PovertyChallenge

Often when the media presents a story, it does so as a story-teller; the ‘facts’ can be selected to lure you into a certain way of thinking.

Like most ‘covered’ Muslim ladies, I believe Islam has liberated us. Here are just a few of the many myths about Islam that I would like to dispel:

1.       MYTH: The less of ‘us’ you see (i.e. our skin/hair/shape) the more oppressed we are.

TRUTH: Covering is a form of worship to our Lord; what He commands, we obey, and there is always Wisdom behind His commands.

We consider ourselves to be slaves in complete submission to the Creator rather than slaves to His creation (i.e. the society) and its pressure to look a certain way.

If a woman is free to dress HOWEVER she likes, surely she is free to wear as MUCH as she likes (e.g. covered)?

Modesty is the policy in Islam for both men and women. It is our identity and most of all: it is our choice to follow the Commandment of our Beloved Lord.

2.       MYTH: The man controls the woman in every single way.

TRUTH: This is one of the greatest misunderstandings a ‘non-Muslim’ may have.   In the Sight of Allah (God), every soul is equal to one another. However, equality doesn’t equate to being the same. Men and women were made distinctively different. With differences come different purposes, roles and responsibilities.

A narration of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) states that “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother”, displeasing your mother is enough to deny you entrance into Paradise, Paradise being our ultimate goal. This is just one example of the elevated status that women are endowed with in Islam.

3.       MYTH: Women in Islam are oppressed.

TRUTH: Islam is not guilty of oppressing women; Islam is for all of humanity.

As a religion comes into contact with non-native cultures, the two sometimes intertwine. Culture can play a positive role but can easily be detrimental, as much culture-influenced innovation is brought into the religion through ignorance and the contextual passage of time, which can lead to a fundamental changing of the Laws of God to suit the people. This is considered a major sin in Islam.

An example of this would be the Forced Marriage issue that is prevalent within some nations. Dissimilar to the cultural notions, Islamic scripture deems forced marriages as forbidden. If a man or woman is forced into a marriage, their marriage contract is invalid and the forced party can seek annulment immediately.

Despite the distorted image of Islam following 9/11, the conversion to Islam is at its peak in our lifetime. The majority of these converts are women and journalists like Yvonne Ridley and Lauren Booth tell their own conversion stories. They can speak marvellously in volumes, so I won’t go into it any further.

What I hope to have achieved with this, is to make you question the ideologies of groups and individuals – be they religiously affiliated or not, including the content of my entry.

Blindly listening to one person is NOT part of Islam, as Islam is the religion that invites you to think and explore the AUTHENTIC and LOGICAL sources to refine your understanding of the world and its inhabitants. And THAT is what I believe to be liberation, NOT oppression.

Moral of the story: don’t get it from the story-teller. Get it from those living it.

My boyfriend Adam and I decided to go to Birmingham for my friend Katherine's birthday but we had to stop to get Adam some jeans that he could go out in.  I probably do not have to tell you how utterly useless to his shopping experience I was and his reaction was "you know what? Let's not bother, this is completely pointless".  I knew he needed to get some jeans to I had to pause for a moment and to avoid a divorce on the shop floor of T.K Maxx, let him know when I didn't think the trousers were completely hideous.  Divorce didn't happen and we walked away with a nice pair of jeans for him.

We met Katherine in Birmingham centre where she was picking up a few things.  We went to a shop where she tried on what I thought were completely horrendous looking shoes with a mirrored bow on the side that she was very close to buying.  I had to make throwining up noises on the side to make it clear what my thoughts were on them.  I believe that was more a service to the community and to Katherine's feet than a gratuitous opinion giving frenzy.

The day ended at The Glee Club, a comedy club in the centre of Birmingham and it was all going quite well because the very first act was not that funny but as the evening went on, the comedy got so good I was nearly crying with laughter. 

I had failed yet again.

Apologies for the lack of an update for the past two days! I'm now able to catch up with you guys about how awfully my challenge has spiralled out of control!

Thursday was meant to be the only day where I would give myself the liberty to speak, due to the fact that a group assignment I had to start and finish on the day would contribute towards my course mark, so I do not apologise for talking then! However, since that afternoon, it's been just too hard to keep quiet! The group assignment was the last task in a module we have now completed on my course, and my friends went for a little drink to celebrate. I therefore joined them, and from that moment I have not been able to keep silent for longer than half an hour at a time!

When no-one's around, most people would believe that I would talk as much as I want to fill in the silence, and no-one would know, however this is not the case. To keep as true to the challenge as possible, I have even refrained from speaking out loud to myself behind closed doors (and seeing as I can't amuse myself with late night solo karaoke to my iTunes, it is almost an impossible task!!) but now I've even let go on that front.

Thursday evening spelled disaster when I had to return home to not-so-sunny Lichfield for the weekend, and it took just 15 minutes for my parents to break me! I only saw them up to twice last year during each term, if that, and this year hasn't been much different, so I hope those of you doing similar challenges this week, or those who don't see their family as often as they would like, will forgive me just this one time! If the challenge was on any normal week, things might have gone a bit more smoothly, but alas, I am very weak-willed. I cherish the fact that I can say whatever I like and not be afraid of the consequences of my words. Unfortunately, other people in different countries don't have that luxury.

Some of my favourite programmes on TV are satirical comedy shows, and if anyone in a country like Cuba, North Korea etc. were to lampoon their government/media in the same way, I can assure you they wouldn't be around for very long. So many little things contribute to the restrictions placed on those who are not allowed to express an opinion, whereas we take the ability for granted. The last few days have really shown me that when it has almost been physically awkward for me not to speak in certain situations!

Hope I haven't rambled on for too long for you, but to end on a happier note, I've just chanced upon a BBC article which gives a more promising outlook to China's state of affairs when it comes to communication: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11576592 

It's definitely worth a read! Oh and by the way, Thursday's exam and assignments were not that bad! And a good hearty meal afterwards always puts a smile on my face!

It's bonfire night tonight, went to a fantastic display with some friends but how do you watch fireworks without voicing an opinion?

No WOWs or AHHHHs or OOOOHs, it was hard but inside me I was jumping up and down with excitement. 

At a comedy club tomorrow.............really not a great week to have no opinion.

My poverty challenge has raised a few interesting debates among my friends (none of which I have been able to add my opinion to :/ ). A few of my (more pedantic) friends argued that ‘Thankyou’ could be considered an opinion as I would be choosing to be polite. I’m not quite sure I agree, though I can only say that on here so I hope they’re reading! Another idea was that I wasn’t to laugh, as that would be voicing my opinion of how funny I find something.   Any thoughts?

So far, I have found my task extremely difficult, I constantly forget and have started talking to myself. A lot. I find I get the best answers ;) and I’m the only person allowed to hear my opinions this week so I've been airing them to myself in a constant stream of mutterings . So I think an apology is needed to anyone I may have scared when sitting next to me on the bus!

Today's horoscope for Leo must have just read epic fail, because that's what today has resulted in. Firstly, I would just like to say that staying silent whilst ordering a Subway sandwich is not a viable option, especially if the staff are about to put those nasty plastic cheese triangles on your sandwich! And secondly, revision with your friends is too hard to do when you can't help anyone else, which made me break the rules not an hour ago and help my friend.

If I was attached to a shock collar for this week, I would have died of electrocution tonight! But tonight I only spoke in helping my friend, and it was all in the name of altruism, which, at the end of the day, is what charities try to undertake in helping the impoverished. So my conscience should let me off just this once, right?

Wrong. At first I only foresaw the poster task in the exam itself as my only stumbling block, but a question from a stranger or a hilarious quip from my friends can just solicit an unconscious reaction to reply, and that isn't helpful to me at all! And it isn't strengthening my message to raise the awareness of those in dire straits due to their government's harsh and unfair restrictions on their voice as a collective. Tip for the week: MUST WORK HARDER.

And I leave you tonight with my mid-week paper collection update! My notepad has been the extension of my vocal chords this week, and already my thoughts are generating the need for trees to topple! Don't worry, I am planning to recycle it all as soon as the challenge is over to ensure that I'm not failing at helping to combat climate change either! And I do apologise for the mitigating circumstances tomorrow, I just really don't want to fail my degree!! 

I really faced a dilemma tonight with the restrictions on my voice. I attend a scriptwriting group in my university and whilst trying to write a play, the lack of an opinion definitely does not help to contribute to making a story!

Although I will have lost my voice for this week (I've even had to stop singing out loud in my room!!) I will be back to normal as normal can be at the end of this week, so it does give me great perspective on those who live under regimes of constant censorship and fear.

For example in China, people can have their mobile phone networks disconnected if they are sending messages that appear to contain 'illegal or unhealthy content', meaning that anyone who believes that the Chinese government isn't handling a certain civil issue correctly and discusses this with a friend via SMS or even on an internet chat room, the consequences could be severe for that person just for the simple fact that they hold an opinion! The Chinese government has even put complete nationwide restrictions on the websites Google.com, Youtube and Facebook! Self-expression on a political or social scale is completely taboo there, and that isn't right.

I will feel better when my challenge is over, but for now I will happily continue to blog my thoughts throughout the rest of this week, completely unrestricted. And don't say I do nothing for my audience, here's a little light reading here if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_words_censored_by_search_engines_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China (methinks this is taking censorship a bit too far!!)

“Trick question, feminists can't change anything.”

Any of the views expressed in this blog are arguments, supported with facts.

Welcome to day one of my poverty challenge 1/11/10.

Today a woman is standing trial for stabbing her MP. She said that she did it because he voted for the Iraq War.

Since 2003, more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed, a war based on intelligence which has now proved to be untrue, votes of just 650 people, MPs, and the decisions of two world leaders who have since left office.

Several million people marched against the war, part of the War on Terror that blunders on in 2010.

The right to ‘freedom of speech’, to express ones’ opinion, was first recognized more than 2,000 years ago.

In many ways, it is hard to even conceive a life without it and this challenge has already presented me with some hurdles.

From making everyday choices, ‘Where would I like to go for tea?’ to expressing a preference at the ballot box, making decisions based on my opinion is in everything I do.

Today, in France, you will protest, in the United States, you will rally.

Even a simple joke can send a message.

How and why are some people deprived from expressing their opinion, making informed choices about their lives, having a voice?

Who and where does it happen and how does it differ around the globe?

And what happens when people’s voices aren’t heard?

What drives a woman to stab her MP?

In this blog I will seek to highlight examples, from the UK and around the world, of people’s lives when they do not get to have an opinion, trying to present only facts, as they speak for themselves.