Who Snatched My Scarf And Shredded It Into Pieces?

When I go out of my house, I see women on the streets covered in quite enough clothes for the hot sunny days we have here in Karachi. Laden in chaadars, burqas, dupattas and scarves, women are waiting at the bus stand or shopping at the local market or simply walking around. It is true that some women can also be seen bare headed or wearing some modern attire like jeans with kurti. Still, generally one would say that all women on the streets here are modestly dressed; even the most modern ones are pretty modest, and one can't really object to their choice of clothing unless one happens to be an extremist.

We see that as far as the hijab of women goes, the majority of women are doing a great job of maintaining good standards of modesty in society. By wearing full sleeves and dupattas on their heads despite the hot and humid weather we have here, they are making a sacrifice the whole community should be grateful for.

Now let's see how much are the men contributing in this regard. The hijab of men lies in their gaze. Yet, no matter how a woman is dressed, if she is young or looks pretty, she will be stared at. But wait, this article is not about women getting stared at in the streets. However, the reasons that are often given for staring or street harassment go like this: Because she was less modestly dressed, i.e. because she was wearing jeans or tight clothing or was wearing so much make-up or those eyeglasses or those high heels! Or maybe just because despite all her attempts to cover her entire self - her femininity still could be made out from her clothes if you looked hard enough!

But what about the biggest reason? The skeleton in the closet; the reason that is ignored and nobody is willing to talk about? It seems that the women on the streets are doing their duty well. But have the men forgotten that they too have an obligation in maintaining modesty in society? 

When we genuinely ponder upon the root cause of this evil, we realize that men are to be held accountable at large - not for staring at dressed up girls on the street but for staring at completely uncovered women on their TVs, laptops, and phone screens in the quiet of their homes.

It is no hidden truth that all men, old & young alike, have access to pornographic content today and internet statistics can show how many of them are actively and routinely watching it. Many of them are serious addicts, yet others watch it for entertainment now and then. Not to deny that some angelic souls may be refraining from it (may God bless them and increase the likes of them), but an overwhelming majority of men have fallen into the lure of the porn industry. They spend so much time looking at vulgar women that their eyes inevitably visualize the same whenever they look at a woman. How can these men order women to observe hijab when all that they have done on their part in bringing modesty to society is nothing but the rape of their own modesty. 

Yes! what happened to the hijab of men? Why have they kept no check on their gaze? Can any woman by any amount of garments hide the filthiness of a society where men have no leash on their eyes? These eyes which have virtually seen the most vulgar of what vulgarity could offer; never in the history of mankind did man had such fast access to witness sins unknown and sins unimagined. Can anything be done to un-see what has been seen by them?

If you look through tainted glasses, you can only see the tainted view. That is why if your eyes are stained with lust, you will see everything stained with lust. If your mind has forgone haya then outfits depicting outward haya will not prevent you from evil desires. 

Men of my society, men of every Muslim society! I am speaking to you. A woman goes all the way to cover herself from head to toe in the hope that she is giving your eyes no reason to lean towards sin. But her heart is broken, and her hope is shattered when she sees your eyes have already succumbed to sin. That the damage is done, she realizes who truly has snatched her scarf and has shredded apart the very idea of hijab in doing so. By playing the opposite side, you have rendered futile all the efforts of women in building a better society.

If you have any shame left - if you have any ounce of sense of responsibility left in you, ask yourself and your friends to first abandon this abhorring indecent act before asking your women to cover themselves. Know that this is not just about street stares or harassment; it is much more than that. It is about the dignity of the whole society and every individual in it. When lust conquers the mind, relationships are scarred, rules are breached, evils breed and perversions are born. If not for anyone, then for the innocent souls that await their arrival in this world. Please help create a righteous society. The women are doing their part – it's about time you do yours!

And always remember, Allah is Oft-Forgiving & Most Merciful to those of His servants who repent sincerely.