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Sunday, June 21, 2015

In gymnast’s outfit issue, idiocy still rules – Sonia Devi

Image result for farah ann

Earlier today I asked a pro-democracy activist on how she felt about the latest of Malaysia’s “vagina” issue, she responded me with her initial single word response “ridiculous”. As many of you know, Farah Ann Abdul Hadi, who is a female Muslim was criticised by religious leaders for wearing a leotard as she won two gold medals for her country.
God dammit! Two gold medals yet people are slamming her. Muslims leaders have expressed sharp disapproval for showing off her “aurat”. Here you may ask what is aurat? It is an Islamic word meaning the shape of genitalia and thighs which religious texts say must be covered.
Cleric Harussani Zakaria told one local paper: “Gymnastics is not for Muslim women. It is clear that exposing one’s aurat and the shape of one’s body is forbidden in Islam.
“If Muslim women want to participate in gymnastics, they have to find outfits which cover the aurat and this, in turn, might not be suitable for the sport.”

Roszida Kamaruddin who is the head of the female wing of the National Muslim Youth Association said: “Women should not be stopped from sports but they must prioritise the Islamic codes in sports plus there are many Muslim female athletes who succeed even by covering their aurat.”
Here’s the thing: human beings should be at liberty to make choices upon free will. It’s ridiculous for one to say you’ve bring shame on yourself by exposing yourself too much. That they can’t appreciate sport excellence and your well-deserved honour shows there’s something wrong with those self-centred people who act as our leaders. There are still far too many Malaysians who remain politically naive or caught napping, having been lulled into slumber by the leaders of our country.
However at a press conference in Singapore, Khairy Jamaluddin said: “As the sports minister I still hold to the principle that it is up to the athlete on what he or she wants to wear as long as the attire is regulation approved by the federation, by the sport.
“That’s his or her choice,what he or she wants to wear.
“I think this whole incident also smacks of sexism. Nobody has complained about kinky Speedos or Sazali (Samad) wearing tight shorts when he flexes his muscles but when it comes to gymnasts, suddenly it’s a big problem.
“In gymnastics Farah wowed the judges and brought home gold. In her deeds only the Almighty judges her. Not you. Leave our athletes alone.”
Frankly, I agree. If one wants to be all technical on what is appropriate and whatnot, take a good look at our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor. You don’t see her wearing the hijab all the time.
Come on, drop the hypocrisy.  Another, Mohd Fuad, echoed Khairy’s sentiments of sexism: “I feel male bodybuilders appear even more naked so why isn’t that an issue? Why must there be an issue when it involves women?”
Our former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said misguided religious teachings are why some Muslims were honing in on a national gymnast’s attire rather than her medal-winning exploits. Zaid suggested that most of these Muslims were being influenced by religious preachers who think they understand the religion and push forth their own ideologies despite causing a negative effect all around.  Again, this kind of criticism reflects the deeply sexist bias against women in our society. It is high time we had women muftis in Malaysia to help combat this ingrained misogyny in our culture, he said.
With this I conclude that the leaders in Malaysia needs to re-evaluate their purposes, gender equality is a human right. Women are entitled to live with dignity and with freedom from want and from fear.
One should not criticise Farah Ann for her clothing choices and be keen on it. Instead one should embrace her victory.
*Sonia Devi reads The Malaysian Insider.

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