Saturday, May 24, 2008

Narrow, Narrow, Narrow....

and sometimes dangerous too -- to have this kind of view : that the uniform (white baju kurung and turquoise sarong) worn by girls at government schools, encourages rape and pre-marital sex.

Not my view. And I hope it is not yours. But it is that of Munirah Bahari who is vice-president of the National Islamic Students Association of Malaysia.

Goodness, girl! You think everyone in this country is a pervert!

The story is H E R E.

32 comments:

Donplaypuks® said...

There have been many instances of rape in M'sia, even of grandmothers, when the ladies were fully covered from head to toe.

No doubt, walking around a dark alley (un)dressed like Britney or Mariah Carey, or what passes for normal on MYV & in various western tv soap operas like Falponbridge et al, is asking for it.

But the vast majority of rapes occur becoz of social & sexual repression of the rapist. This is not to excuse their actions, but rural displacement to urban settings and social isolation plays its part in sexual repression and rape. Not to mention over-rapid industrialisation, modernisation and pursuit of materialism and conspicuous consumption.

In other cases it is simply a case of what robbers and crooks do, and in another small % of cases, there is a core of human beings who do not see it as wrong and are therefore born intrinsically evil.

Therefore, to blame school uniforms for the actions rapists, is to miss the woods for the trees.

In the last 30 years, if anything, religious and moral lessons have been pushed with a vengeance in schools and in society in general. Yet, the incidences of rape, sexual abuse and violent crime has not decreased.

The 60's & 70's when I went to school, the dresscode for girls was pretty much what it is today. Yet, my Malay friends and I were not tempted to put our hands up the skirts any of or female colleagues, let alone contemplate rape. My sister went through 13 years in BBGS in KL without any incidents.

So, what has changed now?

My gut feel is that the root of all these evils can be traced to serious flaws in our education system.

Letting the time pass me by said...

Here we go again... Why we must put the blame on innocent people and why we must let the guilty party have the reason for doing it?

Maybe if the bank get robbed, it is the bank fault because there is so much money inside the bank...

GobloKing said...

wah! aunty here quickly scrap plastic surgery idea & just convert all blouses to WHITE.

Didn't know it was that easy to get attention of men!

What was I missing all these years that I didn't know this simple "trick"

I also think women who go into water wearing flying bat outfits or teeshirt over underwear more sexy than wet teeshirt contests at a rowdy bar(remember them?)

Can we also ban such outfits?

HEY! Better still just ban all muslim ladies from going into water (except at night or separate facilities) !

MUNIRAH !! YOU (got) ROCKS!!

Anonymous said...

To anybody who has an evil mind or evil thought whatever dress a young girl wears will always be a problem, and no matter how well she is covered up.
The only best answer to the problem is not to have evil thought!!This needs good education.

Old Fart said...

But Nuraina, don't you feel sorry for Munirah Bahari?

Just look at it this way, when you dress up for anything whatsoever, you just grab whatever...and maybe you think in terms of not wearing the same stuff you wore the day before..or this is office you are going to, or you are going to the Blog House, when I saw you for the first time. Or you just put on a T shirt and pants for shopping maybe...and really you put on whatever to feel comfortable in for the occassion.

No just consider Munirah Bahari's dressing. Now knowing her priorities, she got to think in terms of where she is going to go and what kind of personages she is going to encounter.

Is it going to be Tok Aziz, maybe. Is it going to be Najib, our Deputy Prime Minister, or maybe she is going to meet up with Rahim Thambi Chik. Or maybe she is going to be seeing students who are young adults and there will be boys amongst them. I don't know, but maybe she even has to worry if she is meeting up with Azalina our Tourism Minister.

Each with their own peculiar proclivities. And really it is incumbent on her to actually determine all these things before she puts on the kind of dressing she has to. In some instances she has got to make sure there is further reinforcements as well.

And then she has got to go in front of the mirror to make sure no figure or bodily form is visible. And if she is one of those bigger built woman, she has got to ensure there is nothing protruding at the back too. After all we cannot be urging anyone with any kind of ideas can we.

So you see, rather than being really hard on her I think sympathy is in order. Unfortunately it is sad that she is surrounded by men who respond to seeing the form of women. That is why she probably knows so much about how men respond.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Wl3firJQk

pete was juggling tomatoes.

bored. so he telephoned a few friends. “how about getting together to make an anti-racism national unity song and music video?” all said yes without hesitation. not because pete threatened them with a sharp and rusty knife. but only because they love malaysia.


the contingent swelled to 52 people a few days later. it included filmmakers, dancers, singers, producers, musicians, actors, entrepreneurs, designers, footballers, activists, celebrities, students and a florist. nobody would be paid. yet they were enthused. not because they were high on speed. only because they love Malaysia.

they gathered to record the song. it had a catchy chorus and was able to induce a mass sing-along. everyone was happy when it was done. they named it ‘here in my home’. then more people joined. the party now included more than 120 people. but the budget remained exactly zero. it seems even the spreadsheet loves malaysia.

everyone turned up for the video shoot. much fun was had and friendships made. video editors went to work after the shoot was done. both the recording and the video would be given away for free. a gift to the nation. from those who love malaysia to those who feel the same.

did you ask what this is all about?

it’s about love

Anonymous said...

Donplaypuks 5:50 pm identifies a valid factor that impels (some) men to commit the hideous crime of rape: social and sexual repression.

Here I would like to point out another causal factor: the lack of respect or lovingness accorded to womenfolk.

This tends to arise from patriarchal attitudes -- e.g., that women are tempters that have to be kept under control, or that women are inferior to men and therefore need guidance from men, etc. It also stems from a general lack of tenderness of the heart or sensitivity towards the fairer sex or the ability to see women as sisters, mothers or as individuals who should be treated the way one would like oneself to be treated.

The factor that donplaypuks pointed out has its roots in issues of social dynamics and culture.

The factor I raise has a lot to do with how or the atmosphere in which a child (e.g., a male child) is reared -- how he is taught to regard and interact with women within his family and beyond it, and his observations of how other family members themselves treat women.

Both causal factors require addressing. For example, a child should be brought up in such a way that it is inculcated in him to love and respect women; and the adolescent or adult that he becomes should allowed to interact properly with the fairer sex.

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked to acknowledge the sexism of our genius and religious adults to the point of willing to see through our young female children's blouses. What a shame and I feel like puking.

I did not expect sincerely speaking, our fellow adults have gone so low. This kind negative perception will be damaging to the future generation. Have Malaysians taken up part-time activities like seeing through a woman's blouse, looking at cleavage, how short a skirt is and all that?

Anonymous said...

now we know what's on her mind ... ahaks!

sexyjudge said...

Yes, it is really NARROW and somehow CRUDE! Can't deal with the criminals, turn to victims and possible victims at large in general. I'd say, accept your failure and deal with it BUT leave us alone!

Anonymous said...

This group of men can't control themselve and see how sick they are to suggest that what the student wear encourage them to rape. If it is their religion that make them think this way than I would encourage them to change religion.

Anak Perelih said...

Do you ever wonder why at Motor Shows, sexily dressed girls are placed next to the exhibited cars? why girls wearing sexy dress are at the HP booth during PCFair??? Why girls in sexy clothes are in the electronic gadgets advertisements?.. why a contestant in Donald Trump's The Apprentice in one of the episode in one of its season 'lost' her skirt just to sell things so that her group will win... but actually was fired by Mr. Trump because of that...???? It's because... SEX SELLS... and girls in sexy clothes attract boys.....

is there any research conducted on rapists in prisons that shows
1. sexy clothes is not one of the factors rapes cases happened?
2. or sexy clothes is one of the factors???

If there is no such research conducted.. we cannot claim either arguments... If there is.... than show it!!!... But all you did was just being rhetoric about this.... giving only theories without supporting details...

Samuel Goh Kim Eng said...

When thinking becomes far too narrow
It simply invites unnecessary sorrow
Base on perceived thoughts which are basically hollow
And rationale that's easily deemed as being shallow

(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 250508
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Sun. 25th May 2008.

JAM said...

An idle mind is a devil's workshop.

Anonymous said...

Have some empathy on Munirah. The way I see it, it is her and her group of friends who are insecure about wearing this oldage uniform.

No matter how we women dress, we are the victims. If not, then consensual on our parts.

How often I experienced those days in the pasar malams, those guys who dressed up in their sarongs, kupiah...after their surau prayers went to the vcd vendors and asked bluntly in front of me..."ada cerita baru blue kah?" I irked at these type of men.

Talk about hypocrisy in physical attires. Not forgetting religion too.

Anonymous said...

Taking my cue from the "uncovered meat" analogy, does this latest poppycock mean that if the said cat “attacks” a piece of meat covered in baking-paper, it is still the fault of the "meat"?

What is the matter with these people and their fixation over the unproven causal link between women’s clothing and sexual offences?

Anonymous said...

Kak

I don't think I need to repeat the kind of statistics that are known to everyone, about how some rape victims are dressed. We all know that rape has almost nothing to do with attire.

If the white blouse is transparent, it's because the people who are making them uniforms are ripping the customers off by using low-quality cloth.

If female students are being targeted for rape, it's because of the sick men who can't even stop themselves from coming on to a minor.

Her "suggestion" of changing the uniform so that girls wear coloured blouses is not even remotely viable. Does she know how many female students there are in Malaysia? How does she propose to change the uniform?

If this is the kind of thinking our education system is promoting, then I suggest our MPs, especially those from UMNO, to stop squabbling and start addressing real issues.

the girl said...

she is, is she?

scary...people should be afraid of lesbians now that we have a threat in the form of munirah.

Anonymous said...

Anak Perelih:

Sex sells. Kalau tak manusia tidak membiak lalu pupus. Ianya tabii manusia ('human nature'), bukan?

Men are attracted to women. Ini hakikat hidup ('fact of life'), bukan?

Kalau ditutup dengan pakaian seperti purdah sekali pun, lelaki tetap tertarik kepada wanita, bukan?

Jadi apakah awak menghalalkan perogolan dan kelakuan kaum lelaki yang mempergunakan atau menganiayai hak wanita kerana wanita tidak memakai pakaian yang sesuai?

Cuba fikir kembali: wajarkah awak berkata bahawa cara pemakaian wanita lah yang mengajak mereka dirogol? Nenek-nenek tua dan makcik-macik tua serta wanita bertudung tidak pernah dirogol ke?

Rogol dan kelakuan mempergunakan dan menganiayai wanita bertapak dari minda dan hati seorang lelaki. Usah tuduh orang lain. Kalau bank penuh dengan wang, atau kereta jiran kamu kereta yang cantik dan mahal, awak tertarik untuk mencuri ke? Dan oleh itu salah ke jiran kamu beli kereta yang cantik dan bank itu mempunyai wang ringgit yang banyak?

Kalau minda dan hati manusia terutamanya lelaki itu lembut, tenang, ada rasa kasih sayang dan hormat yang sebenar tehadap wanita, sudah tentu seorang lelaki tidak bertindak ganas terhadap wanita.

Di negara Jepun atau Sweden, wanita dan lelaki bergaul dengan pakaian singkat dan sebagainya, dan secara jauh lebih terbuka dari negara kita.

Tapi adakah jenayah rogol melimpah-limpah dan tinggi di negara-negara ini?

Jadi sekarang mana perginya dia asas hujah saudara?

Saya mengajak saudara pikir pasal faktor-faktor yang menjadi punca sebenar kepada perbuatan-perbuatan yang mengaibkan seperti ini. Saya menjemput saudara membaca dengan rapi beberapa ulasan yang diberi di atas yang menerangkan sebab-sebabnya lelaki bertindak dan zalim terhadap wanita, dan cara ini boleh dibendung.

Sekian.

halimah said...

Munirah's arguments are pathetic and quite like those of chauvinistic male Malay Islamists who blame women for rape and not the sick PP perpetrators that members of their sex are!

Rape is a sickness with men who have the uncontrollable desire to overpower women physically if they can't do it mentally or emotionally! This is then translated into sexual abuse and aggression! Husbands who physically abuse their wives fall into this category!

The disgusting thing is that the rape victims are the innocent and unsuspecting!

Re the school blouses/shirts and pinafores/pants:

I think the Ministry through school heads should bulk purchase fabrics that meet certain specifications - such as weight and transparency. The uniforms should use only these fabrics.

You must admit that certain fabrics especially white ones can be very limp and transparent, and cannot withstand the wear and tear of daily use. They are usually cheaper.

Some schools in the UK insist the fabrics or uniforms which meet their specs are purchased only from select shops.

It would be a good idea for the Ministry to appoint cloth/school uniform agents all over the country as for school books. Students have to wear these specially ordered fabrics/uniforms.

cy97 said...

Well by putting aside religion viewpoint in this issue, i have to agree that the the current uniform worn by muslim school girls looked "more sexy" than those worn by non-muslim girls. This thought strikes me since i was in my secondary years ago. May be they can consider standardize the uniform to solve the problem of "gatal men" that view every little girls walking on the street as their next victim. Or just ban all men from looking straight at any school girls...

Anonymous said...

It takes a pervert to recognise another one, even bad news is some form of news.

Fida Ruzki said...

that is the stupidest and idiotic suggestion she had from her distorted brain!

Rapist don't rape just because someone wearing provocatingly. Rapist rapes because they want to rape.

Remember Noor Suzaily? I don't think she was wearing white blouse or anything revealing that fatefull day.

Is she telling us that those small children who were raped by people with ugly lust are wearing revealing attires?

Yes, at times there are school going girls who like to wear uniforms made from thin materials, thus making it sexy, but I think most schools would tell them to wear 'anak baju' so that it won't attract attention, unwanted, that is.

Plus, is she telling us that men are so hapless and can't take care of the things between their legs that they not just salivate on seeing school girls wearing white bju kurung and blue skirts, they wanted to rape them!

That is too narrow la. What she should've said is that for parents to teach their children to respect each other and not to violate people's privacy and trust.

Anak Perelih said...

slade....

tapi kenapa pula perlu iklan mempamirkan wanita berpakaian seksi yang tiada kena mengena dengan barang yang diiklan tersebut... mereka bukan menjual model perempuan itu...??? mengapa harus letak gadis litar berpakaian seksi di F1 Sepang... ini adalah kerana sex sell dan mereka tahu wanita berpakaian seksi menarik minat lelaki... bagi kita yang sihat mental ini OK la.. just tengok dan cuba dekat aje.. tapi bagi yang sakit mental... kepala tak betul ???

dalam comment saya... saya tak kata pakaian adalah faktor... tapi saya kata mana dia bukti kajian..? proof yang kata pakaian ada kena mengena/tidak ada kena mengena dengan rogol...? jadi.. kena buat research dengan perogol di penjara untuk tentukan penglibatan pakaian di sini... lagipun faktor berlakunya rogol bukan hanya satu sahaja.. ada berbagai lagi faktor yang menyumbang... dan pakaian seksi mungkin adalah salah satu dari faktor tersebut... nak tahu... buat kajian dengan perogol lah....

kenapa hanya mempersalahkan lelaki... kenapa tidak kedua dua lelaki dan wanita????

memang kalau bank penuh wang kita tak tertarik nak rompak.. tapi kalau anda menayang wang anda yang banyak itu di publik... itu mengundang peragut meragut wang anda... wang dalam beg pun boleh kena ragut.. tambah lagi kalau anda menayang nayang wang anda...

kalau lelaki harus "lembut, tenang, ada rasa kasih sayang dan hormat yang sebenar tehadap wanita... maka wanita pula harus tahu memelihara diri didalam berpakaian... dan mengikut adab berpakaian menurut Islam....

memang di "negara Jepun atau Sweden, wanita dan lelaki bergaul dengan pakaian singkat dan sebagainya, dan secara jauh lebih terbuka dari negara kita" tapi mereka juga ada kes rogol sendangkan mereka bebas melakukan seks tanpa nikah.. ada one night stand.. pi ke disco.. kenal dengan pompuan.. bawak balik bilik and have sex... tapi kita ada batas batas yang ditetapkan agama Islam didalam melakukan seks....

Anonymous said...

Duhai Pompuan semua, cuba tanya semua lelaki di sekeliling anda,
Kalau zina itu halal dan seks bebas itu di benarkan oleh undang-undang, memang semua lelaki nak buat seks dengan sesiapa saja yang dia berkenan... itu realiti.

Sebab itu Allah swt haramkan zina, haramkan menghampiri zina atau apa sahaja perlakuan yang boleh menjurumuskan zina. Dan sebab itu garis panduan berpakaian adalah menutup aurat dan tidak menampakkan bentuk badan ( bukan sekadar tutup sahaja beb ) dan sebab itulah kita lihat pakaian muslimah sejati bewarna hitam dan bersaiz besar untuk menutup bentuk badan. Asasnya ialah menutup aurat dan tidak menampakkan susuk tubuh.

Bagaimanapun anak pompuan saya sendiri sedar baju putih sekolah terlalu jarang dan beliau sendiri ambil inisiatif dengan meminta saya menempah baju putih berkain tebal agar tidak menampakkan susuk badan. Saya kata panas kakak...dia jawab kat saya panas lagi api neraka abah.

Ramli AR said...

20 Jamadil Awal 1429
Salam

Seandainya tiada sekatan untuk menggunakan warna selain dari putih, saya akan mengarahkan anak-anak saya memakai selain dari putih. Buat masa sekarang, saya hanya mampu mencari uniform putih yang lebih tebal. .... dan sememangnya sukar untuk mencari pakaian seragam sekolah putih yang tidak nipis.

Ramli AR

Anonymous said...

sdr ramli ar ... ada sejenis pakaian dalam remaja wanita yang di kenali sebagai camisole.

Fida Ruzki said...

camisole1 said...
sdr ramli ar ... ada sejenis pakaian dalam remaja wanita yang di kenali sebagai camisole.

8:20 PM

couldn't agree more.

it is true that girls these days aint angles too. but for a gender that always said 'we are leaders, women are followers' its a shame that men can't even take charge of what is growing down there.

Like I said, attire is not entirely the sole contributor to rapes.

If you respect people, not just women, you would not touch what isn't yours to touch.

Ok let say we take that wearing revealing dresses will encourage rapes, so what do you say about those school going boys who were molested and sodomised? I don't think they are prancing around in short skirts and revealing blouses, do they?

How about those granmas who got raped in their kitchen or in their own houses?

I agree, sometimes people can't stop from having lusty fantasies on women who wore sexy attires, but we are talking about school going children here.

oh BTW, do you know that in Iran, women who trade their bodies for money are wearing burkas and hijab?

of course prevention is better than cure.

Tell our child to wear camisole and petticoat for the skirts so that others can't see the sillouette of their bodies. And ask them to wear tudungs to cover their chests.

Anonymous said...

Anak Perelih,

Ada bukti kajian. Look for a book called "Men Who Rape: The Psychology of The Offender". You'll learn some interesting, if not shocking, revelations in that book. It's sort of a textbook. Unfortunately, I think it's not a very easy book to find in Malaysia.

Don't confuse rape with sex. It's not the same thing. Sex is an intimate, private and emotional thing between two people (unless they decide to blab about it to the world, whatever rocks your boat). Rape is an act violence. Rape has nothing to do with clothings, no matter how some people would like to blame it on "women that dress sexily". It's a rape myth.

You should Google "rape myths" and learn something.

Anonymous said...

I think its you who is narrow-minded, not Munirah. Betul cakap anak Mat Kepit tu... dekat sana lagi panas.

Anonymous said...

I think to relate baju kurung sekolah dengan rape is very extreme.

Tapi kalau dibanding baju putih sekolah dengan pinafore memang lagi sexy baju kurung putih. Selalunya jarang dan boleh nampak camisole dan nampak bentuk br****. Kalau diperhatikan Pinafore lagi sopan.

Anonymous said...

Damn, rather cool article. How will I get that RSS?

Sara Stepman
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