Trousers off for Women
May 26th, 2010, in News, by Patung
The wearing of trousers, jeans, or any tight clothing becomes illegal for women in West Aceh.
West Aceh (Aceh Barat) regency in the province of Aceh in trailblazing fashion has become the first administrative area to ban Muslim women from wearing any type of tight clothing, specifically jeans/pants/trousers.
Criminal
While in other parts of Aceh, where Islamic sharia law is fitfully and gradually being introduced, women are only required to at least cover their head hair and not to flaunt their womanly shapes, West Aceh has seized the day in specifically banning jeans.
Caught
Roadblocks and patrols will be carried out, with the local government preparing 20,000 long flowing skirts to be distributed to women caught in violation of the law. Offenders will be required to change into the skirts on the spot, with their jeans being confiscated.
Offenders will also have their names taken down, and on their third offence will be taken into detention.
Under the new law, coming into force on 26th May 2010, shops and traders will also be forbidden from selling women’s jeans and trousers.
Regent Ramli Mansyur admits the regulation is controversial, but that it is a necessary part of the application of Islamic law.
As a leader I have to implement this law because in the hereafter I will be held responsible for my actions on Earth, and I will be held responsible by society.
He says, in a democratic spirit, that all elements of society support the new law, in majority terms. okezone
265 Comments on “Trousers off for Women”
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Hans says:
Acting on “values” without a relationship with the ideas and realities
means in reality nothing more than that acting on emotion whose cause is
do not know. That is, to act on whims. But no more irrational and
practical way to live is not enough -
ET says:
@ venna
And by that, I’ll say there is no reason for me for not accepting women with hijab.
You are Indonesian (non-white) and live in the USA, don’t you? How would you react if I were to walk on 5th Avenue in a KKK outfit and pretend it’s nothing but an act of devotion, freedom of expression and liberation from or rebellion against capitalist exploitation? Wouldn’t you consider that an insult to your intelligence?
But whatever their reasons are, one thing that we should noted is, it is THEIR OWN choice.
Okay, then wearing a KKK outfit should be MY OWN choice too. Tit for tat.
What’s the danger that is possibly created though, by using hijab?
No more than wearing a KKK costume. Except that, just like the hijab, some people may have reasons to take offence. But who cares about that as long as one is convinced to be right and Allah/God is on our side, isn’t it?
You may say the analogy of hijab and KKK outfit is over the top. But even so it certainly would apply to a burqa or niqab, of which the hijab and jilbab are nothing but watered-down versions. They are symbols and not just fashion accessories.
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And stop crying over 9/11
Reading and understanding are probably not your strongest points.
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I understand the point ET, but the KKK and a Muslim woman in Malang who lack a relationship to the ideas and reality, acting on emotion whose cause she does not know, therefore in caprice. perhaps somewhat irrational and impractical. KKK no damn what horrible comparison.
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venna says:
@ET:
You are Indonesian (non-white) and live in the USA, don’t you? How would you react if I were to walk on 5th Avenue in a KKK outfit and pretend it’s nothing but an act of devotion, freedom of expression and liberation from or rebellion against capitalist exploitation? Wouldn’t you consider that an insult to your intelligence?
______Probably I just raise my eyebrow a little bit while, and assess you whether you’re a threat or not, then when you do nothing dangerous, I’ll walk away and do not care anymore. Living in USA for some years, I already develop my immune system. USA is nothing less than any other country when it comes to what you call as “insulting our intelligence”. I’ve seen illegal immigrants protests, I’ve seen black people march, Amish guys walking with their traditional cloths, a girl with her punk-style hair-ear&nose piercing-plus some tattoes working at customer service at Walmart. All people that I mentioned fall into a category of “strange”, “odd”, “lame”, according to the normal standard, or at least to what US people call as normal. But I can live with them.
Now tell me, when some Indonesians greet you with annoying sentence “Hello, mister” or “hello, bule”, will you directly assume that ALL Indonesians are annoying too? When some girls cheat on you, will you call ALL girls like that? Say yes, then I can understand why you’re so overwhelmingly affected by some jilbabers that adore Osama. And I also will stop seeing you as a logic guy.
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@ Nay:
It’s great fun going up to these heavily clothed women, telling them how sexy they are, and being surprised at how easily they believe me.
______Is it a complain or what? They are normal women, just like me, just like others. Of course they will respond to your compliment, especially when you talk about their beauty. What, you expect them to act abnormal and give you stern and cold face instead? And if they give that face, will you stop complaining and believe that they’re serious with their choice? I’ll tell some ladies that I know about this, just in case they meet you.
But I think it doesn’t matter for them. They give stern face, people will call them sad & desperate women. They give you smiles, they’ll probably interpret it as a lust sign. Yes, it is very hard to be “Makhluk Tuhan yang Paling Sexy”. Every bit of our movement can be interpreted as a sexual invitation by men. Yes I agree, men basically will get attracted and tempted by us no matter what, even those women just show their toenails and did nothing more. And now we can see clearly, which one that is actually the source of sins. Not women, for sure.
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deta says:
ET,
Frankly, before 9/11 I couldn’t care less. But when I saw in the days after 9/11 the jilbab-bitches demonstrate in Jakarta, holding up pictures of Osama Bin Laden to show their support, I became allergic and developed some kind of an aversion.
Wow… if one demo could change your whole view about a particular thing, you must have lived in another planet.
How about this another demo to protest the increase in prices of BBM and infant milk by jilbabbed ibu-ibu? Are you gonna call them ‘bitches’ too?
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Nay says:
Every bit of our movement can be interpreted as a sexual invitation by men. Yes I agree, men basically will get attracted and tempted by us no matter what, even those women just show their toenails and did nothing more. And now we can see clearly, which one that is actually the source of sins. Not women, for sure.
Now, come on. That’s just being sexist. There is no “battle of the sexes”.
God designed men and women to be sexually interested in each other, and by calling that “sin”, you are effectively slapping God in the face. God isn’t stupid. He knows how it’s supposed to work.
The only real “sin” if you like, is by treating the opposite sex as personal property, or by using sex to dehumanize and exploit people. Also, having sex with no intent to procreate can also be considered a “sin” in some circles…. although God isn’t stupid. He knows how it works. If it’s not fun on some level people wouldn’t do it, and we wouldn’t have the wonderful “accident” of life we call children which is really the point of all of this.
If people all learnt how to behave and treat and respect each other properly, we could all run around naked without any problems really.
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BrotherMouzone says:
How would you react if I were to walk on 5th Avenue in a KKK outfit and pretend it’s nothing but an act of devotion, freedom of expression and liberation from or rebellion against capitalist exploitation?
I’d watch and laugh as you got beaten up…
The comparison is nonsensical; a KKK hood is a clear statement that one is a racist. A Jilbab is a clear statement that one is a devout Muslim. A fairer comparison would be a Jewish skull cap/A “What Would Jesus Do?” T-shirt/a Nun’s habit/a Sikh’s turban, all of these are acceptable in secular societies just as the hijab and the burkha should be.
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@ venna
When some girls cheat on you, will you call ALL girls like that? Say yes, then I can understand why you’re so overwhelmingly affected by some jilbabers that adore Osama. And I also will stop seeing you as a logic guy.
So in your opinion wearing a jilbab (islamic identity symbol) had nothing to do with the support for Osama. Say yes and I also will stop seeing you as a logical woman.
@ deta
Wow… if one demo could change your whole view about a particular thing, you must have lived in another planet.
Frankly, when I saw this demo, full of jilbabers holding up pictures of Osama right after the attack, gloating about the loss of life of so many civilians who had nothing to do with it, I thought I was on an alien planet and changed my name to ET.
@ BM
a KKK hood is a clear statement that one is a racist.
And also a devout Christian it seems.
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@ET:
So in your opinion wearing a jilbab (islamic identity symbol) had nothing to do with the support for Osama. Say yes and I also will stop seeing you as a logical woman.
____
Jeez, some women in Indonesia wearing hijab since long time ago. My grandma using hijab, my mom using hijab ocassionally. Do they know Osama? Nope, not at all! -
@Nay:
Keep shooting ’em on their sexuality side is also sexist, Nay. And it also shows your inconsistency, since you mentioned before that it was okay for you as long as it was their choice.
Using hijab is not only a compromise with society’s expectation, where, like in Indonesia women are expected to be faithful and not doing sex for marriage. This value is probably already existed here before moslems from Africa and China entered Indonesia to do business and spread their religion. You still remember what you’ve said, right, about agrarian culture?
Hijab’ usage had been interpreted and translated in many ways since the beginning. At first, it was actually a protection. When the Arabic society mostly seen women as no more than property and moslem women were in more vulnerable position since they had 2 identities (as a moslem and as a woman), they were asked to use full-dress/burqa style hijab so it would be easier for other moslems to acknowledge and gave them protection. The second thing about hijab was of course a continuation of Semitic tradition, and later mixed with local tradition and become their culture too. That’s when people interpret hijab, for instance, as a sign of faithfulness and purity – and some used it to manipulate others in order to survive in their society.
And now, people using hijab for many different reasons, like I’ve said before. If you ask randomly to some jilbabers why they use hijab, you will get different answers. For you, since you’re a westerner guy, probably you’ll get different answer than what I’ve got.
Most of them will say they do it because of their religion, even actually trend/mode is the biggest factor, just like Hans said. Or because of their comfort level, since for some people who were raised in such environment, it probably difficult to completely off or trying something different. Like me, even I don’t use hijab, my style in clothing still resemble the same aspect: covering up most of my body. That’s my comfort level. So instinctively, I will choose this loosen cloth
http://www.wholesale-dress.net/images/200909/1253941343140558074.jpgrather than this style, even both models represent feminine style that I like: http://sophistix.net/pop_eugenia_dress.html
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@ET
So in your opinion wearing a jilbab (islamic identity symbol) had nothing to do with the support for Osama. Say yes and I also will stop seeing you as a logical woman.
I’m sure Venna is terrified of losing your approval…
Of course wearing a jilbab has nothing to do with support for Osama! Do you apply these blanket prejudices to everybody and everything you see? If you get your car dinked by a white male do you assume all white males are crap at driving? If a black guy steps on your toe do you assume that all black people are clumsy? If an Indonesian person tells you lie, does that mean that all Indonesians are dishonest?
It doesn’t sound like a recipe for an open minded life to me. Or a very happy one for that matter…
It always makes me laugh that the same people who complain that Islam restricts women’s freedoms are the ones that would force Muslim women to remove their Jilbabs and Burkhas.
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@ venna
Jeez, some women in Indonesia wearing hijab since long time ago. My grandma using hijab, my mom using hijab ocassionally.
I wasn’t talking about your mom and grandma, nor about some jilbabed girl that might have accidently stepped on my toe. I was talking about a group of female demonstrators demonstrably wearing the islamic uniform while showing their sympathy and ideological support for their ‘brother’ Osama.
Is it so difficult to understand that an observer makes the connection and draws his conclusions? Is so then replace the jilbab with the KKK hood, the demonstration with a nightly cross burning meeting and watch your own reaction. That’s the reason I made the analogy. -
Odinius says:
BM said:
The comparison is nonsensical; a KKK hood is a clear statement that one is a racist. A Jilbab is a clear statement that one is a devout Muslim. A fairer comparison would be a Jewish skull cap/A “What Would Jesus Do?” T-shirt/a Nun’s habit/a Sikh’s turban, all of these are acceptable in secular societies just as the hijab and the burkha should be.
ET said:
And also a devout Christian it seems.
First, the KKK hood and robe is not original; it was taken from Spanish Catholic nazarenos. This is highly ironic, as the KKK were and are virulent anti-Papists.
Second, yes there is a religious dimension to the KKK, but it’s much more superficial than its ideological racism.
Third, KKK hoods and robes are not illegal in the US. But if you wore one in, say, New York or LA, you’d be stomped pretty quickly precisely because of its connection to an explicitly racist organization linked to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. You also wouldn’t last very long in an Osama bin Laden t-shirt. The cops are supposed to protect your right to free speech in both cases, though.
This is, as BM says, an incredibly different situation from wearing a jilbab that really doesn’t merit comparison.
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madrotter says:
these weirdos wear those robes too…
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-82095917705734983#docid=5688492591288248198
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@ET:
What I catch from you is: you developed your allergic to women who wear hijab after you saw some of them who holding up pictures of Osama. You not referring it “ONLY” to some, you refer to ALL. Simply, you now have aversion to them, or a phobia, just like I have aversion to men with beards after I saw 9/11. I hope you don’t have beard, just like maybe you hoping me not using burqa. Otherwise, when accidentally we meet, there will be a session of rajam done by both of us.
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I think both venna and ET have succumbed to the evil power of generalization. Tsk. Tsk. You two are bad! Venna, you said you tend to associate guys with beard with something evil. Now, let’s see if this video can change your mind….
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Can we all please just agree that there are multiple reasons women choose to wear jilbabs? All of these essentializing arguments, whether it’s “patriarchalism,” “anti-Westernism,” “empowerment,” “religious devotion,” etc. are problematic as generalizations. It’s all of these, in different combinations for different people in different places.
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Well, someone has to say something in the pool of jilbab-phobists like in this forum. Otherwise we never learn to be tolerant and really embrace multiculturalism.
Dr. Ziego, you need to stay longer in your psychology class. Your medication doesn’t work for me. Kurang manjur.
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Ross says:
Sorry, Venna, but why should multi-culturalism be accepted as a ‘good thing?’
In a country like Indonesia, built through the union of different cultures, it is a necessity, but elsewhere, it has been imposed by a liberal elite for usually bad or at least illogical, reasons. It has certainly done no good for the Anglo-Saxon countries, nor, as far as I can see, to Holland, Sweden or France.The old adage of ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’ should be the watchword for people who want to settle in an existing nation-state.
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Ross,
Virtually all of your complaints about Indonesian Muslims can be filed under “multiculturalism under assault” (i.e. you allege that they are intolerant of people who have different sets of beliefs and practices, and suggest that they should be more understanding and accommodating of others).
Do you expect them to be multiculturalists but don’t think Westerners should be?
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I think multiculturalism is a good thing. However, saudi arabia — the shitity that sponsors those thugs — has no culture. Therefore, I will gladly reject anything that comes out of / associated with that shitity.
*) shitity: sh*t entity.
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I am sure that girl in the orange shirt doesn’t support Osama. I’ll be very disappointed if she does.
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Odinius. Read my words in my previous post.
Indonesia was from its inception a multicutural country. Sundanese, Javanese, Ambonese, Sumba, Timorese, Padang etc.
It has no other option, despite the difficulties of multiculturalism.Western countries should not be importing the stresses and strains of multi-cult, when even the pre-immigration internal cultural conflicts are eroding cohesion (Flemings/Wallooons, Scots/Welsh/English, Catalan/Basque/Spanish)
It is madness to introduce further and much more intractable trouble through settlement by aliens who won’t integrate.
And that’s not even addressing the economic waste, Equality Commissions, language lesson costs, the printing of official documents for foreigners too lazy to learn English – or French, German, etc. -
The Japanese and Chinese also wish to keep their own cultures intact. It’s not an Asia -v West thing.
If we all had the strictness of Mexican immigration policy, things would be a lot easier. Funnily, Mexico resents it when sensible places like Arizona bite back!
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@ B Mouzone
Of course wearing a jilbab has nothing to do with support for Osama! Do you apply these blanket prejudices to everybody and everything you see? If you get your car dinked by a white male do you assume all white males are crap at driving? If a black guy steps on your toe do you assume that all black people are clumsy? If an Indonesian person tells you lie, does that mean that all Indonesians are dishonest?
It doesn’t sound like a recipe for an open minded life to me. Or a very happy one for that matter…
Did it ever occur to you that you have a tendency to run helter skelter after your own prejudiced imaginations, resulting in conclusions on a personal level that are completely irrelevant? Like a patronizing bully schoolmaster haughtily putting down his pupils.
Not a very inspiring debating partner, if you ask me.@ venna
You asked me a personal question
why it make you feel disturbed when some of them choose hijab?
I gave you a personal answer and tried to explain what made me feel disturbed.
When you see a hijab you probably see your beloved mother and grandma wearing it. When I see a hijab or jilbab the first thing that comes to mind is this demo in favour of Osama because it made a lasting impression of disgust on me. It’s a question of associating certain symbols with ones own experiences. Although I may understand your feelings the abyss between these two perceptions is a bit too wide to overcome.
Anyways, no hard feelings. It’s just water under the bridge. -
While some demos here attract women with jilbabs and women without, the evil demos, by HT, FPI, etc, only attract those with. Perhaps that is what ET is getting at.
I just feel saddened when I see lovely Indonesian ladies shrouding themsleves in these garments. And sadder when I read of cases where they are forced to by local governments, school rules, etc. -
Ross,
I just feel saddened when I see lovely Indonesian ladies shrouding themsleves in these garments.
I see no reason to feel sad if it is their own choice and they’re happy with it, as long as it is reasonable and do them no harm. I always think that plurality makes this world perfect. Gee, maybe I am just too naïve.
And sadder when I read of cases where they are forced to by local governments, school rules, etc.
Now THAT makes me sad too. Any external force towards women to do something against their will (including the force to ‘cover’ them up and the force to ‘open’ them up, like in the case of prostitution) breaks my heart. However, to various degrees, none of us is free from any force in any place. That’s what all rules and regulations are made for. Although in this case, what West Aceh’s government do with this rule is just too much.
And re this from the article:
Under the new law, coming into force on 26th May 2010, shops and traders will also be forbidden from selling women’s jeans and trousers.
Soon we’re gonna see illegal markets of jeans for women in Aceh, just like the illegal markets of blue films in Bandung or Jakarta.
Comment on “Trousers off for Women”.
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I don’t see the problem of anyone wearing jilbab since much of their facial features are shown.
I might harbor suspicions if i see ‘fat ninjas’ though.
And stop crying over 9/11, more have died and billions in petro-dollars is enough compensation. Frankly that excuse has become somewhat of a cliche.