Tambahan info lagi : === Setelah saya menemukan berita ini dalam versi inggrisnya, ternyata sekolah itu nggak salah-salah amat. Jelas punya murid 80% muslim, sekolah ini membolehkan murid-muridnya menutup seluruh tubuh kecuali wajah dan telapak tangan, misalnya dengan pakaian longgar, kerudung, dsb.
Si Begum ini pakai shalwar kameez celana longgar dan atasan longgar berbentuk tunik, dengan kerudung (headscarf). Nah, yg kemudian dipakai olehnya sejak 2002 adalah JILBAB yang sebenarnya (jilbab dalam arti aslinya, bukan yg sudah diterjemahkan salah kaprah ke dalam bahasa Indonesia). Apakah jilbab itu? Itu adalah pakaian one- piece (sepotong kain) yg panjangnya dari kepala sampai kaki. Wajar saja jika sekolah melarangnya karena menganggapnya berbahaya karena panjangnya. Saya pribadi heran kenapa Begum yg tadinya sudah memakai pakaian longgar plus kerudung yg menutup dada lalu memilih menggunakan pakaian padang pasir itu? Ya bagaimanapun, saya menghargai hak dia berpakaian. Mengenai itu berbahaya atau tidak (bisa kesrimpet?), itu kan resiko dia sendiri yg sudah seharusnya konsekuen dgn akibat yg ditimbulkan dari pakaiannya. Salut buat Cherie Booth (istri Tony Blair) yg bisa membela kasus anak ini di pengadilan. Ini ada tulisan menarik dari seorang muslimah, tentang kasus Shabina Begum ini. Kira-kira seperti itu juga yg saya rasakan. Mengapa Begum harus mengganti pakaiannya dengan model yg "tidak umum", padahal selama ini dia sudah "berjilbab" (arti jilbab menurut Indonesia)? (Maaf kalau tulisannya bhs Inggris) Salam, AT March 03, 2005 Will a Muslim woman ever be more than what she wears? By Mona Eltahawy Shabina Begum, a 16-year-old Muslim schoolgirl who won the right on Wednesday to wear a jilbab to her school in the British town of Luton told the British newspaper The Guardian that she felt like screaming with happiness when she heard the court decision. I felt like screaming with anger and frustration when I heard about Shabina's case because once again a Muslim woman is in the headlines only because of what she wears. When will this madness end? Shabina's school did not prevent her from wearing a headscarf. Unlike French schools which have banned the hijab outright, Shabina' s school went out of its way to accommodate the needs of students who are nearly 80 percent Muslim, speak 40 different languages and who are from 21 different ethnic groups. Students could wear the regular uniform or they could wear a shalwar kameez, which consists of loose-fitting trousers and a long tunic. They could wear a headscarf as long as it conformed to certain criteria. In order to satisfy the needs of the diverse background of its students, the school consulted with pupils, parents, schools and leading Muslim organizations when it was formulating its uniform policy. And yet this was not enough for Shabina who wore the shalwar kameez from the time she enrolled at the school when she was 12 until September 2002 when she suddenly decided to wear the jilbab, a long loose fitting one-piece item that covers the body from head to ankles. Her school refused to allow her to attend until she resumed wearing the approved uniform. Shabina took the school to court but her case was rejected by High Court judges last summer. The school had argued that allowing her to wear a jilbab would impact on the rights of other Muslim girl pupils who opposed allowing the jilbab as they felt that it would create a hierarchy of belief at the school. Her school was right. What has become of our faith that it has turned into a competition over who can cover the most? Who convinces young Muslim women that they must cover more and more, going far beyond what is deemed the modest clothing that Islam requires of men and women? Shabina switched to a school that allowed her to wear the jilbab and her case went to the Court of Appeal which on Wednesday agreed that her initial school had a right to set a school uniform policy but that it had failed to consider Shabina's rights under the Human Rights Act. The Guardian reported that Lord Justice Brooke, vice-president of the civil division of the court of appeal, ruled that Shabina's school had: unlawfully excluded her; unlawfully denied her the right to manifest her religion; unlawfully denied her access to suitable and appropriate education. Lord Justice Brooke has committed the simplest mistake that a non- Muslim commits ?he accepted at face value the assertion by Shabina and her lawyers that the jilbab, an especially strict interpretation of modest dress, was a requirement for Muslim women. To this day, Muslim scholars issue various interpretations about Muslim dress. After the 9/11 attacks, some Muslim scholars in the America even told Muslim women they did not have to wear a headscarf if they felt in danger from anti-Muslim attacks. Shabina chose to go beyond a uniform that was deemed acceptable for the other Muslims and denied herself the ability to continue attending her school. She claimed that her school's refusal to allow her to attend classes in a jilbab was a result of post-9/11 bigotry. I assert that Lord Justice Brooke's ruling is a classic example of liberal guilt over the ugly Islamophobia that many Muslims have faced since 9/11. Instead of standing up to a growing conservatism among some Muslims, many liberals will simply give in rather than appear prejudiced. Sadly, most of the points they give in on have to do with Muslim women. This is nothing short of the racism of lower expectations ?they expect Muslims to be extreme, they expect Muslim women to be covered. The Guardian newspaper, which I reported for from the Middle East, committed a grave error in reporting Shabina's story. It did not interview a single Muslim woman who could have told them there is more to being a Muslim than a jilbab and that such a jilbab was over and beyond what is deemed modest. Interestingly, Shabina was represented by Cherie Booth, the wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Some Muslims might see something to celebrate in this and say "Look, the wife of the British prime minister is defending a Muslim girl's rights". There is no need for celebration. I wish Cherie Booth had defended a Muslim girl's right to complete her education against a family who was pulling her out of school early to get married, which happens even in Britain. I wish she had defended a Muslim girl against violence at home ?a suffering that is too often ignored by the Muslim community in the West because it would prefer girls and women suffer in silence than bring shame to the community by speaking out. And what does Shabina think she has achieved? She told The Guardian that the Court of Appeal verdict would "give hope and strength to other Muslim women" and that it was a victory for all Muslims "who wish to preserve their identity and values despite prejudice and bigotry". My response to Shabina is thanks but no thanks. I wore the hijab for nine years from the age of 16 to 25 and do not feel my identity lies in a piece of cloth. I gain my hope and strength by sharing the excitement of ambitious young Muslim women like my sister Noora who loves her university studies. Noora wears the hijab but she knows that it is what is in her head, not what is on it that is more important. Mona Eltahawy is a New York-based columnist for the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. Her website is www.monaeltahawy.com This item is located at: http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2005/03/will_a_muslim_w.php Copyright ?2003-2005 Muslim WakeUp! Inc. The World's Most Popular Muslim Online Magazine http://muslimwakeup.com Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/4F6XtA/_WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
