Make Us Proud

The video above shows a debate between Hebah Ahmed, a blogger from muslimmatters.org against Mona Eltahawy, a columnist on Arab and Muslim issues. Both live in the United States, practicing Islam, but they have different understandings on veil (niqab) wearing.

I really like Hebah's last words: "Basically, I want people to know that when I choose to cover this way it’s because I am fighting against a systematic oppression against women in which women’s bodies are being sexualized and objectified. This is a different perspective and a different form of empowerment in which I think when I’m in public, my sexuality is in my control and people have to deal with my brain and who I really am and not judge me by my body. And if we want to really talk about the oppressive situation of women, let’s talk about all the eating disorders, all of the plastic surgery, all of the unhealthy diets that are being done, all in the name of having the perfect body. To me, this is liberating and this is empowering. Mona keeps saying I believe, I believe, I believe, well, we don’t make laws based on what Mona believes or what anybody believes."

Sesungguhnya apa yang tertulis dalam al-Quran itu jelas. Who are we to deny it?