By Every so often, Western feminists are struck with the need to “liberate” Muslim women from our religion and hijab. FEMEN is a Ukrainian feminist group that recently launched an “International Topless Jihad Day,” a series of demonstrations throughout Europe, in protest of Islam’s “oppression” of women.
First, why is there a prevalent belief that women can only garner attention by displaying their bodies? Why is nudity considered the only form of valid self-expression and freedom?
Second, why is it that white women who certainly aren’t Muslim and have no inkling of our struggles and morals, are actively speaking on behalf of Muslim women without their participation and input?
Third, why is it that when Muslim women react with anger and denounce this movement, their voices are discounted by the very group that seeks to “free” them?
FEMEN leader Inna Shevchenko told Huffington Post UK that “through all history of humanity, all slaves deny that they are slaves. They say they are against FEMEN, but we still say we are here for them. They write on their posters that they don’t need liberation but in their eyes it’s written ‘help me.'”
This flawed, offensive logic strips the legitimacy from Muslim women, their choice of lifestyle, and their voices.
Muslim women are not weak, they are not oppressed, they do not need saving, they do not need nudity or mouth pieces in the form of Western feminists and imperialists, and they do not need to be legitimized through a movement that devalues and denigrates the core values of Islam. We find peace in our choice of dress. We seek to please our Creator. We do not cater to societal norms for the sake of ascribing to what others deem “liberated.”
Muslim women, in a move to counteract “International Topless Jihad Day,” launched Muslim Women Against Femen to reclaim their voice. They uploaded pictures of themselves denouncing FEMEN’s message on social networking sites like Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter, and tagged the project #MuslimahPride.
“Femen I am a strong Muslim woman, do I look like I need imperialists to free me from oppression?”
“I’m a Muslim feminist… FEMEN does not speak for Muslims or feminists.”
“We have a brain. We don’t need your advice, FEMEN. #MuslimahPride”
“I am a PROUD Muslimah
I don’t need “LIBERATING”
I don’t appreciate being used to reinforce WESTERN IMPERIALISM
You do not REPRESENT ME! #MuslimahPride”
Nudity DOES NOT liberate me and I DO NOT need saving #MuslimahPride #FEMEN”
Rest assured: our unified voices will rise in harmony against anyone who tries to stamp them out.
I feel sorry for all slaves who actively embrace their slavery (turning it into a matter of “pride”) and defend their slavers.
It is highly fascinating to me that after reading this article, you still insist on calling Muslim women slaves.
Here’s the secret: There are no “slavers.” We are slaves to God and God alone.
If you can’t understand that, you will never understand Muslim women.
“First, why is there a prevalent belief that women can only garner attention by displaying their bodies? Why is nudity considered the only form of valid self-expression and freedom?”
YEAH! WHY WHERE THEY NOT WEARING T-SHIRTS WITH TEXTS?
Seriously, I have not seen any FEMEN-activist pose naked! I HAVE seen them wearing pantyhouse and sexy underwear in their “naked prayer” though! While men with much more clothes stood and took photos of them… FEMEN women seem to think women are oppressed when they wear more clothes then men, but think women look free when they wear much less clothes then men! They also seem to think the uniform of sex-slaves makes women “look free”
SHAME ON MISOGYNISTIC FEMEN FOR LETTING THE MILLIONS OF WOMEN TRADED AS SEX-SLAVES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD DOWN! If they REALLY cared about all women they would not claim that the look of the WORST form of opression of women is the look of freedom!
I assure you I do HATE hypocritical FEMEN! And I am not a muslim. But I see all they want is attention and I see they use the easiest way possible.. So I think that If they had ANY creativity they would have come up with another way..? But no, they don´t.. They just continue on the same old “naked” routine.. No, FEMEN are not exactly contemplating new ways. They only continue to conform to the tradition of using womens bodies to get attention. Writing “My body is my own” and such slogans on their half-naked bodies… And I think “Uhm, yeah in some aspects maybe, but not visually..” These women themselves conform to the sort of objectification of women that has existed for a long time in the western society. They are in no way empowering any women anywhere by doing THAT and they should know NO women need them. On the contrary. I, as a woman, only get depressed by seeing what they are and what they are not doing. I saw a Tv-show the other day with some young artists and one woman posed topless for her art-project. A guy in the group was really satisfied with this “provoocative act” (that offcourse provoked nobody) but he thought another girl in the group “who had more to come with” should have done the same “provocative” thing. Conforming since 1969..
If a woman REALLY want to provoke misogynists in ALL forms and ALL cultures of the world SHE SHOULD WEAR A VEIL AND OTHER COVERING CLOTHES WITH PRINTS LIKE THOSE OF FEMEN IF SHE DARES! HA! Now THAT would take some REAL courage, because that would provoke a whole load of people. Not JUST some opressive muslim men who think they own a womans body when she covers it. Or FEMEN-activists who think stripping equals freedom! It would actually be a statement of taking back the right to her body IN ALL ASPECS -even visually. She could decide for herself which people would get to see it and not give away that control by letting others spread pictures of her body all over the public sphere. And it would be a REAL new thing in the veil-debate. Not just boring arguments or pointlessness in women trying to help muslim women that don´t want help. It would be new, refreshing and actually would make most people TODAY chocked and rethink their views. In other words this would be REAL ART. I think I might do something like this if FEMEN continues their stupid and misogynic way.
GIVE UP ALREADY FEMEN -YOU STRIPPING DOWN IS IN NO WAY HELPING OPRESSED MUSLIMS! Seriously, focus on the more severe forms of opression than wearing covering clothes IF YOU DARE. In the countries where the veil has been forbidden it has not helped women who where really opressed, just made their lives harder! You need to be an idiot not to understand opression that cannot be seen is the worst form of opression. But thanks to some who only care about what they have to see the most severely opressed muslim women do not even get to leave their homes anymore. I bet they feel such thankfulness for that!
DOWN WITH FEMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish I could meet an elderly woman who would accompany me to a mosque I don,t have the confidence to go alone
Inna Shevchenko seems to be a be a REAL poser who uses her body as a sex-object just to get attention. REALLY original.. She also seems to be really STUPID since she does not reflect on how she herself is enslaved under social norms of sexual exploitation of women. Also REALLY original. The only real original thing about her is she´s out to rescue women like some self-righteous knight. If she really wanted to help opressed women she would have engaged herself in a serious project that actually helped them and focused on them instead of trying to get HERSELF as much attention as possible. She seems like a real hypocrite and I don´t think even the most opressed women would want help from someone acting like her. I totally understand muslim women are hating her claim to fame.