Post by chocolate on Mar 23, 2017 19:12:33 GMT -4
...culture share their stories on Reddit (ran out of space in the title)
1. [+1544]
2. [+1025]
3. [+1066]
4. [+882]
5. [+507]
6. [+227]
7. [+206]
8. [168]
9. [+128]
10. [+95]
1. [+1544]
Bengali girl born and raised in Scandinavia. I wear the hijab and abaya (the long black dress) and my whole family is very orthodox conservative Sunni, like all the way to our relatives back at Bangladesh too. The cultures of Bangladesh and Scandinavia differ by light years, since Scandinavian culture promotes individualism and freedom, while the Bangladeshi culture is very family-centric. The customs and general moral compasses also vary vastly from each other.
Growing up, I had to accommodate two cultures, one when I’m at home, and one when I’m outside. There were a lot of differences between the ‘home’ me and ‘outside’ me, but I never thought that my role as a woman or a girl was any different at that time. I think that is due to my mother, she is a very strong character and basically runs the whole house by herself. I could say that my dad was the ‘assistant’ of some sorts, since he just went to work, bought the groceries, and just was with us. But my mother was the one who made the big descisions, like where would our family invest the money, what schools, the future, etc. This might be a very strange family dynamic for a Bangali family, but it worked. And I feel like that this is the reason I never differentiated any of the cultures I belonged according to what my gender. I just felt I had just as much a chance in the Bengali community as in the Scandinavian community to succeed and thrive as a female.
Going to Bangladesh though for the summers, oh boy, those were eye-opening. There is discrimination against women in Bangladesh, I am not going to lie. When I was younger, I was given a bit of a leeway and I could roam around my grandma’s estate as much as I pleased (I was a tomboy). When I hit 12, it all kind of changed and the narrative around me also changed. I wasn’t allowed to go alone outside in broad day light, I couldn’t hang out with my male cousins, I had to cover up my body with a shawl even in front of other females. Granted, puberty just slapped me a body of a curvy woman at the age of 12, and my family is ultra-conservative, so some things make sense. But I had to have an escort (male relative, like my uncle or dad) when going out, or just avoid going outside. The female harassment is real tho in Bangladesh, guys will stare at you like you are a piece of meat anywhere. I would be sitting in a rickshaw with my aunt, both of us wearing a hijab and abaya, yet these disgusting men would keep staring at us. I had one unknown guy follow me and my female friend all the way home in broad day light, and that was in downtown Dhaka (Gulshan). When I was 14, some dude groped me in a busy bazaar market, while my family was right next to me, but they didn’t see it due to the sheer amount of people. The staring got so bad that my mom told me to wear a niqab, but that didn’t make any difference. These disgusting excuses of men still stared at me. And I felt vulnerable and insecure, the opposite of what I feel about my Muslim and Hijabi identity back at Scandinavia. I’ve gotten marriage proposals from the age of 14, from men who were 25 or more. Look, I do not want to paint Bangladesh as a very bad or lawless place, but these are realities when the society fails to raise respectful men. I do not think that this is due to Islam, but it is due to culture and social customs. There are some good things about Bangladesh too, like the fact that a clear majority of women are STEM majors in Bangladesh. In fact, I’ve met more Bangladeshi women with a STEM degree than men in my lifetime, from civil engineers, doctors, botanists to doctors. Those families who can afford education, clearly encourage females to study highly respected occupations, and this also reflects in my family too.
I currently study in the UK alone for my undergrad, and I have to say that the Muslim landscape is very different from what I saw back in Scandinavia.
Sorry for the really long post, if anybody is interested I could write more below.
Growing up, I had to accommodate two cultures, one when I’m at home, and one when I’m outside. There were a lot of differences between the ‘home’ me and ‘outside’ me, but I never thought that my role as a woman or a girl was any different at that time. I think that is due to my mother, she is a very strong character and basically runs the whole house by herself. I could say that my dad was the ‘assistant’ of some sorts, since he just went to work, bought the groceries, and just was with us. But my mother was the one who made the big descisions, like where would our family invest the money, what schools, the future, etc. This might be a very strange family dynamic for a Bangali family, but it worked. And I feel like that this is the reason I never differentiated any of the cultures I belonged according to what my gender. I just felt I had just as much a chance in the Bengali community as in the Scandinavian community to succeed and thrive as a female.
Going to Bangladesh though for the summers, oh boy, those were eye-opening. There is discrimination against women in Bangladesh, I am not going to lie. When I was younger, I was given a bit of a leeway and I could roam around my grandma’s estate as much as I pleased (I was a tomboy). When I hit 12, it all kind of changed and the narrative around me also changed. I wasn’t allowed to go alone outside in broad day light, I couldn’t hang out with my male cousins, I had to cover up my body with a shawl even in front of other females. Granted, puberty just slapped me a body of a curvy woman at the age of 12, and my family is ultra-conservative, so some things make sense. But I had to have an escort (male relative, like my uncle or dad) when going out, or just avoid going outside. The female harassment is real tho in Bangladesh, guys will stare at you like you are a piece of meat anywhere. I would be sitting in a rickshaw with my aunt, both of us wearing a hijab and abaya, yet these disgusting men would keep staring at us. I had one unknown guy follow me and my female friend all the way home in broad day light, and that was in downtown Dhaka (Gulshan). When I was 14, some dude groped me in a busy bazaar market, while my family was right next to me, but they didn’t see it due to the sheer amount of people. The staring got so bad that my mom told me to wear a niqab, but that didn’t make any difference. These disgusting excuses of men still stared at me. And I felt vulnerable and insecure, the opposite of what I feel about my Muslim and Hijabi identity back at Scandinavia. I’ve gotten marriage proposals from the age of 14, from men who were 25 or more. Look, I do not want to paint Bangladesh as a very bad or lawless place, but these are realities when the society fails to raise respectful men. I do not think that this is due to Islam, but it is due to culture and social customs. There are some good things about Bangladesh too, like the fact that a clear majority of women are STEM majors in Bangladesh. In fact, I’ve met more Bangladeshi women with a STEM degree than men in my lifetime, from civil engineers, doctors, botanists to doctors. Those families who can afford education, clearly encourage females to study highly respected occupations, and this also reflects in my family too.
I currently study in the UK alone for my undergrad, and I have to say that the Muslim landscape is very different from what I saw back in Scandinavia.
Sorry for the really long post, if anybody is interested I could write more below.
The major difference is the sheer number of Muslims and the age of the Muslim communities in these two areas. First of all, UK has a very large Muslim population for a few generations now. This means that there are a lot of third-generation Muslims who identify themselves as British and then Muslim. There's also more diversity when it comes to factions/sects, and thus you are bound to find like-minded Muslims relatively easily. If you don't like the way some of your friends think about women and Islam, no prob, just get some new friends who align with your ideologies.
In Scaninavia this is not possible.The country where I come from, there is a very small Muslim population and even smaller Bengali Muslim community. This meant that you knew certain families for decades, and you had to mingle with them to preserve you cultural identity. However, if they were not on par with your religious ideologies, you could hardly just dump them and befriend other people. This is why the general Bengali community in my country has split into two: one which is orthodox conservative, while the other group is more culture-oriented (religion =/= culture). This leads to a problem since some of the orthodox people would feel morally and religiously superior over the cultural ones, while the cultural ones just called the orthodox ones total prudes.
But not once was I ever singled out to not excel in my studies, or stop pursuing many of my hobbies since I was a girl in Scandinavia. I even live alone as an undergrad student in UK, about 3 hrs away from home by a plane ride. Yet, my parents let me live like this, although that took time and a lot of persuasion.
The British Muslim community is however far too complex than what I'm qualified to comment on. But there is one thing tho: since there is so much diversity, you see everything from one Islamic spectrum to another. You have the ultra-conservative who act like they still live in middle-ages, and then you have the ultra-liberal and everything in between. In Scandinavia, it is more like a dichotomy, either you are religious or not, but the level of religiousness does nit affect the females. And I believe that is due to assimilation into the Scandinavian culture and other factors.
In Scaninavia this is not possible.The country where I come from, there is a very small Muslim population and even smaller Bengali Muslim community. This meant that you knew certain families for decades, and you had to mingle with them to preserve you cultural identity. However, if they were not on par with your religious ideologies, you could hardly just dump them and befriend other people. This is why the general Bengali community in my country has split into two: one which is orthodox conservative, while the other group is more culture-oriented (religion =/= culture). This leads to a problem since some of the orthodox people would feel morally and religiously superior over the cultural ones, while the cultural ones just called the orthodox ones total prudes.
But not once was I ever singled out to not excel in my studies, or stop pursuing many of my hobbies since I was a girl in Scandinavia. I even live alone as an undergrad student in UK, about 3 hrs away from home by a plane ride. Yet, my parents let me live like this, although that took time and a lot of persuasion.
The British Muslim community is however far too complex than what I'm qualified to comment on. But there is one thing tho: since there is so much diversity, you see everything from one Islamic spectrum to another. You have the ultra-conservative who act like they still live in middle-ages, and then you have the ultra-liberal and everything in between. In Scandinavia, it is more like a dichotomy, either you are religious or not, but the level of religiousness does nit affect the females. And I believe that is due to assimilation into the Scandinavian culture and other factors.
2. [+1025]
I was an islamic girl, and I've been to a very muslim country, and a very christian country.
Where I live, the new generation is much more chill, but the older generation was...too much. The old guys are weird and stare at you for too long. Once, an old man approached my little sister, and asked my dad, no, not her, why his NINE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER wasn't wearing a abaya. The middle aged-to old ladies usually giggle, and laugh quietly, and they never approuched you to shit talk. They are usually very sweet, and don't attack unless provoked. Women are expected to stay quiet, and not act out. People usually care more of how people think of them than their own daughter. Girls are expected to get married, and not pursue college outside their own country, because their family feels "lonely" and are "scared for their precious, porcelain daughter". They don't give a shit if their male child just leaves the country for a week without telling them, but will flip their shit if their daughter went to her best friend's house because "YOU MIGHT GET MURDERED". It's shit.
Now for the more western culture: They're more touchy-feely-shouty-screamy. And there are alot of fucking insane people, I love it. They don't judge you by your clothes, and won't stalk your car and screech profanities because you're driving. The people are more talkative, and don't push their religions down your throat. I really loved it there, and hope to visit again. They also don't call you a whore for wanting to wear whatever you want instead of wearing a garbage bag because "you are too beautiful, it will be hard for men to control themselves if they see your face!".
(Okay, I'm done, throwaway account because. Using a VPN just in case.)
Where I live, the new generation is much more chill, but the older generation was...too much. The old guys are weird and stare at you for too long. Once, an old man approached my little sister, and asked my dad, no, not her, why his NINE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER wasn't wearing a abaya. The middle aged-to old ladies usually giggle, and laugh quietly, and they never approuched you to shit talk. They are usually very sweet, and don't attack unless provoked. Women are expected to stay quiet, and not act out. People usually care more of how people think of them than their own daughter. Girls are expected to get married, and not pursue college outside their own country, because their family feels "lonely" and are "scared for their precious, porcelain daughter". They don't give a shit if their male child just leaves the country for a week without telling them, but will flip their shit if their daughter went to her best friend's house because "YOU MIGHT GET MURDERED". It's shit.
Now for the more western culture: They're more touchy-feely-shouty-screamy. And there are alot of fucking insane people, I love it. They don't judge you by your clothes, and won't stalk your car and screech profanities because you're driving. The people are more talkative, and don't push their religions down your throat. I really loved it there, and hope to visit again. They also don't call you a whore for wanting to wear whatever you want instead of wearing a garbage bag because "you are too beautiful, it will be hard for men to control themselves if they see your face!".
(Okay, I'm done, throwaway account because. Using a VPN just in case.)
3. [+1066]
Born and raised in Turkey. Currently living in Ireland. Have been living in Europe for about a decade.
Misogyny is everywhere. Only the context is slightly different.
This is unsurprising yet worth emphasising: There are so many misconceptions about Muslims and Muslim women.
For example, I have never worn a head scarf.
Yes, it is not a necessity for all denominations/factions/etc.
Not all but most westerns view all 1.6 billion Muslims as the same. But as Christianity have Catholics, Protestants, etc, as all religions have different factions, there are so many different ways to be a Muslim.
So yes, not all Muslim women choose and/or are forced to cover their heads. It's obviously cool if you choose to do it yourself.
To answer, the main question, I find the Catholicism in Ireland surprisingly similar to Sunni Islam in Turkey, where covert sexism runs rampant.
Going back to misconceptions, abortions are legal in Turkey up to 10 weeks. It's not legal here in Ireland.
Depending on where you are in Turkey, doctors can be super judgy and give you hell. So there is that.
Going back to misconceptions again, I live thousands of miles away from my family. They obviously have no problems with that. I have a STEM career. I support myself financially. Nobody's forcing me to get married.
TLDR: Out of so many denominations, factions, teachings, etc. of Islam, the way I was brought up is surprisingly similar to stereotypical western ways.
Misogyny is everywhere. Only the context is slightly different.
This is unsurprising yet worth emphasising: There are so many misconceptions about Muslims and Muslim women.
For example, I have never worn a head scarf.
Yes, it is not a necessity for all denominations/factions/etc.
Not all but most westerns view all 1.6 billion Muslims as the same. But as Christianity have Catholics, Protestants, etc, as all religions have different factions, there are so many different ways to be a Muslim.
So yes, not all Muslim women choose and/or are forced to cover their heads. It's obviously cool if you choose to do it yourself.
To answer, the main question, I find the Catholicism in Ireland surprisingly similar to Sunni Islam in Turkey, where covert sexism runs rampant.
Going back to misconceptions, abortions are legal in Turkey up to 10 weeks. It's not legal here in Ireland.
Depending on where you are in Turkey, doctors can be super judgy and give you hell. So there is that.
Going back to misconceptions again, I live thousands of miles away from my family. They obviously have no problems with that. I have a STEM career. I support myself financially. Nobody's forcing me to get married.
TLDR: Out of so many denominations, factions, teachings, etc. of Islam, the way I was brought up is surprisingly similar to stereotypical western ways.
4. [+882]
Muslim American girl. Can I answer this not being an Arab/of Arab descent? The majority of Muslims in the world actually reside in Indonesia/South Asia. I've lived in Bangladesh for the past 8-9 years, left home right out of high school alone and on my own to see the world by way of attending medical college in a foreign country. What I really loved about Bangladesh was that women would get a lot of preference in certain things. We have separate lines, buses ensure another woman sits next to us, etc. Sure, as a doctor I'm still occasionally called nurse, but I've had that happen to me back home as well.
I've stayed in Dubai/Qatar for short periods of time as well and no one batted an eye towards me. Yes, I wear a scarf, but I'm also in jeans. I was never raised in a household where you had to cover in a strict or stringent manner. My parents always emphasized that God made religion easy and that man makes it difficult.
Saudi Arabia has a bit of a thorn in my side though. My friend grew up there, and while she loved having all female swimming pools and other such perks, she didn't enjoy having to wear an abaya because it was law. She was much more of the opinion that SA should cool its jets in that regard, especially since they want to preach Islamic law when they run a monarchy (Islam promotes a democracy). Also, they are super racist. My American passport would get me out of issues, but her Indian passport led to blame for any occurrences.
I have a ton of female cousins, but out of them only my sisters and maybe two other cover our heads. None of us wear an abaya, burqa, or niqab. More of them only semi cover or just dress like any other girl. Same for the guys in my family (yes, guys have a dress code too). Some abide by it, some don't. It's their choice.
Oh, and ALL the women in my family are highly educated. Doctors mostly, lol.
I've stayed in Dubai/Qatar for short periods of time as well and no one batted an eye towards me. Yes, I wear a scarf, but I'm also in jeans. I was never raised in a household where you had to cover in a strict or stringent manner. My parents always emphasized that God made religion easy and that man makes it difficult.
Saudi Arabia has a bit of a thorn in my side though. My friend grew up there, and while she loved having all female swimming pools and other such perks, she didn't enjoy having to wear an abaya because it was law. She was much more of the opinion that SA should cool its jets in that regard, especially since they want to preach Islamic law when they run a monarchy (Islam promotes a democracy). Also, they are super racist. My American passport would get me out of issues, but her Indian passport led to blame for any occurrences.
I have a ton of female cousins, but out of them only my sisters and maybe two other cover our heads. None of us wear an abaya, burqa, or niqab. More of them only semi cover or just dress like any other girl. Same for the guys in my family (yes, guys have a dress code too). Some abide by it, some don't. It's their choice.
Oh, and ALL the women in my family are highly educated. Doctors mostly, lol.
5. [+507]
Supp guys. I am Somali and a muslim. Somali culture is heavily influenced by arab culture since they came to Eastern africa to spread the religion of Islam. I was born in raised in Canada. Never been to somalia. Growing up I was the biggest tomboy. Loved sports, being outside riding my scooter. Had the biggest obsession for skateboarding. As a girl doing all these "boy" related hobbies are ok up to a certain age. Hitting puberty was the worst I couldnt go outside and just play. I was expected to cover up and be a girl. I was always told " a girl is supposed to be in the house" . I am now 22 still bitter that I can pursue my hobbies in the broad daylight. I go through so much hassle to have a quick skate sesh. Here is what I do 1. Wait till its dark 2. Leave the house dressed conservatively 3. Walk to the jewish neighborhood beside my area 4. Swap my clothes for some joggers and a tshirt. 5. Have a good skate sesh So like I said I am 22 now and my current "goal" according to cultural norms is to get married and have kids. The major role of women in these cultures is to get married. However Somali culture is open to women pursuing higher education but marriage should be your bigger aspiration. Oh and if you are past 25 your like unwanted and washed out. I have realized cultural norms are bullshit and just restricting . My life's mission is to stray away from any norm imposed on me . Live your life the way you want! Not by some man-made rules that only benefit one gender.
6. [+227]
Egyptian American here. Raised Muslim but abandoned religion a long time ago.
I used to hate everything about Islamic culture and Arab culture and wanted to be free and independent like the American women I grew up around. I consider myself fairly feminist, and feminism isn't a very prevalent idea in our culture.
But as I get older I'm not so sure the grass is entirely greener on the American side. To give one example , I see a lot of my American friends entering their 30s, still single, and feeling lonely, swiping on tinder or bumble hoping to find a guy. Then they meet someone, have sex with them , then the guy pulls the slow fade on them or ghosts them. Whereas I see my Muslim family and friends arranging marriages for each other through family connections and finding serious partners and being very happy.
Another example, in America we can wear bikinis and shorts and no one will stop us from doing so. But I've personally felt pressure to keep my body looking a certain way to look good on the beach. In Egypt I'd wear a tshirt to the pool and that was normal.
I think in general American culture is better for women's rights and freedoms but I don't know if it translates to more happiness. I'm still figuring it out for myself.
Edit: a lot of people are missing my point. I'm not saying arranged marriages are better than western-style marriages. I'm saying that America has more freedom of choice and more options but that I've learned over time that having more options doesn't necessarily translate to being happier. It's a give and take situation.
I used to hate everything about Islamic culture and Arab culture and wanted to be free and independent like the American women I grew up around. I consider myself fairly feminist, and feminism isn't a very prevalent idea in our culture.
But as I get older I'm not so sure the grass is entirely greener on the American side. To give one example , I see a lot of my American friends entering their 30s, still single, and feeling lonely, swiping on tinder or bumble hoping to find a guy. Then they meet someone, have sex with them , then the guy pulls the slow fade on them or ghosts them. Whereas I see my Muslim family and friends arranging marriages for each other through family connections and finding serious partners and being very happy.
Another example, in America we can wear bikinis and shorts and no one will stop us from doing so. But I've personally felt pressure to keep my body looking a certain way to look good on the beach. In Egypt I'd wear a tshirt to the pool and that was normal.
I think in general American culture is better for women's rights and freedoms but I don't know if it translates to more happiness. I'm still figuring it out for myself.
Edit: a lot of people are missing my point. I'm not saying arranged marriages are better than western-style marriages. I'm saying that America has more freedom of choice and more options but that I've learned over time that having more options doesn't necessarily translate to being happier. It's a give and take situation.
7. [+206]
iam a muslim girl who live in indonesia and have arabs blood in mine (grandparents from yemen) here you can really see the difference between people like me(mix) and the real indonesian muslims, theyre not as judgemental as you might thought, im not wearing a hijab though my 10yo niece wear one thats what she wanted and i never have anybody force me to weair it just the occasional "you'll look so much better with a hijab!", the guys in the other hand are mostly shit. like expecting women to do the women jobs (cooking,doing laundry,washing dishes etc) but mostly come from the arabs family, the indonesian one much more open. ive live in BKK and i enjoy it there because well nobody told me to be home before the sun set! im marrying a swiss guy so now im balancing between a free life my husband give me and the other life, im moving to UAE soon so i want to see how people actually live there!
8. [168]
Ex-muslim born & living in Turkey here. I know i'm not exactly the person you wanted an answer from but i'm gonna add this comment anyway. This will also adress more than the topic of "women's role" because i want it so.
Basics: I was raised in a Muslim home, my mother is the sweetest person you'll ever meet but mildly conservative. She wears a scarf only if the situation calls for it, like for funerals. Let me wear whatever i wanted as long as it wasn't "absurdly revealing" to her, thinks secularism is important (by this i mean she thinks everyone is free and should be able to believe whatever they want) but made me fast even though i told her i didn't want to, would pick verbal fights with me for saying i wouldn't marry a man before living with him for at least a couple years. Sex before marriage was very much a taboo, especially for women. Except for maybe the latest generation, a majority of the men want their brides to be virgins.
Details: I'm also bisexual and would never, and i mean never, tell them that. I kept a year long relationship a secret before. Last year my mother asked me if i ever had a boyfriend before and i told her about my girlfriend, half-lying half-keeping some truth to myself by not telling that she was a female. I love our language, you can form sentences never revealing what gender you're talking about.
I'm like, %99 percent sure that they would disown me if i dropped the bombs on them by saying that i was an atheist bisexual, they think both of these are some kind of perversion. It's sad. The outcome would be the same if my brother said these things, though. Just including this for some more info.
Extended family includes aunts who cover their head, tattooed cousins, my grandma who's a sweet old lady but very conservative, understandably. My youngest aunt (42) is single, they bug her to find some nice man for herself, preferably a Sunni Muslim (I say preferably, some parts of the family would strongly oppose the marriage if it was the opposite. My mother would be a little irritated but wouldn't be an huge asshole about it.)
Lastly, Turkey is a really weird place. In between two very different cultures, if you live in a place like Izmir (west of Turkey) it's pretty liberal. Go try to live in Rize (north) and they beat people up for smoking outside when it's Ramadan. Women and their role in society differs from city to city. One place you could be murdered for having a boyfriend, one place you could grow up to be a model. It's fairly complex and what i have written is like, 1% of everything.
Basics: I was raised in a Muslim home, my mother is the sweetest person you'll ever meet but mildly conservative. She wears a scarf only if the situation calls for it, like for funerals. Let me wear whatever i wanted as long as it wasn't "absurdly revealing" to her, thinks secularism is important (by this i mean she thinks everyone is free and should be able to believe whatever they want) but made me fast even though i told her i didn't want to, would pick verbal fights with me for saying i wouldn't marry a man before living with him for at least a couple years. Sex before marriage was very much a taboo, especially for women. Except for maybe the latest generation, a majority of the men want their brides to be virgins.
Details: I'm also bisexual and would never, and i mean never, tell them that. I kept a year long relationship a secret before. Last year my mother asked me if i ever had a boyfriend before and i told her about my girlfriend, half-lying half-keeping some truth to myself by not telling that she was a female. I love our language, you can form sentences never revealing what gender you're talking about.
I'm like, %99 percent sure that they would disown me if i dropped the bombs on them by saying that i was an atheist bisexual, they think both of these are some kind of perversion. It's sad. The outcome would be the same if my brother said these things, though. Just including this for some more info.
Extended family includes aunts who cover their head, tattooed cousins, my grandma who's a sweet old lady but very conservative, understandably. My youngest aunt (42) is single, they bug her to find some nice man for herself, preferably a Sunni Muslim (I say preferably, some parts of the family would strongly oppose the marriage if it was the opposite. My mother would be a little irritated but wouldn't be an huge asshole about it.)
Lastly, Turkey is a really weird place. In between two very different cultures, if you live in a place like Izmir (west of Turkey) it's pretty liberal. Go try to live in Rize (north) and they beat people up for smoking outside when it's Ramadan. Women and their role in society differs from city to city. One place you could be murdered for having a boyfriend, one place you could grow up to be a model. It's fairly complex and what i have written is like, 1% of everything.
9. [+128]
I'm a muslim girl, and i'm of Pakistani descent, and i live in the US, in the south. I've visited Pakistan more then a couple times, and there is a lot of blatant misogyny. I remember that I wasn't really allowed out of the house, and if I did have to go somewhere, there was always a male relative with me. However, safety is a factor too, as guys will snatch girls straight off the street. Another thing i've noticed is men staring at me and other girls and catcalling. It's really creepy, and it definitely adds to the reason to not go outside as much. A lot of mosques don't have enough space for girls, which I think is crazy. I'm not forced to wear a hijab or a abaya, but a lot of women do when they go out of the house to avoid the stares. What I really didn't like was the double standards. All the guys were allowed to go outside and have fun, while all the girls had to stay inside and gossip. I tried not to wear any western clothes because people would stare at you. Overall I do think Pakistan has a sexist/misogynistic culture, BUT I don't think it's because of Islam, I think it's from the culture.
10. [+95]
I am a moroccan woman , and it's not being a woman here is not as as some people might make it to be Women here are pretty free; If you wear decently ( saying decently since in islam a woman nor man should wear too few clothings) no one mostly is going to sexually harass you or anything, men and women also have the same rights , there's no limitations when it comes to work or driving or what not Not wearing hijab is not looked down upon, and it's pretty cool living here tbh.
Ps: Some very poor and secluded areas might still have misogynist/sexist tendencies but it's starting to change (and I emphasize , its mostly in VERY POOR and SECLUDED AREAS)
Ps: Some very poor and secluded areas might still have misogynist/sexist tendencies but it's starting to change (and I emphasize , its mostly in VERY POOR and SECLUDED AREAS)