Wednesday 8 August 2012

I AM VEILED & I AM LIBERATED!

A chatting with a Filipino male speaker in one of the conferences I attended years ago ignites this. This is a list of answers to his bold yet innocent question “Do you have many women without veil here [Malaysia], the more liberated women???
Always a wordy writer I am, I initially wanted to pen down a long piece of writing, expressing my thoughts on this matter. Shame on me - long years it takes and it never gets done.
My pre-maturely “dead” essay was revisited, today while I was attending a workshop and this long piece of poetry is a fruit of my refreshed brain, re-energized mind, just a tiny drop from my deep sea of answers as to “HOW does it feel, WHAT does it mean being covered/hijabed/tudung-ed/veiled. This is a political me – a tudung-ed Malay Muslim who chooses words as a means of expression. 

I AM VEILED & I AM LIBERATED!

Yes, Mam!
I’m veiled, I’m liberated
For my hijab doesn’t cut my quick steps
It suppresses not, great things in my head.

Yo, Sistah!
My hijab is always on, I’m liberated
That piece of pashmina, cotton or lycra doesn’t trim my intelligence
It doesn’t cage my independence.

Yup, Buddy!
I’m covered, am I not liberated?
My cover doesn’t torture my brain
It has never made me gone insane.

Hola, friends
I’m tudung-ed, I am liberated
My veil, emasculates not my words
My mind crystal cleared, My strong voice clearly heard

Hello, companéra!
I’m liberated and I’m hijabed
This head cover of mine doesn’t deactivate my persistence
It doesn’t freeze my very existence.

Yes Sir!
tudung-ed I am and I am liberated
This colourful thing doesn’t explode my future
It goes never against my human nature.

Ooo yeaah Dude!
My head is “wrapped” but I’m liberated
My symbol of faith doesn’t make me “not fun”
This thing makes me shine, as pretty as the morning sun!

Hiya, Kiddo!
My tudung doesn’t make me naively obedient
It buries me not under discrimination
This piece doesn’t cause me gender repression.

Hello, Alls!
I’m veiled/ “wrapped”/covered/tudung-ed & hijabed
This gentle piece of mine, doesn’t kill my mind
It doesn’t make me drowned, it doesn’t chop me down.

Hello, ALLS!
What is this frown? Wrinkled forehead? Dropped jaw? Angered heart?
YES! ALLS
I’m covered / “wrapped”/ tudung-ed
I am VEILED & I am HIJABED
and
of course I am TRULY LIBERATED!




7 comments:

A said...

chicks tutup aurat cool gila kot. nak imagine yg bukan2 pun tak sanggup. hhehe

A said...

ha miss lg 1, kalau boleh ubah cara nak komen kat sini. dashboard - setting - posts and comments - ubah comment location jd pop up window, and disable word verification. susah ma nak komen sini. hehe

fakhriyyah said...

yo sista! couldnt agree more with u kakak gie. you should be dedicating this piece of thought to the whole world (especially to uitm students ngeh3). bertudunglah walau terpaksa, kerna keterpaksaan itu akan menjadikan maruah kita terjaga:-)

fakhriyyah said...

ayep usha chicks sokmo!

A said...

chicks yg usha saya kot <--- coolest guy on earth

norziediana said...

@Abdullah Arif-cool dan mengujakan.

Kurang2kan keupayaan ber"imaginasikan" hawa, wahai kaum Adam :p

thx 4 ur suggestion, Arif!Done..need some more editing here n there..

coolest guy on earth? riak wal takabbur di bulan pose..guane muh???hehehe

@fakhriyyah-i didn't answer that guy straight away at that time.wordless, inexperienced i was.sellau ckp kat students "veiling is a life long commitment"

Arif is the coolest?wat say u, sis???haha

fakhriyyah said...

@norziediana it's okay sis, bak kata budak2 yg slalu dtg lambat ke kelas, better late than never kekeke.

@abdullah the coolest? errrrr. if u're the coolest, im the hottest then :-P