Friday, December 19, 2008

Concerning Scrapbooking

Perhaps it's just me, growing ever more intolerant as i totter towards my dotage. Yet the sheer incomprehensibility and pointlessness of people is driving me insane. Or rather I suppose I should say South African Indian Muslims, because that's who they are by and large.

You see I heard about a former friend of mine, now married, and the futility of her new life just infuriated me. Not that I'm judging or anything or that I know what is best for her or for her marriage. What's infuriating me is that we have a society that not only condones these attitudes but actively encourages it.

How many highly educated, smart, driven women are out there - sitting wasting their time in trivial activities instead of ameliorating our society or our country. I mean really .. qualified doctors, scientists and journalists spending their time Scrapbooking?! Are we on the same planet here?

There exists a worldwide shortage of qualified professionals and we are wasting the talents of those precious few, our sanity should be questioned! I suppose this returns us to the heart of the debate around the role of Muslim women, particularly in the West.

It's an issue around which there is some furious debate. I'd like to add an important quote from Professor Abdus Salaam, the first Muslim Nobel Prize winner for science. He said "Of all the lands in the world, the most technologically backwards are the Muslim ones". He further went on to say that this can be attributed to the failure of Muslims to utilise the talents of women. It is a sentiment that I must whole-heartedly agree with. How can you hope to see Islam rise once again, to regain the lead it once held in Science and Technology when as Muslims we utilise only 50% of our resources. Logic alone tells you that this is surely a losing battle.

And yes, I do know and respect the opinions of the majority of the Ulema who say that the first task of a women is to raise her children. But what about those women who are childless, or have just gotten married yet do not intend to have children for a few more years. Why are they not out there using the intelligence given to them by Allah to improve the lives of those around them?

So to the women out there, whiling away their time, Scrapbooking. I implore you, stop wasting your time and talents and start becoming active, productive members of society!

6 comments:

Beelah said...

punk...its for entertainment...and allows some creative expression...don't judge-one can't work all the time and its def much healthier then watching soaps :)

Shafinaaz Hassim said...

ok, i have got nothing against scrapbooking, per se...

but i enjoyed the post.. and its intention.. and the thinking that must come from it. it demands a new thinking in some respects..
women who need to develop themselves, make contributions to the community and to larger society.. and couples who can help each other to grow and take on challenges that will actually allow their relationship to take on new heights.

and a healthy engagemtne of responsibility and time means that home and children arent compromised. i have a friend whose an attorney, and she works from home... and there are health professionals, researchers and writers and various others who find ways in which to do their bit and bring up children, etc... and husbands are more than glad to actively encourage it...

its not all bad :)

Saaleha Idrees Bamjee said...

I believe they call them 'hobbies' Uzayr.

:)

Something that's done in one's 'spare time', as opposed to the time that is outside the ambit of extra.

I have a foodblog and wouldn't it be extremely shortsighted of someone to read that and think that's all I did?

I'm with you on slamming the frittering away of valuable time and getting too comfortable living a life of leisure.

My plans to freelance means there's the added responsibility of filling hours with constructiveness and things with tangible and useful outputs. But if I decide to also take up a course in cake decorating, am I being futile and trivial?

I do agree that we need more strong muslim women (and men) out there steering society towards progress.

However, I'm pretty sure that the one's out there already do take a little time out to pot some rosemary seeds or stick corrugated gold card-stock down to frame a memory.

Az said...

I dont see anything wrong with hobbies.

But what I have a problem with are the Indian Men in our society that believe that the women's place is in the kitchen.

Theres absolutly nothing wrong if you like the kitchen (as i do sometimes) but does the woman not have a choice?

I can't tell you how many times I've been slated and told I'm too "Educated" or clever for my own good...ALOT (Not all) Indian Men want their women dumbed down. They don't want their wives out there making a difference...or contributing to society.

And then little girls grow up with that mentality.

I'm all for choices...if you want to be a Homemaker - Fine. If you want to be a Rocket Scientist - Fine too. But we should be able to choose without our decisions being influenced or dictated by a society that is condescending to our choices.

Unknown said...

I cant help but agree with you. I think all people should have a choice to do what they want and if it's sitting at home doing nothing, then I think it's their perogative.

I just think it's a waste of talent. A good friend of mine in SA finished year 12 with distinctions in every subject, went to uni and pretty much did just as well. Sh ethen got married and her husband wanted her to stay home. Years on and now at 27 she has 3 kids, 2 domestic workers and a gardner. Conversations with her can be painful and I find that there isnt much she has to say besides how exhausted she is with the kids and compaints about her mother in law or her husband. The complaints are never anything serious, it's pretty much just become her demeanor. We have nothing in common anymore besides the years when we were in school and we talked about everything under the sun, from politics to cooking. Nowadays she has no clue whats even going on in teh world.

She is one of many girls like that, that I know and I can't help thinking it's a waste of all the potential that she had and I think it's not the best example for her own daughters. I also know though at the end of the day, thats the choice she makes for her life and my idea of what young women should be doing is not everyone's cup of tea.

Good post

Bebedores do Gondufo said...

Good blog.
Carlos
Portugal