The feminist tagline : Woman and PROUD of it

I'm a mild feminist. Mild, because I know there's more than just standing up for your own self to be a true feminist. Still learning though..

I like to do what the guys told me I can't do. They say you can't "belajar tinggi sebab nanti end up dekat dapur jugak". But I am. Master's degree in UM and am loving the fact that I'm as intellectually challenged as the next guy.

They say you can't do hard-core physical activity because you're weak. But I did. Conquered Mount Ledang (all 1276 metres of it), which I must point out is three times higher than Bukit Tabur.

They say you should have a big, tough boyfriend who can oh-so "protect" you from the "big-bad-wolves" of the world, the one that will shield you from those people making chicken and ham sandwiches in the KTM coach, the one that will help you carry your handbag because it is too "heavy" for you to carry it on your own, the one who will decide for you what and how to wear your tudung because using your mind to have your own opinion could result in permanent brain damage.

But I don't. And I know I'm doing okay so far.

(And yes, I actually have a friend who went into panic attack because she was caught red handed not wearing her tudung the way her douche boyfriend wanted her to wear it. And my former roommate, who is such a great person, had to literally hide her test paper from her loser of a now-ex-boyfriend because he can't handle the fact that she's smarter than him. This guy actually told her not to study or ace the exam.)

I look up to successful women. My mom, because she is one amazing, successful cook. I like the fact that as much as I look like my mom, I take on more of my dad's traits but her cooking skill is the one thing I have always been envious of. I'm not exaggerating and I'm not saying this because she's my mom. Ask any of my friends, ask any of my uncle or aunt, ask anybody who has ever been to our home and had something to eat. They would attest to this and I don't even have to bribe them. Everything that comes out from her kitchen is pure gold.

She also taught me not to be weak. One time when I had a momentary fling (nothing serious) with a guy and things didn't work out, I found myself crying (I was young and naive then). When my mom found out, she gave me a time limit to cry ("Sampai pukul 6.30 je") and after the time limit she said I can not cry anymore. So I cried till 6.30 and she took me out to Subang Parade after that. Really, I'm not even joking. How cool is that right?

I also look up to Saidatina Aisyah Abu Bakar, wife of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w who was known for her intelligence. Others include Dzireena Mahadzir (local columnist for The Star), Madeleine Wickham (successful author of the Shopaholic series), and Prof Dr Siti Salwah Salim (my lecturer who made me realized that one of my goals in life is to do a PhD before the age of 35).

But there is one who's not on the list : Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Her awards speak for her success and she is a feminist activist but Ayaan Hirsi Ali is far from a solid role model for Muslim women. This is a woman who realized she lost her faith over a glass of wine and actually challenged students of an Islamic primary school in a debate of Quran and Dutch constitutions. Why she didn't challenge adult Muslim women is beyond me. And her critical views towards Islam astonish me deeply. She justifies her actions as practising the freedom of speech but realized only later after being sued that she "should have chosen her words more carefully". It's kind of funny to me. She's a smart woman but it took her one long court proceeding to figure out that she should have been more sensitive.

I'm not sure if her book is available here in Malaysia. It is very controversial, that much I can tell just by googling it. However I have to agree with the review made by The Economist :

".... much as she tries, the kind of problems that Ms Hirsi Ali describes in Infidel are all too human to be blamed entirely on Islam. Her book shows that her life, like those of other Muslims, is more complex than many people in the West may have realised. But the West's tendency to seek simplistic explanations is a weakness that Ms Hirsi Ali also shows she has been happy to exploit." (The Economist, 2007)