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well, well, now i am serious into politics. i mean i am serious into being an amateur political commentator.

nah, my very first comment will be launched against this political statement made by president and vice president hopeful, megawati-prabowo on the effect of foreign culture on indonesian culture. at first, i would applaud these two for their concern about indonesian national culture, butt….eh but……

Indonesian too open to foreign culture: Mega – Pro

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 05/24/2009 4:24 PM  |  Election 2009

Culture and art experts applauded Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto on Sunday after the two pledged to tackle the foreign culture invasion, which they considered the main reason for Indonesians’ poor awareness of local culture and heritage. (how? concrete plans please! not rhetoric ya. but,  is every foreign culture, like free and fair judiciary and good public service  evil? or is every local culture, like corruption, collution and nepotism holy?)

“Our elites now are too ‘polite’ to foreigners; they are too welcome. Without realization, foreigners have slowly occupied Indonesians,” Prabowo of the Greater Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party said on a talk show “Cultures and Presidency” held at The Jakarta Playhouse (Gedung Kesenian Jakarta). (isn’t politness the core characteristic of indonesian culture? )

“This nation has been too naive, accepting every country and believing that they always have good intentions,” he added. (first, i am an indonesia and m not too naive. it’s you who is too naive to think that there rest of us are too naive to think in the same manner as you do)

Four panelists, Thamrin Amal Tomagola, Budi Dharma, Radhar Panca Dahana, and Sapardi Djoko Damono, along with an audience of hundreds crowding the hall, applauded Prabowo who attended the show with his running mate, Megawati of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

During the one-hour show, Megawati and Prabowo repeatedly cited the negative effects of the foreign invasion when answering every question from the panelists. (mmm? are we being invaded? the way iraq isbeing  invaded by U.S.A or the way fundamentalist Taliban wrecked havoc  Swat Valley?)

“Your statements are substantially good, but still a bit too general,” Rhadar responded to Prabowo.

“I need concrete solutions from you, when facing the fact that the Western lifestyle has influenced our poor neighborhoods under bridges and slum areas along riverbanks. I noticed that a farmer in a remote area sold his farm because his child had been asking him to buy a Tamiya [a toy car made in Japan],” he added. (oh boy, he is too naive on this. listen mister guardian of indonesian culture, the old farmer buying a tamiya car for his son is not about the farmer getting westernized but about to please his son so that he can play along with or stand out amongs his rich boys friends. it has nothing to do with nationalism at all. it’s about class, i repeat class…eerrr Japan is West now?)

“I would say that this is because of our elites, whose lifestyles are too Western. They have idolized [Western culture],” Prabowo said. (mmm…can’t agree more, including you. you are an elite, aren’t you. are you too westernized too? )

Megawati added that mixing culture and tourism could be bad for Indonesian culture. “Selling culture for tourism may be good economically, but not for the culture itself,” she said. (mmm good good, by the way what do you mean by culture? tradition or ways of life?)

“I have seen it in Bali, where Western culture has slowly influenced local traditions. Balinese artists have become inconsistent because of financial concerns,” she added. (nah, it’s your job, provided you win in the next presidential race, to provide them with “good job” which will make them stay consistent with their idea)

“I see that many culture and art practitioners are reluctant to be inside the political ring. That is an obstacle too,” Megawati said, a statement followed by applause. (arts is political you know……it’s laden with ideology say…nationalism. haven’t you read Anak Semua Bangsa by Pramoedya or Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe or poems written by Jose Rizal)

Budi Dharma acknowledged that the two had given hope for the future of Indonesia’s culture. “Good answers, still too general though. However, their concepts have given us a good insight,” he told reporters after the show.

“However, Megawati and Prabowo will definitely face a lot of challenges in applying what they have said if they are elected. Because, any president, whoever they are, will be greatly involved with political interests during their tenure,” Budi said. (bbs)

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well, this is what i hate about indonesian politicians: they tend to think that we are stupid,  NAIVE lot, victim of the ideology or platform of their political opponents. it’s proved by this kind of apocalyptic discourse on indonesian culture. moreover,  i am also irked with this remark that indonesian culture is invaded by foreign culture whereby what these politician mean by foreign is always western.

now i am wondering does every foreign mean western? now who is too naive?

most importantly, we need to remember that culture does not exist in a vacuum. it is just normal that a culture is influencing other or influenced which does not necessarily mean negative. what is not right is when you think that yours is the best and reducing other people culture to caricatures: that is chauvinism to boot.

yes, of course, i support any effort to preserve national culture. however, we need to be cautious here since Frants Fanon has predicted “the Pitfall of National Culture” when the native intellectuals turn to be neo-colonizers colonizing their fellow  less successful-powerful-socially mobile country men.

moreover, we need to remember that nationalist discourse is a masculine discourse. in its logic, woman is the bearer and preserver of the national culture. that’s what really bothers me about this business of preserving our national culture. those elites, with the political power they have, can raise a discourse on  how Indonesian women should dress or behave in order to preserve the national culture, without taking into consideration the view and the want of the women themselves. as a result, they can just point our nose women who do not adhere to their set of rules (of what they think as national culture)  as un-nationalistic or unpatriotic. Worse, we woman have no say about what is best for our interest. IT IS DOUBLE COLONIZATION.

most importantly, this blind nativistic discourse raised by the Mega-Pro Duo is feared to be an early omen on the premature death  of our hard fought freedom of expression. Supposed they come into power, it is likely they will curb any expression in the form of arts as un-nationalist or un-patriotic if they do not follow their prescription of what a national culture should be. as a result, we again will see the bloody ideological war between artists who inserted that art is for art’s sake versus those who believe that art is for society. to put it on other words, whoever in power either the art is for the art’s sake proponents or the art of society supporters will repress their opponents. so, WHERE IS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION?

*the title is inspired by the talk show at the PlayHouse mentioned in the above news clip.

** i am no supporter of other presidential candidates, mind you. I am still undecided or swing voter or whatever you call me. yet i am all for pluralist candidates who are not sexist, chauvinist, and racist.

well, yesterday i had this conversation with the superior. we were chatting about the absence of another lesser superior due to her pregnancy. then promptly this superior of mine launched this sexist remark which sounds:

“this is the disadvantage of hiring a woman. they need too many days off. look at this so and so, she just asked for a month leave because she is getting married. what’s next? i believe she will ask for another leave due to pregnancy just like miss so and so. then i believe that there will be more then one pregnancy leave she will be asking after this. ah, susah….susaah (too bad….too bad)”

and my answer for this sexist reasoning is this:

“aih sir! you sound so bloodily funny. don’t you remember that day in and day out you are naging and naging us the un-married young chaps and chicks around to get married soon. kapan kawin? kapan kawin, that’s your constant questioning. nah, now she has decided to abide your demand and gotten married, but why you complain when she asks for a leave?”

my superior was at loss of words. and i knew i’d won the battle.

beaten-maid2

i dedicate this provocative title to this lady. (this post is also dedicated to the lady in this pic and all people who suffered injustice just because their professional job is become a maid)

huh! another maid was beaten by her employer. this is an unknown story then, especially when this bestiality happen to take place in malaysia. everybody know, we, indonesia, is the biggest supplier for maid to that neighbor country of ours (as if the maids are commodities and you are free to beat them as though they are hordes of cattle).

i don’t say that they, those malaysian, are maid killer or hostile toward indonesian. but i heard this sad story too often;  it’s either the maids are beaten, tortured, extorted, exploited, raped…..other grim things. and because lots of indonesian maids there, so there is high possibility that  the victim of this cruelty  is indonesian.

well whoever they are, indonesian, filipinos, thais, indians, bangladeshis, pakistanis, nepalese, myanmaris, vietnamese, cambodians, WHOEVER…those maids do NOT  deserve this barbarity. then whoever you are, yes you murderous  maid EMPLOYERS,  where ever you are, you cannot, you have no for god’s sake fucking right to treat them that way.

they are people, mind you, HUMAN BEING.. with the same dignity as what you fucking asshole have.

god i am so mad here. MAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will raise an urge  to abolish the porn bill.

2. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will never agree to any bill which will rule out how the people should behave and dress.

3. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will agree that no racist, sexist, and chauvinist fellow should become RI 1 (The president of Republic of Indonesia). read my i need a president not a muslim president.

4. i wish that somebody sane in the parliament will seriously think how to press the government to improve any sorts of public service.

5. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will put forward an urgent assembly to discuss about annulling any variety of religious-based by-laws. that’s god’s prerogative not ours mortal.

6. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will press on how to include sex education in the school curriculum. i’m tired of reading ill-informed government sponsored ad that you get HIV because you commit pre-marital sex.

7. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will demand to scrap the rule that a wife must obtain her husband permit before she can process her passport.  ayolah  sir and madam,  my mom is nagging me to get married soon day in and day out. yet, i am too afraid to be married out of a phobia to get a confining husband.

8. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will seriously think about improving our educational system. what about sekolah gratis (free basic education) up to senior high school? i think we can afford it.

9. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will pay more attention to our ailing ecological condition. god is not mad at us when when we are afflicted by  massive flood or avalanche or mind-choking haze coming from forest fire. it’s us who are insanely inconsiderable when it comes to damaging the environment.  i believe most of today’s disasters are man-triggered.

10. i wish somebody sane in the parliament will instigate  a move to criminalize war. living in a peaceful country like mine, i could not bear myself to read or watch the plight of those living in war zones or conflict areas like gaza, afganistan, sri lanka or swat valley, pakistan. worst,  i know as everyone does, those who suffer more in wars are women and children.

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m quite happy that secular and nationalist parties won at the last ge. you are free to say that m too allergic to religious or sectarian parties.  yes, i am. you know what i think, so much blood has been shed just on the name of religion and narrow-minded sectarian movements. i don’t want it to happen to  my beloved country. and i think god is with me since god’s listened to my pray.

thank you pj bali for the link.

i love this news.

first wave of boycott has resulted in one lawsuit.  it means, this movement can be considered as successful. at least now that movement will be taken more seriously by the skeptics. therefore, those kenyan men will join the women to urge those in power to cease their testosterone driven bickering or else……..(no….i bet my whole year salary….they can’t stand another no-sex-week). i mean, hopefully, this boycott will unite that nation to urge the government to stop fighting and shift their focus to the people well being.

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Sex-starved Kenyan sues over boycott

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) — A Kenyan man has sued activists who called on women to boycott sex to protest the growing divide in the nation’s coalition government.

James Kimondo said the seven-day sex ban, which ended this week, resulted in stress, mental anguish, backaches and lack of sleep, his lawyer told the state-run Kenya Broadcasting Corp. (waaa ha ha ha ha god, this man must use his dick to think not his brain, he does not feel stress, mental anguish and backaches and lack of sleep because of the conflict in his country)

The lawsuit filed Friday claims lack of conjugal rights affected Kimondo’s marriage and seeks undisclosed damages from the G-10, an umbrella group for women’s activists, KBC said.

The women’s caucus caused a national debate when it urged women to withhold sex to protest increasingly frosty relations between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Citizens of the east African nation are frustrated by a shaky coalition government, which was formed after post-election violence killed more than 1,000 people in 2008. The wrangling between Kibaki and Odinga has sparked fears of more violence.

Gender activists say they are not worried about the lawsuit. (you go girl)

“I have not been served with the papers, but I was told they are coming and I am eagerly waiting,” said Ann Njogu, executive, director of Centers for Rights Education and Awareness. “It will be interesting to see the face of a man who is not willing to abstain for the sake of his country.”

Despite the lawsuit, Njogu said, the boycott was successful.

“The principal leaders met as a result of the boycott, and I understand that they are setting up reforms to look into the country’s internal security,” she said.

Plans are under way for women activists to meet with Kibaki and Odinga, according to Njogu.

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see, who say it’s a man’s world. girl rule.

disclaimer: this post is not in any sense of the word anti islam. so for those who think that m a cia secret agent who’s brainwashed by christian liberal secular school of thots and deployed to wreak havoc asian religious values; or a secret operative specially trained by some zionist ideologues to destroy islam; or a radical feminist illegitimate daughter of an aging white male canonite orientalist, who thinks that everything western is cultured and everything eastern is uncivilized, or an indonesian version of vs naupaul’s mimic (wo) man who reads salman rushdie’s the satanic verse at the very tender age of five, just go to hell.

on his comment of my me not religious: nevah wanta one, colson said that there was a gradual de-secularization on most part of republic of Indonesia, my country. well, i couldn’t agree more with him since such thing called de-secularization does exist and i terribly feel flabbergasted by it. just look at regions which are predominantly muslim like aceh, west sumatra, some parts of java and some parts of sulawesi. those regions implement the what so-called syariah law, or laws that take islam as their basic tenets. however, i never heard about regions with predominant christian or hindu or buddhist population impose laws which take those religions as their basic creeds. so, if colson is right about the de-secularization, soon probably we will read in the news about majority christian papuas oblige the papuans to go to church every sunday or get fined or jailed if fail to pay the fine or both for constant transgressors. who knows, may be such thing will happen in the future (i duly hope it won’t).

but, so far i notice that it’s only the muslim society which getting more religious lately. no. i don’t think the word religious is in a correct usage here. i reckon they are not going religious but going religiously backward.

i always believe that religion is a matter of choice. you can be considered as religious if you practice your five times prayers voluntarily. i will label you religious if you don your hijab by choice because you think this is one of the many ways to show your piety to your god. you are religious if you sincerely donate one third of your fortune to help the have nots without hoping for words of praises from clapping hands mortals. so, the key words here are: choice and voluntary. those words are key concepts that make religion sacred and holy.

nevertheless, today we see various kinds of syariah-based laws which are legal base for the authority to criminalize you when you do not adhere those laws. let say in aceh, un-hijab-ed muslim women are stopped on the streets by the authority and given a jilbab to wear. or, in my place, female civil servants serving in the office of the major must cover their heads. here, every morning i will see a laughable scene where a female civil servant goes to her office covering her head yet exposing her thighs. it is understandable since her boss just asks her to pakai jilbab (wearing head scarf) but cares not to ask her to cover her legs because to this religious boss what is religiously important is to see all of his female staff memakai jilbab since it’s religious. the same major also signed a bill that all female school students must pakai jilbab regardless their faith or they can’t attend classes. so, now it’s a common sight in padang to see school girls religiously reluctantly cover their heads but intentionally showing up some piece of hair in the front and in the back. i mean instead of keeping all of their hair inside the jilbab, those ‘rebellious’ girls let some flocks to peep out. i believe they behave this way because they wear the jilbab against their will. Things are different with those who ‘choose’ to wear it; they don their hijab properly (in accordance with their different brands of islam, ok).

i also laugh at law that bans an un-married couple to stay at the same room in a hotel for fear of an act of adultery. so, when you partner would book a hotel room you must show the front desk a legal document that you are married. there are sporadic raids committed every nights in hotels or motels around here. if caught red handed those sinful adulterers would be arrested, questioned by the police, covered by the media, in short publicly embarrassed for their (human) carnal desire. i heard and read they do the same thing in tanggerang, west java. what is so derisory about this law is it spares the homos and lesbians (i do not say i bear any grudge to these people, ok). let say if two women book a room in a hotel, it is so unlikely in this religious padang or bukittinggi the front desk will ask, “are you couples”. if adultery is what this law is trying to prevent, it fails in this particular case. what if those women are in love with each other? anything under the sun and in your dirty mind can happen in their hotel room, right? is this law endorsing homosexuality or what? If that is the case, muslim in indonesia are really great in any meanings the word might bear.

what m trying to say is these syariah-based laws only move on the cosmetic stage of the religion. to put it in another way, people obey the laws not because their love to god or their piety but because they are afraid of getting fined, jailed, fired, expelled from school, or raided. It’s so cosmetic, right? those pathetic people are not afraid of the wrath of god but the fury of the major or the head master or the shah. do we still call this vulgar coup d’état against god’s privilege to be feared by his creatures as ‘religious’? that’s what i call a downright bastardization of a religion. the implementation of these religious-based laws, if you’re trained to read between the lines, basically signs the failure the religion. in other words, it fails to make the believers to stick to its teachings and do what it asks the faithful to do that it needs human interference to make the day. does it mean god has failed? who’s the god now? do religions really come from god, then?

i think this kind of law has hurt those who are really religious; it has offended those who practice their faith piously. and i hope no more religiously backward people in power plan to make so more religiously funny religious-based laws which impinge the private domain of the citizen and endanger their civil right.

p.s. read this to view  the take of the national commission  for women affair on this issue.

it seems ages since the last time i blog. Yeah folk, i am super busy. now i am back home in my country serving my old almamater. i don’t know what to comment on this job. what i know is thousands will kill for it. one can say i am lucky since i pass every kind of lousy examinations leaving thousands other applicants to get to it without so much trouble. i tell you one little secret: this is my (mom’s) dream job. she is so proud of me right now. i can say that my success in landing in this job is the manifestation of her own achievement. mom, a peasant girl, who never knows how it feels to sit in a secondary school, has a daughter with a master degree who is a dosen (lecturer) in a public university. now she has everything in the world except a son-in-law (but that’s is another ranting).

am i happy? i am supposed to be happy. my peers say: “delvi you must be very very very happy. but i think i feel nothing. it’s only now i lose all of the excitement of getting this job. do u want to know why? It’s because of my kodrat as a woman.

So, this is the story.

while studying in malaysia, i began developing a habit of going to any wifi-ed coffee shop bringing my laptop and do my work over there. i love espresso so much. i can take three shots of espresso just in one sitting. nah, now i am working in padang. There is no starbucks neither coffee beans. I can’t find neither Gloria jean’s coffee nor old town white coffee. but that’s not a problem. i bear no grudge of sitting in any warung kopi as long as they have free internet. but the thing is, finding places with free internet in padang is like finding nemo. at uni, the internet is LOUSY. so, my only choice is to go a café on  jalan damar or sit in a lobby bar of rocky hotel. i prefer the latter since it is the only place where espresso is served and wifi-ed.

since my home coming 2 weeks ago, i went there several times. I did some lousy marking work there. and that’s is the problem. me, delvi, a minangkabau, muslim WOMAN sitting in a bar of a hotel /café and a dosen at that. i see it as not a problem. i did not break any law neither did i brace any norm. i didn’t drink neither did I go wild. i just had a cup of coffee while enjoying their free internet (that’s is my main objective of going there). moreover, i always kick my ass out of that place right after the sun set since i need to catch the last bus to get home. yeah padang dies down at dusk. but some self-righteous personalities from my own department who do not really know who delvi is think it is wrong. they think i’ve breached taboos of being a woman. one of them bitterly suggested that if i still want to get married i should stop frequenting any sort of café. one of them complained to my superior that i have been americanized or i am more american that the americans or “ why delvi is so american she did her master degree in Malaysia only even those of us who went to school to america do not sit in a café to have a cup of coffee”

questions: (1) what is so american about having a cup of coffee while browsing the net. (2) what is so unislamic about sitting is a lobby bar of a hotel or café? (3) what is so un-traditional about doing your job in a comfy place like a lobby of a hotel or a café? and…..

WHAT IS SO WRONG ABOUT ME DOING WHAT I WISH TO DO?

they told me: “delvi, now u are a dosen. u need to watch your manner. frequenting places like that will mar your reputation as well as your institution. most importantly, no good woman goes to that place”

you know folk, i retaliated. i fought back. a word for a word. an argument for an argument. but i was alone. It’s like me against the system. i did not really lose the battle but they kept the table. there was a subtle threat that i am going to lose that thousands-will-kill-for-it job if i keep my stand. what is so funny about the threat is there is no such formal rule for someone like me to lose my job just because i drink a cup of coffee in a café.

sigh. i am sick of it. I feel like dying. again in my life, being a woman is killing me. why is everything so difficult for women? why there are so many restrictions for us? why can’t we enjoy life?

One thing for sure, i will do what i wanna do. i will go to wherever i wish to go. only god can stop me.

AND THEY ARE NOT MY GOD.

folks, this is a real story. i don’t make it up  ok.

last nite i saw a boy was busy dragging a girl by the hand. it was 2.30 in the morning. the girl was sobbing meekly following the boy’s lead. i have to tell you that the boy every now and then slapped her and kicked her. Oh yeah, this fella also cursed the girl even i am not clear about the content of his cursing. only hell knows.

i assume the boy was the brother of the girl. probably, his parents sent him to look for his sister. ya ya ya they must worry since it was 2 and 30 in the morning but she was not home yet.

but why the beating? is it really necessary to beat her that way. she was defenceless. what right on earth the boy has to beat that girl? the right as a brother? as a man?

it is so disheartening to see that scene that i automatically darted downstairs to lend my hand to the girl. i did not even put on my hijab, i was just in my very short pants and my father’s singlet. but when i got to the ground zero, they were gone. i pray to god that girl would just be ok.

you know, if i were her, i would fight back. i would bark back. i would trade a strike for a strike; a kick for a kick; a jab for a jab; an upper cut for an upper cut; a hook for a hook. lay a finger on me, be prepared to lose your balls.

i never have a bigger brother since i am the eldest daughter of the family. it means i will never lead the life she undergoes. i am lucky as well since my parents raise me as a jagoan. the best part of it, at school,  bullies have to kowtow to me.

poor girl. but i won’t blame the boy. he is just a part of a  bigger corrupt system. i would likely blame their parents. why don’t they educate him about respect. why don’t they raise the girl the way my parents raise me and my siblings. i will blame the patriarchal culture we live in which gives boys more favor than girls. i will blame the fatwa on tombyism since it gives the girl no right to fight back. girls are culturally expected to be submissive, no? girls are culturally demanded to be lemah lembut, no? kicking and punching are only for boys, no? i will blame the whole world for condoning such a disrespectful act.

wait… don’t start staring at me that way. i know what you are thinking.

this post is inspired by this hilarious news. it said, malaysian clerics has ruled out a national fatwa that tomboyism is against islam. one of them [the clerics] continued to say that god created them [boys] as boys, they must behave like boys…god created them [girls] as girls, they must act like girls.

but i hardly get what this cleric is trying to say. boy’s behavior? which one is it? girl’s attitude? what kind of animal is it? is it biological? or cultural? is there any specific verse in the Qur’an or any hadith ruling out clearly that a particular behaviour is specially attributed to boys or girls?

i am a muslim. i mean i was born as a muslim. biologically i am a female human. culturally i am a woman, no, a girl (that word makes me feel younger). ya ya ya actually they call me a woman because i have boobs much bigger that what boys have. well, it is a kind of difficult for me to find a fit bra. it’s 34 cup F. send me one for my birthday gift please. they name me a girl since i get my period which lasts seven or eight days per month. of course there must be episodes of emoing when my period says hello each month. they label me a woman for i have a vagina and two ovaries for procreation (if i choose to have one). that is absolutely specific to me.  that is completely biological. that what differs me from the so-called boys or human with penis.

however, in terms of behaviour i don’t see any differences between mine and that of the boys.

i cry and i know they also cry. they kick but, as long as i can remember,during my school days i often make boys cry to their mama after receiving my high karate-kick. see, i am dangerous, a jagoan at that. they are avid climbers of tree yet i am a monkey. boys swear. i curse. they love football. but hey, i was the manager of my department’s football team. ato, a boy and my classmate, is an incredible cook. moi? the only dish i master to cook is instant noodle. they involve in a brawl. i was a gang leader, an experienced bully at school. i don’t have to relate here how many bruises, marks and scratches i have out of wars with our opponent gangs.

they fall in love. i don’t have to tell you that i fall in and out love countless times. they chase girls. i scare a boy because i declare i love him first. i lure. they flirt.

they wear they hair short. mine is shorter that you boys. they adore themselves by applying all kind of pomade to beautify their hair. i have more than five lipsticks, two blushers, three eye shadow sets, one mascara and of course three eyeliners which come in three different color, namely: black, blue and brown. daily they wear pants. i hate skirt. but they occasionally wear kain sarung when they perform their five times prayer. i get my telekung. their hobby is speed drive. i have given up driving since i hit a boy almost a decade ago.

in short, there is no special behavior attributed to only  boys or girls. it is just man made culture that constitutes it. in other words, it is not heavenly promulgated. it is not fixed. it will always change along the ticking of the time. it is never a kodrat.

so why do the ulama have to rule out a fatwa (which is something fixed)  on tomboyism which is so relative.

i think it is not right (i am trying not to use strong word here) to rule out that a muslim girl has sinned just because she prefers walking in a particular way that makes her look macho. and it is not right to doom a muslim boy into hell just because he loves to apply a cherry chap stick on his lips.

and it is wrong to accuse all girls who hates skirts as lesbian or tend to be lesbian.  what’s wrong of being a lesbian then?

wait…. i am not saying that i am a lesbian.  i have the qualification to be labelled as a tomboy girl i assure you.  yet,  if i want to have sex, i will do it with men, those with penis. on top of that, it has to be consensual. i will defend to your death my right to my vagina. i’ve warned ya.

what i am trying to say is this fatwa is a sexist fatwa. it is not fair. to read it between the lines, this fatwa has gone beyond banning tomboyism.  it is actually a religiously legitimate form of woman marginalization and oppression.

what if malaysian muslim girl is culturally demanded to be submissive (as opposed to aggressive attitude ascribed culturally to boys) then she will sin if she speaks her mind against the grain. she will be branded  as tomboy because she dares to say no to the status quo. again, with this fatwa, she will sin. she is hell bound. sigh, what a wretched fate befallen muslim woman.

i don’t mean to meddle with some other people’s business by writing on this issue. i am not even a malaysian. but i think this fatwa on tomboyism really stands on a shaky ground. why do i concern? because the same fatwa might see the light in my own country. who knows?