This article is not meant to offend anyone. It is meant to evoke free thinking and open mindedness towards the role of religion in a modern society.
I am fully aware this post is likely to elicit a lot of controversy. But I don't care. I have developed a thick skin over the years. Hence the name of my blog, it is my life, sue me. Or read on.
Before I introduce myself let me begin by saying that, I have BIG issues with collective thinking. The kind of collective thinking that comes with religion. Although the degree differs, most religions have no individualism. It is always a set of rules, laid down by doctrines, that everyone is supposed to follow collectively.
The way I see it, if you were supposed to think for me, you would probably be carrying an extra brain (my brain), in your head, while I will be walking with an empty skull. My point? There is a reason why every individual has a brain dancing inside their skull. Think for your self!
Now, don't get your knickers in a twist, I will let you know what am on about in a minute. Some issues just have to confronted head on. No more hiding behind the camera, no more politically correctness. So here goes:-
My beef
My beef; or whatever you want to call it, is with the treatment of women in Islam. I am particularly miffed by the way an African Muslim woman's life is directed - from the time she says "gah gah" in baby talk - like some kind of screenplay. I, for one, would like to see more Muslim women coming out and saying "bullocks" to the way they are expected to behave.
In fact, my way of thinking borders near that of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Remember her? the anti-Muslim atheist who shocked the world with her somewhat gobby rhetorics of anti-Islam. I agree with her. Not entirely but to some extent.
I do not agree that any religion whatsoever that suppresses individual freedoms of whatever nature, should be celebrated. Though she is a bit of a radical, I do admire Ayaan's insurmountable bravery in standing up for what she believes in. She inspires me and ignites a fire in me to fight oppression. In my own little way.
The history behind it
Like Ayaan, I was born to a Somali-Muslim community, was circumcised at the age of six and have been told what to do for all of my childhood. So I know a few things about unjust treatment. To make my point I will give a few examples of my own struggles, if not for any other reason to confirm that, Ayaan is not the only woman - born Muslim - who thinks there is something wrong with Islam's way of 'picking' on women.
At a very early age, I became aware of the belittlement towards women in my community/religion. There were various times I asked myself why people - especially men - looked down upon the girl child. Why the boy child could get away with mischief while the girl child could not so much as just be a child. There were several instances of my own childhood but a few stuck in my mind.
I was 10 years old when one day I came home from school and I found a local Sheik sat with my parents, telling them that he had seen me the day before with a group of boys. According to him I was "acting in a manner unbecoming of a Muslim girl" and I ought to be punished.
The 'unbecoming' manner he was talking about was, simply playing football with my classmates in an open field near my school. Like any other 10 year old, I could not understand how playing a game of football was so 'shameful', to the point of warranting to punish me. That night I did receive a beating from my mother who told me to never play with boys again.
What baffled me more, was how easy it was for my parents to just take his word for it. Considering that I knew something they did not know. I knew, even at that innocent age, that he wasn't being completely honest with them. There was a way he looked at me, back at the field, that would be termed as definitely 'unbecoming' of a devout Sheik. When I told my parents of what I knew, I was in more trouble for speaking ill of 'such a holy man'.
The very same 'holy man' would later - in a matter of weeks actually - be accused of defiling a 9 year old girl. She later died due to injuries sustained from her rape ordeal. Needless to say, he got away with it. In hushed tones, people whispered that it was "just an accusation and no one could prove anything". In hindsight, I shuttered when I remembered how he looked at me. It stuck in my mind and I still remember his eyes to this day.
As I grew older, when I started my secondary school - I attended a boarding school run by nuns - I began to feel a sense of freedom I had never felt before. I was a teen and I was becoming aware of my sexuality and the world in general. I listened to less and less of the Qoran and more of music. I wore trousers and I befriended boys.
In the secular world, these are merely insignificant motions in a teenage girl's life, propelling her to adulthood. But for me it was a turning point. So I loved it that I could show off my beautiful hair. I took pictures at school without the Muslim gear and I simply enjoyed the sweet freedom of not having someone to tell me, do this or do that. During school breaks however, I would go back to wearing the Hijab, keeping my school life a secret. Keeping my love for music a secret.
One day, my mother found my stash, she found my music collection and the pictures I took at school. They were not inappropriate pictures, but she considered them inappropriate. She set them all on fire, along with any inappropriate clothing she found in my closet. This simple act of so called 'discipline' pained me dearly. Because, I loved my music collection and had spent every penny of my pocket money buying them. Besides these possessions, stood for freedom. Now there was nothing to show for my little secret episodes of free choice.
So briefly, I ran away from home and spent about a week at my non-Muslim friend's house. I envied my friend because she could play music on their stereo. I later returned because I had nowhere to go. That evening, I heard my mother tell our neighbor, that she knew that one day, I would 'bring shame' to my family. That stuck in my mind too.
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