MEN who shout about the importance of allowing the hijab are now decrying MP Raeesah Khan’s parliamentary speech on Tuesday (Aug 3) even though she supported the very same right to wear it.
What gives?
Turns out they are all in a tizzy over her comments on polygamy and female genital cutting (FGC). Unsurprisingly, they never addressed her words but somehow managed to conclude she’s misguided or against Islam (super problematic but that’s for another day).
On FGC*, she raised health concerns. Like how it may also hurt a baby’s attachment to her mother or caregiver. Among other things, she urged the Health Ministry to do a thorough review of how it’s done in private clinics here:
“We should aim to standardise and make transparent the amount of skin cut during the procedure or enforce the practise to be purely symbolic… ensure the proper instrumentation be used.”
– Raeesah Khan, in Parliament on August 3, 2021
Ms Raeesah’s argument was on health, not theology. What’s so wrong about her recommendation? She’s not even calling for a ban!
These passionate men, who seem to care so much about women, don’t even consider her ideas to mitigate health risks. What an admirable concern for women.
These righteous men of faith also don’t seem to know that majority of the Muslim world does not practise FGC. Of the four major schools of Sunni Muslim thought, only the Shafi’i school (dominant in Southeast Asia) argues FGC is obligatory. MUIS itself does not encourage the practice.
Do these men lack religious knowledge or is it something else? I don’t know. But they take a similar approach on the hijab issue. So it’s worth considering how their approach to the hijab differs from Ms Raeesah.
She called on the government to set “the tone on acceptance and tolerance” and “create inclusive spaces” with regard to workplaces. Because for many women, the hijab is “sacred, and represents a deeply personal relationship with their religion”. For “some women”, it’s “an essential part of their Muslim identity”. She also mentioned that there is a diversity of religious opinions on the hijab issue across the Muslim world – we are not a monolithic community.
Related: The idea of a monolithic ‘one true Islam’ is a dangerous myth used for power, control and domination
Ms Raeesah, a non-hijab wearing Muslim woman, focuses on a Muslim woman’s right to be herself. The hijab is a “sacred” and “personal” issue. And as a community, we should support a woman’s right to practise her faith freely. That is the argument.
In contrast, the above-mentioned men focus their pro-hijab stance on the Muslim community’s right to practise islam. As if the community is one monolithic bloc. They then go on about a woman’s modesty, about the need to cover herself, about what she should do, and so on. Where is the woman’s voice in this? Where is the recognition of a Muslim woman’s deep personal relationship with her faith? Her agency? Shades of authoritarianism abound here.
See the difference? One view starts from the ground up of an individual woman’s rights, while the other goes top down from the communal rights. Look to history and see how the latter usually plays out for women.
Related: The slippery slope of the modesty argument and the hijab
Do you see the subtle but critical difference between the two approaches to the hijab now?
It’s most obvious when we hear such men. In their speeches, women are either erased or morph into one amorphous blob in service of an argument. We see it in the discussion of the hijab, and we see it now in their response to Ms Raeesah’s parliamentary speech.
I don’t know what drives these men, but it’s never truly been about empowering Muslim women and their rights.
P.S *Alamak, wanted to cover polygamy, but this is already too long. Maybe another post another day. But for now, go tell your wife you support polygamy and see how enthusiastic she is. If she’s enthusiastic, chances are you’re a pain to deal with.
Related posts Narrowing the space for Muslim women The dangerous myth of a monolithic Islam Monopolising the Muslim mind