MIA ‘BAD GIRLS’ VIDEO

 

Its no shock with all the events in the Arab world that MIA’s video for the song ‘Bad Girls’ has reached over 17 million views. The video, shot by Romain Gavras in the Moroccan desert, features women clad in flashy aluminum Burqas racing dusty BMW’s while the men wearing plain white look on from the sidelines. Initially I loved the video, I saw it as challenge to the Saudi ban on women driving. But just like MIA’s Superbowl performance, upon further inspection it left me with some lingering questions. Firstly, if it was a commentary on the ludicrous nature of Saudi law with regards to women, then why aren’t the women driving the sideways cars? This would have made the video more of a satire on the Saudi law, as if a Saudi leader might say to himself “Ahh let women drive? Impossible, a woman would drive a car sideways!”.

After this analyses, I realized that I was reading more into the video then was actually there. I can’t deny that MIA has not done anything revolutionary with this video, she still represented a limited view of Arab women & Arab culture. Yet I was so used to seeing Arab culture depicted without any sense of hope, fun, pride, that this video was overly appreciated. We all know that Romain Gavras and MIA were trying to stir up something with this video, and the way in which they did it was by taking bits and pieces of Arab culture and stitching it with MIA’s grunge chic in order to produce a hipper version of Arab stereotypes. So why did most of my other  Middle Eastern friends and I love it? Because we are not used to seeing pop culture depicting Arabs as hipster chic. Usually its the dirty Arab, or the Angry Arab, or the bland Burqa Arab. At least MIA’s characters had some flavor, but they definitely lack dimension.

All in all, this video does not represent much that I have come to see as the Saudi woman. But it does have some pleasing aesthetics, and some Abayas I would consider buying. So I give this video a B-

 

the Good, the Banned & the Burqa

I’m no scholar, but I can tell you that it is AGAINST TRUE ISLAMIC TEACHINGS to force anyone into being Muslim, let alone into wearing a Hijab. Furthermore, people too often confuse the Burqa or Burka, which is a cultural dress worn in the middle east, with the Hijab spoken about through the Quran & Hadith which say that at a minimum a scarf must cover a woman’s neck and hair. However, a woman may choose not to wear a hijab and still be considered a Muslim, the hijab is however recommended to Muslim women as it is a part of the (sunnah) and is furthermore directly mentioned in the Quran. Some of you may be wondering, what is the difference between a Burqa (middle picture) and a Niqab (pictures to the right & left). While they are both very conservative garments, the Niqab allows for a clear slit for the eyes. Further more the Niqab is more widely accepted by Muslim cultures around the world, while the Burqa is usually seen as a traditional Afghan adaptation, and is mostly only used particular areas in the middle east. Among my Hijabi friends, Burqas are looked at distinctly from Islam in a sense, because no where is there any real justification to trap a woman in the tent like structure that is the Burqa. If it was all a matter of personal preference, then who cares what kind of scarf a woman chooses to wear, right? Sadly though, that’s often not the case. Some women are compelled to wear such attire, weather by governmental decree or the threat of being ostracised.

I remember last year, France’s ban on certain Hijabs in public was widely criticized because it promoted xenophobia. The fact of the matter is, this ban was completely xenophobic. If a woman chooses to be veiled in France of all places she clearly is doing it of her own free will.

Some Muslims might get uncomfortable with me talking about this subject, but we all know that women should be, and are in some Muslim countries (ex.EGYPT), free to choose of their own will weather or not to wear Hijab, Niqab ext. This is verified by  Muhammad SAWS’s teachings on religious pluralism, respect of women, freedom of choice ext. Yet and still some Islamic Theocracies chose to ignore these teachings in favor of harsh and hypocritical interpretations. – AND THAT’S JUST NOT ISLAM. THATS OPPRESSION.