muslim identity and solidarity in the British society, which is increasingly becoming intolerant towards the burqa and taunting them. There is also a group of Muslim women who find the niqab objectionable. Imran Ahmad, author of ‘Unimagined’, an autobiography of growing up Muslim in Britain, and head of British Muslims for Secular Democracy feels that the veil is offensive, something steeped in subjugation. While few Muslim women in Britain wear the headscarf, called the hijab, covering all or some of their hair, some wear the nikab. Like in France, Turkey and Tunisia, where students in state schools and female civil servants are banned from covering their hair, UK is also trying to bring in a similar legislation. Muslim women have been wearing burka or nikab for time immemorial. While few have been forced to wear it as a compulsion, some wear it as a ritual, while the rest for their self-pleasure. But, burqa is considered as a kind of subjugation and backwardness, but when religion permits, what can others do? And, more importantly, why? Image Va: IHT

Female circumcision is a ‘rite of passage’ for young girls from childhood to adulthood. This cruel practice involves the removal of the clitoris and other parts of the female genitalia. Followers of this practice believe that it is an effective way to curb a woman’s sexuality. It is often referred as female genital mutilation by the Amnesty International and the World Health Organization. The word mutilation is used to reinforce the idea that this barbaric practice is a violation of the human rights of girls and women. Though, locally the term used widely is the less judgmental ‘cutting’. After all, no parent likes to think that they are mutilating their own daughters. Apart from the Middle East, female genital cutting is widely practiced in African countries, especially in the region from Senegal in West Africa to Somalia on the East coast. But now, due to immigration this practice is not confined to any specific region and has spread to Europe, Australia, and even the United States. British police are of the opinion that in Britain alone 66,000 girls face the risk of genital mutilation. According to Amnesty International, approximately 130 million women all over the world have been affected by some form of genital mutilation or the other. Despite the practice being banned in most countries, it is still a very enduring tradition, and more than 2 million such procedures are being performed every year. A very large section of tradition-bound families make their daughters undergo this genital cutting when they are on a vacation in their home countries. By doing so, the people involved in this crime can cover up their tracks and the girls get enough time to recover. Unfortunately, till the time this barbaric practice is completely stopped, millions of innocent girls worldwide will continue to suffer physical and emotional trauma all in the name of culture. via: Y!News