My Reflections on International Women's Day

When you look at me, 

All that you can see, 

is the scarf that covers my hair. 

My words you can't hear, 

because you're too full of fear, 

mouth gaping, 

all you do is stare.
You think it's not my choice, 

in your own "liberation" rejoice.

You think I'm uneducated, 

trapped, 

oppressed and subjugated, 

You're so thankful that you're free.
But you've got it wrong.... 

You're the weak and 

I'm the strong.

For I've rejected the trap of man. 

Fancy clothes - 

low neck, 

short skirt   

are devices for pain and hurt. 

I'm not falling for that little plan.
I'm a person with ideas and thought. 

I'm not for sale, 

I can't be bought. 

I'm me - not a fancy toy, 

I won't decorate anyone's arm, 

nor be promoted for my charm. 

There is more to me than playing coy.
Living life as a balancing game - 

mother,daughter, wife, nurse, cleaner, cook, lover and 

 still bring home a wage?

Who thought up this modern "freedom"? 

Where man can love 'em 

and man can leave 'em. 

This is not free, 

but life in a cage. 

Always jumping to a male agenda, 

competing on his terms. 

No job share, no creche facilities, 

no feeding and 

nappy changing amenities. 

No time off for menstrual pain,"hormones" 

they laugh "what a shame. 

"No equal pay equal skill, 

your job they can always fill. 

No promotion unless you're sterilised. 

No promotion unless you're sexually terrorised.

And this is liberation?
You can have your life. 

Mine - 

it has less strife. 

I cover and I get respected, 

surely that's to be expected, 

for I won't demean the feminine, 

I won't live to male criterion, 

I surrender to Allah’s standards, 

Quran my tune

I hope you see this very soon. 

For your own sake - 

wake up and use your sight. 

Are you so sure that you are right?

Talking about women is an arduous task because we can never really do justice to the topic of women. Women are beautiful, creative, intuitive. We add brilliance to life. Our smiles are the harbinger of joy. We are skilled. sauve, delightful, mysterious and hardworking. We can be simple yet unpredictable. We can be outgoing, sometimes outrageous but at the end of the day, we are kindhearted and resolute. We make the house, a home. We are the reason behind and source of men's success. We have the power to give life and raise nations. We are inseparably intertwined with the universe for its and our existence. History has been a testament to the fact that women are great. We are funny, smart, charming and accomplished. We give away so much of ourselves to others and to the world daily but receive very little acknowledgement in turn. I am very pleased and proud of the Ryerson Muslim Student Association to allow women to come together in solitude and self-reflection to celebrate women.

Especially Muslim women, who I think are a minority in this society, and increasingly discriminated against because of ... lets face it ... because of the way we dress. Our dress distinguishes us because of which we have become an easy target for growing prejudices and stereotypes. But what is unique about Muslim women, and something that most people do not know ... is that we do not accept but challenge the mandates and labels of society. We do not allow ourselves to be overly awed and manipulated by the pressures that surround us. We are gentle and polite but make no mistake, we are also electric enkindled. We are spiritual but also able minded and strong in every way. Muslim women revere themselves. We respect our bodies, our intelligence and our purpose in life. You have the examples of some really amazing Muslim women like Sandra Noe and Tina Aseffa, who live very active and vibrant lives behind the veil. Truth be told, underneath hijab and niqab, there is a Muslim woman who is wise, colourful and warm. We have so much to offer to this society...so many ideas and talents to share. I think its a shame that Muslim women and our dress are constantly misunderstood, harassed and persecuted at all levels of society, now including the government. 

Muslim women, all over the world, primarily draw their inspiration and guidance from the Qur'an. We dress the way we do because the Qur'an teaches us to do so. We are motivated by God to be modest and cover our body. Therefore, a discussion and a narrative about Muslim women necessitates touching base with the Qur'an. 

Tonight, we'll discuss some of God's teachings about women in the Qur'an. We will view the complements, the honour and the love God extends to the women throughout the Qur'an. You will see how beautifully early Muslim women were treated by men, because of the rights and freedoms God gave us. In the end, I hope leave you with a positive image and understanding of Muslim women. And a renewed commitment to appreciating Muslim women, in fact women everywhere.

What is crucial to a Muslim woman's life and her identity is her relationship with her Creator. A Muslim woman is an embodiment of her faith. Her body is a vessel of God's love and respect. The meaning of her life is worship.

I will be using the Arabic Name of God, the Name which is used in the Qur'an, which is Allah. The Arabic Name, Allah is a contraction of “Al' and “Ilah” which means The God and the Only Deity – Allah means the Only Divine, Supreme, Creator and True Owner of everything. In Hebrew and Aramaic – the languages of Moses, David and Jesus, the Name of God is Eloh or Elah. We don't see that in the Bible as much as more because of mistranslations and Greek and Latin influences but the Name of God, said by all Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam is Allah.

The Muslims believe that when Allah created our impeccable universe, He sent us Messengers – men who with His message to humanity till the last Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent to humanity with God's Words. The Final Speech of God to humankind is called the Qur'an. 

The women should be especially happy and excited about the Qur'an because a huge chunk of this Book, that Allah revealed is dedicated towards honouring women and preaching kindness towards us. Our gender as a draw-back, being a woman is not a demerit point in Islam. We matter to Allah and He is so concerned about our well-being and our safety that chapter after chapter in the Qur'an speaks of women, so much so that Yunne Ridley, a UK journalist convert to Islam said, The Qur'an is a Magna Carta for Women.

So finally, what is the value of women in the Qur'an?

Allah says, وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالأُنثَى – and the man is not like the female. Our society compare women to a men. Our worth is always juxtaposed with men. We need to walk like them, talk like them, dress like them, do their work in order for society to think of us as equal and as good as men. But according to the Qur'an, men cannot measure up to women. Men can never achieve the esteem and standard that the women hold. As a daughter, a woman is the door of Paradise for her father. As a wife, a woman completes her husand's Deen. As a mother, Paradise is under a woman's feet. So for any man to be successful in the religion of Islam and receive Paradise...he must honour and treat the women in his life with dignity.

• E.A Allen, wrote an amazing treatise on the History of Civilizations. He writes in Vol. 3 pages 444, 443 and 450 that in 1600 BC, Athens Greece – women are treated as minor, deficient in intellect, incapable of making her own decisions. The property of their male kin.
• In 44 BC, the Rome Empire - women are still the property of her male kin, bartered from one man to another for benefit. She was totally dependent. She could not own any property or wealth. She had no freedom, choice or influence even with respect to her own life. France, I believe was the first European country to give women the status of human beings in 586. Prior to this, it was assumed that a woman was without a soul.
• The Encyclopedia Britannica 1986, vol. 23 pg 64 testifies to the English Common Law, the legal system of England and Wales that legislated male authority over women well into the 18^th century.
• In their book, Marriage East and Wet, David and Vera Mace wrote in pages 80 and 81, “It would be hard to find anywhere a collection of more regarding references to the female sex than the early Church Fathers provide...Woman was represented as the door of hell, as the mother of all human ills. She should be ashamed at the very thought that she is a woman. She should live in continual penance on account of the curses she has brought upon the world. She should be ashamed of her dress, for it is the memorial of her fall. She should be especially ashamed of her beauty, for it is the most potent instrument of the devil...you are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that forbidden tree; you are the first deserters of the divine law; you are she who persuades him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert – that i death – even the son of god had to die. Not only did the church affirm the church affirm the inferior status of woman, it deprived her of legal rights.”

One can argue, well things have changed now for women...

We can vote, we have access to education and work. We can get an abortion. We are independent.But let me ask you, is this really true?

If we can vote then how many women are there in our government today that represent us? Really stand up for women's rights....Not only is our government, composed predominately of men but men who are persistent in sexualizing and dehumanizing women. Take president Sarkozy for example. He first campaigned for the niqab ban in France. This injustice was then adopted by other European countries and now it has become a controversy in Canada. Well, many of you may not know that Sarkozy's wife was an ex nudist – a pron artist. And he is not the only one who endorses this lifestyle for women: to wear literally, nothing for the sake of man's pleasure.

And if women have access to education and work then why is that that in 2006, female graduates on average earned 15% less than men for the same work when they were 25 years old. At the age of 41-45 the pay gap between women and men increases to 45%.

There is an estimate of 80,000 women who are involved with prostitution. 74% of these women cite poverty as their reason to prostitute their body. They cannot support their children and pay their bills.

If women are really liberated then why does the NHS report said in 2009 that one in five adult women experience depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts?

I will tell you what women really need and what is truly missing in their lives .. it is Emaan! Emaan in Allah is not only a religious concept but a worldview and blueprint to a successful  lifestyle. A true woman is a woman made of unsheathed and unwavering Emaan. Her Emaan makes her noble and distinguished. It gives her rights and purpose in life. Allah created women to be a dynamic force! When a woman accepts Islam, Allah blesses her with liberating rights and inspiring strength to deal with her relationships, finances and spiritual life.  A Muslim woman is a beautiful but fierce creation of Allah. No one can mess with her. Every woman was once a little girl. And every little girl holds in her heart her most precious dreams. She longs to look beautiful, to be appreciated, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, to be swept up into a romance, to belong. These desires are far more than child's play. They are the secret to every feminine heart. Many women seek out these goals in ways which unnecessarily hurt their feminity……But Muslim women achieve their full feminine appeal with three virtues: Hijab, Abaya, Niqab. 

Why do I wear the Abaya?
It relates to my basic faith in Allah and that there is no One worthy to worship except Him. As a Muslim woman, I want to submit to Allah and obey all His commands. Since  Hijab is a clear command from Allah, I choose to wear it to please Him. 

Aisha (r.a), the beloved wife of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "May Allah have mercy on the immigrant women - when Allah revealed that they should wear Hijab, they tore different pieces of clothes to wrap their hand and face face with them" - Bukhari. These women did not even have sufficient clothing with which they could cover themselves modestly, yet they were the first to obey Allah. They also gave up the tradition and norm of their society, where it was fashionable for women to hang a dupatta around their neck, showing their neck, cleavage and the curves of their breast to covering not only their entire bodies but hair and face. 

Abaya does not apply only to clothes. It is a state of mind, behaviour and lifestyle. Hijab celebrates a desirable quality called Haya (modesty). It deeply concerns with preserving one's dignity. Haya is a natural feeling that brings us pain at the very idea of committing something wrong. The Prophet (s.a.w) said, "Every religion has a distinct feature. Islam's distinct feature is haya (modesty)" - Ibn Majah. To me the Hijab proclaims my modesty thereby protects me. It identifies me as a Muslim woman of high moral standards and it reduces my chances of being harassed. 

The point to covering is not that sexual attraction is bad, only that it should be expressed between a husband and wife inside the privacy of the home. A public space free of sexual tensions is seen as a more peaceful place for human beings, men and women, to interact, do business, and build a healthy civilization - Dr. Katherine Bullock 

Hijab unites me to other Muslim sisters -€“ Hijab identifies us as Muslims and encourages other Muslim sisters to greet us with the salutation of peace, Assalamu Alaikum€. Hijab draws others to us and immerses us in good company.
Abaya liberates me from slavery to physical perfection:€“ Society makes women desire to become €˜perfect objects€™. The multitudes of alluring fashion magazines and cosmetic surgeries show women’s enslavement to beauty. The entertainment industry pressures teens to believe that for clothes, less is better. When I wear Hijab, I vow to liberate ourselves from such desires and serve only Allah. 
Hijab and Abaya do not let others judge me by my hair and curves!“ In schools and professional environments, women are often judged by their physical appearance or physical €”characteristics they neither chose nor created. Hijab forces society to judge women for their value as human beings, with intellect, principles, and feelings. A woman in Hijab sends a message, €œDeal with my brain, not my body!
Niqab gives me power and confidence: In contrast to today'€™s teenage culture, where anorexia and suicide are on the rise, as women attempt to reach an unattainable ideal of beauty, Hijab frees a woman from the pressure to €˜fit in€™. I don't not have to worry about wearing the right kind of jeans or the right shade of eye shadow. I feel secure about my appearance because I only care to please only Allah.