Thursday, May 22, 2008

Did Right Said Fred get it right?

Ok. Get a bucket ready by your side. Or one of those paper bags people use to throw up in during travelling. I believe that this might cause you to cringe in utter disbelief.

Well, I went into google looking for something earlier, and it led me to igoogle, which had this headline below. My thoughts on the issue are italicised.

School uniform sexy, says group
(Sure, whatever you say)

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian group condemned the uniform worn by girls at government schools, saying it encouraged rape and pre-marital sex.
OK, I'm listening(reading)...

“The white blouse is too transparent for girls and it becomes a source of attraction,” National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia vice-president Munirah Bahari said in a statement.
The uniform is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. From the colour right up to the design. It makes you look chubby. I can't imagine anyone being attracted to them (the uniform as well as the kids, cause everything is just too ugly!)

And, for our weather, imagine having the school kids wearing blouses in black or navy. They'd be roasted by the end of the day!!

“It becomes a distraction to men, who are drawn to it, whether or not they like looking at it,” she said, calling for a review of uniform policy so that it did not violate Islamic ideals.
You must be joking, woman! Why would any reasonable grown man be drawn to school kids in uniforms unless they had strange sexual perversions. Note: emphasis on strange sexual perversions. You could be wearing a tent, and they'd think it's sexy. So yeah, go ahead blame the school kids.

In multicultural Malaysia, home to majority-Muslim Malays as well as ethnic Chinese and Indians, female students at government schools have a choice of wearing a white blouse with a knee-length skirt or pinafore.
The standard govt uniform is that offending pinafore and white blouse (which becomes transparent with age due to washing - the country is dusty, and the blouse needs a good scrubbing to look white instead of beige or off white!) Some schools have special uniforms for the prefects. Mostly it's a long sleeved shirt and a skirt, and blazers on assembly days.

They may also wear a “baju kurung” and a headscarf is optional for Malay students.
True.

Munirah said that “covering up” according to Islamic precepts was important to fend off social ills, including “rape, sexual harassment and even premarital sex.”
“This leads to babies born out of wedlock and, to an extent, even prostitution,” she said.
She doesn't know that her statements are going to be torn apart and scrutinised, and that she's going to be the laughing stock of May. Covering up is fine, but it doesn't prevent these so called social ills. Does she need to be reminded about the enginner who was raped and killed in a bus although she was 'covered up'. What did she do? Bat her eyelashes?

Munirah should have seriously done a survey prior to this. What I'd suggest is a multiple choice questionnaire with the title "What turns you on" It should be a multiple choice type with pictures (in case people can't remember what the uniform looks like) I'd love to see the look on the faces of the victims of her questionnaire.

Had she done that, it would have saved her from all this embarassment!

“Decent clothes which are not revealing can prevent and protect women from any untoward situations,” she said, suggesting that girls wear a blouse of a different colour or with an undergarment.
Ok fine... but no one has complained till today. You do realise that it is a uniform, and schools are cruel enough to punish you for any modifications. Need I remind you of that poor engineer again? And I disagree with your statement. Decent clothes do not protect. Age does not protect.

However, the girls themselves also came in for criticism, with the association saying that some used the white blouse to lure men.“This is the source of the problem, where we can see that schoolgirls themselves are capable of using this to attract men to them,” Munirah said.
They're teenagers who are ruled by hormones. Of course they're interested in the opposite sex. (I think boys, and not men) Nevertheless I doubt they use their uniforms for it. I left school only 10 years ago. The girls used to bring other clothes to change into after school, either for tuition or hanging out because it was just plain ugly, and boring. Enough said!

“This could see them getting molested, having premarital sex and all sorts of things.” – AFP
I don't know why I wasted my time on this, but it was fun. You know, Munirah... I think you're a "mat glamour" You want your name to be famous. You want people talking about that mad Munirah woman in the days to come. You want them talking about you in their blogs. I think your wishes just came true!

The school uniform... sexy? How?
Notes: Picture was flicked off wikipedia. News source was from Star Online.

18 comments:

  1. I do sometimes wonder how perverted are the people who go on about these things. To normal people those uniforms are an unflattering tent... only a really perverted person would think otherwise - thus the people who are really concerned about these things must really be perverted! So the bastions of modestly are the biggest perverts around - i reckon!

    I do think modesty is something that is underrated in western culture, but obviously there's a happy medium. And violent crimes are the responsibility of the perpetrator no matter what the victim is wearing.

    The main problem with uniforms (as I have experienced them - they weren't too unlike the ones pictured either) is their remarkable tendency to keep you too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

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  2. yeah definitely someone wanted attention and the subject just happened to be the school uniforms. I remember them being the most ugliest thing ever. I read the article in the newspaper and had a good laugh.

    vikram's mommy

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  3. nadia: ditto

    aunty: I haven't had a chance to find out more about this munirah person, but you could be right about her being perverted in the first place, hence the lame ass statement.

    I really think she should sit down and dedicate a few hours each day watching the Crime and Investigation channel. Maybe then she'd understand

    Vikram's mommy: It's funny, no doubt... but it does portray us badly in the international scene, don't you think?

    And yeah, the uniforms were ugly gila babi... plus the sad white socks and white shoes (which got so dirty no thanks to our weather!)

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  4. I read this in The Star as well and was appalled by the ridiculous statements made. Truth is, people who talk about covering up etc. are fearful of their own perverted selves; feeling dirty, ashamed and in self denial of their sexual desires and / or sexual depravity.

    Fair enough, there are men who find school uniforms sexy, but there are men who find women who cover up from head to toe sexy as well. So what does she suggest we women do? Segregate women and men? Move the women to a different land?

    You are right - they are teenagers and have raging hormones and a curiosity that doesn't necessarily kill the cat.

    Instead of moving back into the middle ages, she should be suggesting proper sex education in schools.

    Has she forgotten about 3 yr olds and 12 yr olds getting raped by their step-fathers or grandfathers? What does a 3 yr old do to attract that sort of cruel act?

    Our school uniform is as decent as it gets. The problem does not lie there. She should do a proper study and look at the overall picture on this matter before making silly statements in the media.

    Pffff....Malaysia Boleh! Excuse me while I throw up.

    If you don't mind I'm going to put this up on my blog.

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  5. I love how Islam is supposed to be a religion of tolerance and discipline and yet people find reasons to hide from the world behind religion. (That is not sarcastic jibe, I am a Muslim myself). Everything about it is intended to remind us of moderation and dissuade us from our baser selves. On some level, the fact that so many issues of sexuality are taboo, are the cause of much of this behavior. As long as there is no discourse, the world is free to twist the raging hormones and minds of young people which ever way. The result is never good. I wouldn't worry too much about how this plays in international media. It is not as if there is any country on earth that can claim any level of moral ascendancy. For heavens sake, the western world has 1000 years of colonialism, bondage, rape and unremitting violence on its hands.

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  6. The bottom line is most of the office bearers in Malaysia are keeping their sense of logic and rationality somewhere else! Often coming out with these kind of statements has become norms for them..you pakai sexy ker tak pakai sexy ker is not a factor for a person who is prying on the children..

    Munirah, pikir la sikit..

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  7. anita: Her idea in general indicates that she thinks women ask for it when they get raped, etc. It's like killing all the chickens in the coop because there is a fox outside.

    Anyway, the segregation does occur, especially in local public varsities. When I was in UTM, we were divided into groups of siswa and siswi, and made to sit separately (for formal functions) At least classroom sessions and groups were not restricted. However, the segregation never prevented people from using their cars as a venue. It all goes back to hormones :)

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  8. cyberfish: Crimes happen in all societies. Pinning the blame on dressing is the biggest crime ever. It is baseless, and she wrote her piece based on her gut feeling. No statistics whatsoever to prove her point. That and the fact that the Malaysian media has nothing better to pick up and report. The newspapers are full of feedback from the general public regarding this issue.

    vivek: yes, I agree -their logic simpan kat rumah kot. Kind of embarassing to admit that we're all from the same country!

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  9. uh....i was agreeing with you.

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  10. cyberfish: i noticed... the reply was intended as an update to what i read in other medias. I opted for lengthy replies today. Sorry if my reply made you think otherwise.

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  11. no, not at all. my smarmy response was merely acknowledgement that my response to your article may have been overly lengthy and therefore ambiguous or unclear. So in an effort to remove that ambiguity i just made it a little more obvious. As i should have to begin with.

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  12. I agree that rape is most of the time is nothing to do with the attire... A lot of rape cases involves innocent young victim.. To link rape with attire, that is a very dangerous statement..

    Meaning that there is a valid reason for people to rape other people because they are turn on with the attire... Meaning we blame the victim and not the rappist..

    But I have no problem if there is an initiative by the government to change the colour of the uniform to maybe blue or green...

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  13. http://www.geocities.com/middleeastwomen/html/oppression.htm

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  14. cyberfish: lol! ok...

    lttpmb: precisely... it is a dangerous statement. Which is what all the backlash is all about.

    ss: ok, gotta check that out...

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  15. hello Nuuusha :)

    Basically that is an article highlighting the use of religion in the oppression of women sexually (and otherwise).

    So it might be upsetting to some people.

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  16. Oh, and i think the uniforms are cute :)

    I hope that doesn't make me a perverted molester of young innocent girls?

    Also I am mildly disturbed by negativity around girls enjoying the fact that they are attractive. Positive self-worth is never a bad thing.
    Also if their behavior leads to pre-marital sex, thats completely their choice, and no one should have the right to dictate that choice for them.

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  17. ss: yes, that's true... can't seem to get the page though... yahoo! says its missing. Lol! you think the uniforms are cute? That's a first!!

    Well, the thing about this whole article is firstly, it was written by the vp of a muslim students society. And basically as someone who is a non-muslim, I know better than to poke my nose in religious affairs. I was just condemning the fact that she blamed the attire and that girls are to be blamed if they get raped, which is ridiculous.

    And yes, over here, pre-marital sex also falls into the hands of religious affairs (once again for the muslims), so I'm sticking my nose out of it.

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