What is Hijab?

In cultures around the world one can see a beautiful array of traditional Muslim dress. Traveling through
countries Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, the Malay archipelago and South Eastern Europe a stunning
diversity of color, patterns, prints and materials greet the eyes. Traditional Muslim clothing not only reflects the
culture of the people and creativity of the clothiers, it comes from a time honored tradition of using locally grown
materials, organic dyes and is especially suited to the climatic conditions of each region. Within this huge range of
fashion is a simple unifying principle modesty.
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts: that is purer for them. Surely God is
aware of everything they do. (Quran 24:30)
In every tradition and culture, there is a concept of appropriate dress. In the west we have dress codes at
restaurants, there is business attire, casual clothing, formal wear and so forth. Within the Islamic tradition, one
essential principle regarding dress is that it not be indecent. Muslim men have a responsibility to dress modestly
just as much as Muslim woman. In fact, modesty is not limited to clothing either. Muslim men are obligated to
treat women with respect, dignity and honor. Ogling or leering at women is forbidden. Inappropriate touching or
remarks are also forbidden. Making a woman feel that she is being objectified or harassed in any way is not only
against Islamic principles and values, it is considered a serious character flaw.
And tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze, guard their private parts, and not display their
beauty except for what normally shows; and to draw their veils over their bosoms. (Quran 24:31)
Modest dress and behavior is a divinely prescribed responsibility for Muslims of both genders. The Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) described modesty as the distinctive quality of Islam. And yet the hijab did not
bar women from being prominent and active participants in the Prophets community. Whether it was in the field
of worship, business, education, charitable work, community and even military service, women were acclaimed
for their notable roles in the Prophetic era.
The hijab involves wearing clothing that is not tight fitting and that covers a womans body with the exception of
her face, hands and feet. This is required when a woman would be in the presence of men who are not closely
related to her. The hijab is not required in front of a womans father, husband, brothers, sons, grandfathers,
grandsons, father-in-law, sons-in-law, nephews, minor male children or elderly men.

Benefits of Hijab
The hijab is a religious head covering that is worn by Muslim women. It generally conceals the neck and hair, and
has a veil for covering the face. Most Muslim women wear the hijab, while refraining from wearing tight clothing.
Donning the hijab and also generally observing a modest Muslim style of dressing offers these benefits.
1. Represents purity
The hijab is regarded like an indication of dignity and purity. It highlights Muslim women as chaste and pure
women. It also sets the wearer apart from immoral behaviors linked to women who wear immodestly. Actually,
the hijab acts like a screen between chaste Muslim women and the worlds evil.
2. Protects from male harassment
Most men do not make lewd gestures or whistle when a woman wearing a hijab passes by. In fact,men view the
hijab like a sign that says off limits and thus do not approach such women. Muslim women by and large have a
low chance of being exploited for their femininity and beauty in contrast with other women.
3. Places focus on intellect
The hijab also benefits Muslim women by forcing people, particularly men, to go past the outer appearances and
focus on the womens intellect. Rather than assessing woman for her mind, the society usually assesses her based
on physical traits. Many people are truly surprised when they discover that a Muslim who wears a hijab is
articulate, intelligent and educated.
4. Eliminates competition amongst women
People in western nations are known for sacrificing health and financial savings so as to have expensive plastic
surgery with an aim of meeting unrealistic standards of beauty. However, through wearing a hijab, Muslim
women can go about their normal duties without worrying about impressing other people.
Wearing a hijab does not have demerits and those who wear it have more strength and confidence as women
become less mindful of their physique and appearance.

Femen's obsession with nudity feeds a racist colonial feminism

International solidarity should take its cue from the women affected, not try to impose values on
communities

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Chitra Nagarajan

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theguardian.com, Thursday 11 April 2013 14.14 BST

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'Femen positions women of the region as veiled and oppressed by their men as opposed to the enlightened women of the west. We know this is
not true' Egyptian women protest against sectarian clashes in Cairo. Photograph: Khalil Hamra/AP

Another week, another heated debate over the tactics and language used by the feminist
protest group Femen, which last Thursday launched an International Topless Jihad Day. The

group, started in Ukraine, uses topless protest as a way to raise the profile of women's
rights. The day of action was called in response to threats received by a Tunisian Femen
activist, Amina Tyler, for posting topless pictures of herself on Facebook.
With slogans such as "nudity is freedom" and statements such as "topless protests are the
battle flags of women's resistance, a symbol of a woman's acquisition of rights over her own
body", Femen claims the removal of clothes in public as the key indicator of the realisation of
women's rights and the most effective type of activism. Everything else is seen as not radical
enough and failing anyway. By these standards, countries in north Africa and the Middle East
and communities from those countries living in Europe are seen to be falling far short.
It argues that it is "transforming female sexual subordination into aggression, and thereby
starting the real war" by "bare breasts alone". Using your naked body can be a legitimate
form of a protest of last resort there is a long history of using naked protest and the threat
of it outside Europe. However, the way it has been used by Femen feeds into and reinforces
a racist and orientalist discourse about the women and men of north Africa and the Middle
East. With statements such as "as a society, we haven't been able to eradicate our Arab
mentality towards women", Femen positions women of the region as veiled and oppressed
by their men as opposed to the enlightened and liberated women of the west who live in a
developed and superior society where they have the "freedom" to remove their clothes.
We know this is not true. Black women (and I'm using black as a political term to denote
shared and continued experiences of racism and colonisation) are not all (and only)
oppressed and black men are not all oppressors. Women in Europe, the United States,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not live in a feminist utopia. There continue to be
active and vibrant women's rights movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The feminist
story belongs to all women, everywhere.
Femen's actions also come at a time of intensifying international backlash against women's
rights that is increasingly being framed, perpetuated and accepted by male elites as rooted
in "the west" and imposed on other countries in a form of cultural imperialism. Unfortunately,
statements from white French women saying things like "better naked than the burqa" feed
this narrative and are more likely to damage rather than support the struggles of the women
they call their sisters.
Its defenders may say that Femen means well but having good intentions is far from enough.
There is a long and problematic history of colonial feminism and the "good intentions" of
outsiders using racialised notions to "save women over there". This actively causes harm,
including when communities react to this by holding on to static notions of "culture" and
"tradition" in the face of outside challenge as a way to resist colonialism and racism.
Women's rights becomes the battleground with feminists from these communities and
countries often left in a double bind, stuck between trying to reject racist ideas of black men
and communities and challenging their attitudes.
We need a politics of international feminist solidarity that integrates a gender, race and postcolonial power analysis and takes its cue from the women affected and those who are
already challenging gender inequality. As I have argued elsewhere, a more holistic and
nuanced approach would consider how patriarchy combines with racism, neo-colonialism
and global capitalism to create a fundamentally unjust world. We need to think about how
our decisions, from where we shop to the issues about which we remain silent, affect the
lives of women and girls in other countries.

Femen has continued to be unapologetic about its tactics and language and refused to
address its blatant racism. When you are criticised by those "for" whom you are meant to be
working, the response should be to think critically on your actions. Its latest piece offers no
self-reflection or attempt to acknowledge criticism from women's rights activists from the
region, only self-aggrandisement. To paraphrase Gayatri Spivak, white women will not save
black women from black men. The role of feminists from outside should be to support the
work of the women in the communities concerned, not add to the problem. International
feminist solidarity is crucial but this is not the way to do it. A true ally does not use racism to
attempt to defeat patriarchy.

How does China censor the internet?

Apr 21st 2013, 23:50 by E.H.

THE first e-mail sent from China, on September 14th 1987, was optimistic: "Across the Great
Wall we can reach every corner in the world." Few of China's 560m internet users now have such
reach, however, because China tightly controls its people's use of the internet. The "Freedom

on the Net 2012" report, issued by Freedom House, an American organisation that tracks
global trends in political freedom, ranked China as the third most restrictive country in the
world when it comes to internet access, after Iran and Cuba (though this ranking excludes those
places, such as North Korea, where ordinary people are not allowed to use the internet at all).
How does China censor the internet?
The Chinese central government has two main ways of controlling what its citizens see on the
web: the Great Firewall, as it is called by foreigners, which is a system of limiting access to
foreign websites which started in the late 1990s, and the Golden Shield, a system for domestic
surveillance set up in 1998 by the Ministry of Public Security. Separate government departments,
along with local and provincial administrations, also have their own monitoring systems.
China began by blocking a list of foreign websites, including Voice of America, human-rights
organisations and some foreign newspapers. But its filters have since become more

sophisticated and can now selectively block specific pages within foreign websites, rather than
making the entire site inaccessible. They can also block particular terms when they are used in
search queries or instant messages. Google is not blocked entirely; instead, users who search
for banned keywords are blocked from Google for 90 seconds, though other websites remain
available. China's many internet companies are regularly issued with lists of restricted keywords,

and often censor blog posts and other content pre-emptively to avoid trouble with the authorities.
In all there are thought to be around 100,000 people, employed both by the state and by private
companies, policing China's internet around the clock. Since 2005 the state has also paid
people, known as the "50 Cent Party", to post pro-government messages and steer online
conversations away from sensitive topics.
China's criteria for censoring the internet are slightly more subtle than foreigners often assume.
In essence it applies the rules that have prevailed since the Tiananmen Square crackdown of

1989: do not jeopardise social stability, do not organise and do not threaten the party.
Accordingly, criticism of mid-ranking officials is tolerated, particularly if it is in keeping with the
government's anti-corruption drive. But attacks on the senior leadership are swiftly removed
(prompting Chinese internet users to refer to senior figures using nicknames or coded language,
in an effort to stay ahead of the censors). The most brutal restrictions are applied to any post that
calls for offline protests or demonstrationseven for pro-government causes. The censorship
system's main goal is to prevent the internet from being used to co-ordinate or organise realworld political activity. In extreme cases, internet access may be cut off altogether, as
happened for ten months in 2009, after riots in Xinjiang, a remote north-western region.
In short, China is having it both ways: it is allowing its citizens to benefit from the social and
commercial aspects of the internet, while placing strict limits on its use for political activism.
Other authoritarian governments consider China's approach a model to be emulated. There is no
doubt that microblogs such as Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, have given the

public a new voice with which to demand more accountability from officials on issues such as
corruption, food safety and air pollution. But so far the government has managed to prevent the
internet being used to campaign for broader political change. Indeed, by providing people with an
outlet to vent their concerns and giving the illusion of public debate, the internet may even
be delaying the radical changes that China needs .