No dogs and women !

A very interesting read sent to me , by a dear friend ,which I thought Id share with you all......

By Ayeda Naqvi
And so stand we, hijacked by a group of angry zealots obsessed with trying to enslave half the world’s population in the name of religion. We watch them quietly as they demarcate boundaries, chalk out lines which women must not cross

There is a hotel in Jeddah which sports a rather unusual sign by its swimming pool. It is a sign that thousands walk by daily. And yet few, if any, eyebrows are raised; few, if any, sensibilities are offended. It is a sign that, for me at least, is a scathing reminder of a! n archaic mindset that continues to plague us, a cause for alarm. But for many, it is just a sign that reads: “No dogs or women allowed”, nothing more, nothing less.

A few weeks ago, a student of mine returned from Umrah, full of stories about her wonderful trip with her grandparents. And yet she could not stop talking about this poolside sign. She related the story to me with wide-eyed amazement, how she thought she was seeing things and how she rubbed her eyes to see correctly. And when she realised what the sign actually said, she says she thought of me.

I wondered, for the longest time, what it was about that hateful sign that brought me to her mind. Over the course of the year, we have discussed apartheid, the separation of races in South Africa. We have discussed Rosa Parks, the African American woman who refused to sit in the “black” section of a public bus. And we have discussed the British Raj, a time in which many restaurants in British India had signs that said “No dogs and Indians allowed”.

Yet no matter how inhumane, how shameless the segregation, in class it was merely academic, a thing of the past, an abhorrence of history to point fingers at in much the same way one does so at a weird science exhibit. To watch the abhorrence pop out of the black and white pages of history, however, and mutate into a real-life, technicolour experience was for her too surreal an encounter; so surreal that it left her standing on the flagstone floor of the hotel, rubbing her eyes.

She had heard me, all year, talk about the dignity and the rights given to women by Islam. She had heard me talk about how our Holy Prophet (PBUH) elevated the status of women, doing away with misogynistic customs of the pre-Islamic Bedouins, curtailing the rights of men, even giving woman the right to inherit, something which was revolutionary for the time. His own wife, Hazrat Bibi Khadija (RA), the first woman to embrace Islam, was not someone who practiced Taliban-stye purdah but was instead a bold, confident and well respected businesswoman known for her intellect.

And yet, instead of taking his example and moving forward, we seem to have regressed. Instead of imbibing the essence of the progressiveness and humanity this great man embodied, we have desecrated it.

And so stand we, hijacked by a group of angry zealots obsessed with trying to enslave half the world’s population in the name of religion. We watch them quietly as they demarcate boundaries, chalk out lines which women must not cross. Those who dare to are met with shock, hostility and, even, violence. In some parts of Pakistan, women who leave their homes without the dupatta are spit upon; others, not quite as lucky, have acid thrown on their faces. In a hotel in Saudi Arabia, women and dogs are clumped in the same category.

Let me be clear: I am not condoning topless sunbathing nor do I consider it a sign of being progressive. I am simply condemning an attitude that equates women with dogs.

Recently I joined a UN-based women’s group called the Global Peace Initiative of Women. In March, I attended “Making Way for the Feminine”, a global summit that brought together some of the most extraordinary women leaders from around the world; senior women religious and spiritual leaders, women from business, government and civil society as well as a special delegation of young community leaders and professionals.

There were women from all walks of life and from all fields — from education to law to medicine — brought together by their unwavering dedication to social service. I think of all these great souls, all these devoted beings contributing so much to the world. Why would anyone want to keep them locked up behind four walls? Why would anyone bar them from the public sphere?

Here, in Pakistan, there are acceptable and unacceptable places for women to be seen in, acceptable and unacceptable activities for them to partake in. It is okay to be seen shopping for food or clothes. It is okay to be seen chauffeuring your children around. Only those who have ever stepped outside the demarcated boundaries know of the repercussions. Remember what happened to the women who dared to participate in the Lahore marathon?

Recently I gave in to the demands of my seven year-old and took him and Queenie, our five month-old Bloodhound, to the park. It was barely an act of lewdness. And yet I was met by the most vulgar, most profane of comments. I guess dogs on leashes are acceptable only if they are accompanied by a male (servant preferably). A woman on the other side of the leash, however, is not okay.

As I drove home that day, stunned by the reaction I had caused, I couldn’t stop thinking of that poolside sign in Jeddah. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that here in Pakistan, women and dogs were viewed with equal contempt. And both, unless supervised by an appropriate male, were equally unwelcome.

Happy Fathers Day !

Fathers Day (3rd Sunday in June)
To those who haven’t had the experience to play the role of the father I wish you well, for your existence in being a decent human being, and if your fathers are still in life , then express your love to them. If not, do light a candle for your fathers on this day, and say a prayer, as I will for my father, may he rest in peace .

May Allah/God bless you all……
The role a father plays in a child’s life is never compared to nor put on a high pedestal as that of the mother’s. This I have found to be of bad taste, for just as there are fathers who couldn’t care less about their off springs so there are mothers who think the same way.. Yet many mothers can get away with murder in custody suite battles, as they are perceived as angels whether truly being ones or not! The relationship concerning the father must not be the logical explanation of existence per se especially where children are at stake.

The father whether married to his mate, separated or divorced, should always take into first consideration the benefit of the kids, then their own. When I say fathers I not necessarily mean by means of birth i.e. biological, but that of the responsibility in the upbringing of the child into becoming a respectful decent and reliable person, with proper values, thus we can say as we were seeded and harvested so shall we prosper in the continuity of such an act of blissful love……
The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which their children honor fathers. On Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.
The origin of Fathers day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908.Others say the first Fathers Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.
The president of the Chicago branch the Lion’s Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated the first Father’s Day with his organization in !915;and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest to Meek’s own birthday.

Regardless of when the first true Father Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young and he had raised six children without their mother.

In 1909, Mrs.Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane about having a church service dedicated to fathers on June 5,her fathers birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday of June as Father’s Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their fathers if they lived apart.
States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day in 1916,President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea. However, it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations”. Since then fathers have been honored and recognized by their family throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.

When children cannot visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers greeting cards that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

PEACE

Quotoble Quotes!

If you don’t have any temper, you don’t have any passion.
-Michael Bloomberg.

Recognise your gifts and delegate the rest.
Lynne Franks.

The trick of painless teasing is the height of charm-.Clive James.
Art is so wonderfully irrational, exuberantly pointless, but necessary all the same.

-Günter Grass.

My life’s about walking forward. Being in the present is a marvelous goal to have.

-Lulu.

The way you dress is life- enhancing as important as eating. It’s what sets us above the animals. To be human is to be artificial.

-Vivienne Westwood.

Silly is you in a natural state, and serious is something you have to do until you get silly again.

-Mike Myers.

So which one do you agree with ???

PEACE