Rayah Magazine: The hijab at work…

Rayah Magazine: The hijab at work…: "I recently got an invitation to a lecture on the hijab by email interestingly. I thought to myself oh here we go … again! I have heard, ..."

The hijab at work…

I recently got an invitation to a lecture on the hijab by email interestingly. I thought to myself oh here we go … again! I have heard, read and talked about the hijab yesterdays and many more past. But seeing that it was on a weekend, out of my never ending desire to learn and the discipline to listen, off I went.

The first shoe dropped when the lecture was not in defense of the hijab. There was nothing to be defended about it. It was for believing women. Those who disagreed had the lines clearly drawn; they belong to the other side of the coin. [ النور، ٣١ ]  وَقُل للمُؤمِناتِ 

"And say (O Muhammad (SAAW) to the believing women" (Qur'an 24: 31)

The second shoe dropped moments later when the direction of the lecture took on the acceptance or the lack of it, at the work place. Make no mistake; the aggrieved were those who were not ones to wear it at any one time, it simply hurt their eyes, person and generally class to see their hijab adorned colleagues. Here, I got a little jolt in my heart to write home about bits of the lecture I thought I could share with you.

That it’s old fashioned and drab is not one issue I would like to discuss. Fashion and glamour are personal choices. Besides it will be shallow of me to dignify such arguments with a reply. What am interested in is the hypocrisy of the employers who pick on our brilliance and efficiency at the work place (they are blind about the hijab at this point) but find it out of place during the coffee breaks or in the meetings. What you should look at is my work not how I dress.

I will briefly refer to the Qur’an (of course) on the hijab… wear the hijab so you will be known… يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ 

[ الأحزاب، ٥٩ ]  يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they should be known and not molested."(9) (Qur'an 33:59)

I invite ye to appreciate why the hijab adorned woman will be known (or should be known) effortlessly

· For brains- wearing the hijab automatically disqualifies the use of her curves as a tool to get or keep her job. For her, it’s about results. The long yards of cloth will force you to listen.

· For decency – need I say more on this?

· For her unquestioning belief – surely I don’t need to labor you with how those who chose to dress this way are, believing women?

· For her patience- do you know how much patience it takes to wait for someone to stop looking you over before they listen to you?

· For her optimism – the hope is that they will be rewarded in heaven despite them not knowing how heaven looks like or when they will enter its gates. How optimistic can one get?

· For will and character – you must be a person of good character to chose humility over vanity

· For confidence – believe me, it’s at this point that you can tell who is confident of themselves as a whole. Wearing skimpily may translate into a desperate or unconscious attempt at pulling attraction towards you. This may mean you are not confident of what you have to present or that you cannot hold the fort without some borrowed confidence.

· For empathy- it’s believed that men find it hard to control their sexual thoughts on sight of particular bits of the female anatomy. Imagine the hours spent while day dreaming of what you can do if only you got the chance to feel those breasts… those in hijab have empathy for you and your job.

· For discipline – most of you will do something because the over head authority will reprimand you immediately. Has anyone ever seen God? He is the one who told us to dress this way. Following his command without him chasing after us is of utmost discipline.

Before you squeeze into a small corner to gossip about this article, ask yourself why, when upon marriage, women tend to go for longer, lose and more comfortable clothes. Or that, husbands will ask of their wives to change into something “more appropriate” before they leave the house? You may want to reconsider the manner of dress if you are to have a sensible appraisal at work or have someone – anyone take you seriously.

I will take offence at the employer who minds my hijab after them demanding that employees dress decently at work. Besides scoffing at you, I will comfortably assume you are insane, hypocritical or are simply inviting me to sue you.

it is indeed for this reason that I gave my self the challenge to organize the first ever Hijab show in my country.

A dusty summer day....

The challenge of organising an event that is delicate and new in any given society requires humility, patience and persistence aside from the usual requirements of success. I am constantly learning that to get things done, personal interferance is a pre requisite. I read some where that effective time managment interpretes doing the easy things first, delegating those tasks that you can to other poeple. About the delegation, finding someone who shares your passion and ideas is harder than frying ice blocks!
It has been wonderfully hot and since I have spent this beautiful day moving up and down this dusty city, I have not the heart to sift through my picture bank to give you a picture to look at.
However, if you want something nice. Surat ARAHMAN always melts my heart. until then, skimbugwe@gmail.com I will be patiently waiting.

passion for fashion!

Ramadan is around the corner and while the entire Muslim population has mixed feelings on how to react to it, it is indeed one of those things that are inevitable blessings. what the season represents is entirely a personal matter. what we do personally and individually is reflective on whether we contribute to the development of the Mulsim society by protecting the sacred norms, or by destroying it by carelessly diregarding them. Which ever way we look at it, it is incumbent upon us to do due diligence in the spread, protection of at least one aspect/piller/ettiquete of Islam.

As a young energetic woman, with fashonable aspirations, I am undertaking a pleasant challenge of "Raising awareness of the Hijab" to achieve this noble cause I am dedicating the next edition of the rayah magazine to the Hijab and organising the first ever hijab runway show. No, its not for bikinies, see throughs or skimpy outfits. Rather a representation of modesty, creativity and passion.

save the date 31st july 2010. At the Imperial Royale Hotel Kampala.

Remeber to save the date

weekend ideas........

for the ladies who love color.....

The chalenge of weekend hijab;

I find my self a victim of the challenge muslim women face when the weekend draws in on what to wear and how to wear it. I am sometimes torn between the jeans and the floral skirts. When I think about the tropical heat, and the fact that weekend translates fashionably into comfort, light fabrics, and color, I always go for comfort and avoid bits that will affect the aspects of myhijab like transparency.

when it gets to accessories, I go for functionality. Big bags are the "in thing" but if they do not work for me, why should I have one? We are not slaves to fashion but rather the masters. what makes a great outfit is how you wear it. Even a rag would look great if worn with grace.

HIJAB DONT'S

DONT WEAR SEE THROUGH SKIRTS, DRESSES OR TROUSERS.

ALWAYS keep a bottle of conditioner. ALWAYS!

forget the usual stress we get each morning. Mine, today like many women I know had another twist altogether. I was having a bad hair day! wait, the hair is almost always under a scarf. my worry? The whole lot was entangled. Now you may wonder why a veiling babe concerns her self with the looks, feel and style of hair. we do more so than you know.
Any way back to the hair mess, I couldn't get round to how it got that way given that I had slept like a baby through the night (honestly). Combs, Brushes, even sticks wouldnt help. I tried every posible means to disentangle- nowthis is African hair we are talking about proudly thick, dark and yep, hard, Verry hard-never mind my lateness.
After about an hour, I remebered my grandmother's good old words - coconut milk makes your hair soft and entangle free. I run into the bathroom like a mad woman hoping that the fusion conditioner I had, had some in it.
You guessed right! it did not but had avocado I curesed my self why I would buy such a thing, was I mad? well,it may have been not as good but it did the job.

sometimes hair can be ad avocadoa bother, and no woman will go out with a lousy head of hair. No self respecting woman hijab or no hijab. I know the hair dresser does it best, but a bottle of conditioner will be usefull on arainy day.

summer goodies........

Predictably we in Kampala are in summer(arent we always?). Muslimwomen are not averse to fashion. So whether working or at home, being fashionably dressed calls for your understanding of the weather. Now that it is summer, you definately have to have color! you dont have to put alot of thought in it. just let your moodguide you. and while you are at it, you might want to get a look if not for less, then maybe exactly like this one. remember, attitude is every thing. You will look cool in the hijab if you feel cool!

does the shoe fit?

I love shoes. Really. Some times I buy them without really needing them. But these babies are unvoidable. Now that we are raising awareness for the hijab, I might as well point out one thing that iritates me when it comes to shoes. fitting. Some feet overflow (its the feet that are big rather, its the shoe that is a size smaller), others swim (this time the shoe is a size bigger than the shoe). This puts a sad finishing to your outfit.

Hijabs are long and at the end of all those yards, one expects to find a perfect finish. When beginning a new day, we usually think about the numerous things we have to do, some of them non important really. And while we dress up, comfort plays second feedle to smartness. Its only when you
get into the office and the running around is unavoidable that you wonder if
they fit well enough to run around in all day. Did you know that shoes contribute upto 30% of productivity ?

Did you that shoes contribute upto 40% on the smartness of your hijab?





Just asking.





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