The hijab wearing Barbie – a symbol of oppression or an expression of a liberated mind?

 

I chanced upon a Facebook post today about the launch of a hijab wearing Barbie and needless to say it has unleashed a barrage of animated responses. I avoid getting into any kind of Twitter or FB wars but the arguments sparked a debate in my mind as well.

Was the new Barbie glorifying what is widely believed to be a symbol of oppression? Or does it instead stand for values of acceptance and tolerance? Can we say with conviction that all women wearing the hijab are oppressed? Is liberation defined by what we wear or by the maturity of thoughts in our mind?

This could work both ways. It’s actually another example of how quickly we fall prey to stereotypes – external appearances have always determined how we perceive a person. This superficial evaluation only succeeds in misleading us and more often than not, in clouding our judgement. Yet we never learn.

We simply cannot assume that all women wearing the hijab are oppressed. It could be that they feel more comfortable wearing one as that may be the effect of the culture they have grown up in. If it is a choice that they have made for themselves, we must respect their freedom to exercise it without labelling them as regressive. Even if that choice has been the outcome of their upbringing, they are totally within their rights to adhere to a dress code they are familiar with.

But as I said it needs to work both ways if we want to create an atmosphere of harmony and empowerment. As long as the women wearing a hijab do not impose the same on their daughters and not even for a moment believe that their dress code is the only way that defines grace and dignity in a woman, they are completely justified in their choice.

Why not perceive the hijab as just a fabric covering the head – why must we classify a woman who wears it (or doesn’t) into a certain category?  Neither should the hijab stand for oppression nor should it be glorified as a measure of a woman’s decency or character. Neither should a hijab wearing woman be dismissed as submissive nor should a conventionally or unconventionally dressed woman be labelled as “immodest” or “provocative”. Why are we reducing a woman merely to the clothes she wears?

If we want true empowerment for women, it’s also we women who need to liberate ourselves from the temptation to assume. And why are we only singling out the hijab? What about the countless other stereotypes that abound about women, by women, among women? Even today in most of the Oriental cultures a “good” girl is one who knows how to cook and make perfectly round chapattis and any new bride that deviates from this is given a hard time by her own kind.

Leave the hijab wearing Barbie alone – let her attire be an example of our diversity as a race, an expression of our freedom to choose and of our liberated minds that are open and secular.

My rendezvous with a celestial spectacle

 

The thought of having been witness to a play of light and shadow at such a grand cosmic level is at once thrilling, awe-inspiring and humbling. What can be more astounding than to have celestial bodies, millions of kilometers apart demonstrate a simple principle just by conforming to basic rules of physics!

I think this is what is so truly fascinating about eclipses – they spur the imagination, inspire wonder and make us feel connected in an uncanny, bizarre way with the workings of the universe. We get to experience live the movement of the earth and the moon – it gives us a feeling of being completely in tune with the rhythm of the universe albeit for a brief span of time.

Although the moon obscuring the sun in totality would be one of the most breathtakingly beautiful sights to behold, I found myself strangely resigned at the prospect of watching the partial phenomenon. And it did not diminish any of the marvel or the awe – the excitement was palpable in each and every person present there, as people from diverse walks of life, of every hue and colour gathered in unbridled enthusiasm and waited patiently for their turn to use the special telescope.

Which brings me to another huge reason to absolutely love eclipses. In our modern world such phenomena bring people together like little else can as we unite with the common aim of being a spectator to a rare and magnificent occurrence. Few can remain unmoved and unaffected as our planet, star and satellite align themselves to create such a magical effect. Some perceive it as a divine miracle and others as a splendid astronomical event but no one can escape the excitement it triggers.

If only there were more occasions when humanity could unite under a common cause – bound by a compelling desire to discover, understand and experience nature in all her enigma and majesty – it might just make us a more humble and tolerant species.

On that thought – eagerly awaiting my next rendezvous!