"From Belly Dancers to Burqas: Media Representations of Muslim Women" by Afshan Jafar

Social Justice Event

I knew this would be a great conference to attend because I had never been truthfully informed about Muslim culture in general. Other than what many people speculate about Muslim Women, I had not had any other knowledge. I believe Afshan Jafar knew that most students in the room would be in the same position as me. That being said she chose a very wise way to start of the presentation. She handed out papers and pencils and had everyone write down 3 things they think of when they think of Muslim Women. Most of the results were very similar. The top 6 words people associated with Muslim Women were oppressed, conservative, respectful, controlled, religious and beautiful. Jafar said these are always the answers she receives before she gives her presentation.

The first example she brought up was a movie that many students have probably seen which was "Aladdin (1992)". She discussed the way Jasmine is portrayed in this movie. Jasmine's complexion is very light and more Caucasian than Muslim. Jasmine is also wearing a belly dancer outfit throughout
the entire movie. Muslim women do not spend their entire day in a belly dancers outfit. The villain's name in the movie is Jafar, which our speaker could really relate to.given the fact that her last name is Jafar. It's interesting that the movie gave the villain a Muslim name like Jafar. We also discussed the movie "Pocahontas", more specifically we discussed one of the songs from the movie. It was titled "Savages" and had line in it like "barely even human" and "they're not like you which means they must be evil". This song was portraying Muslims as something horrible and dangerous. Using such degrading terms like "red" for skin color. This movie is a children's movie and to think that children are being exposed to those kind of prejudice conceptions through media is unthinkable. This can all relate back to the reading "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us" by Linda Christensen. In this article she states "research suggest, the stereotypes and worldview embedded in the stories become accepted knowledge." Children soak up the information and without even knowing it they base their views off of how they have been influenced. I think it is important for children to know what they are watching like Christansen says in the reading. If children could be aware of the stereotyping they may not be as influenced. I found another website that discusses the racism throughout Pocahontas. They state that the song savages lacks cultural sensitivity. They also discuss other racist aspects of the movie.

Jafar went on to discuss a specific issue of National Geographic from 1985. The title of the issue was "Haunted eyes of an Afgan Refugee's fears". The front page of the magazine portrayed and Afgan woman in slightly warn down attire. Her eyes are so intense and it's as if she is speaking
through her picture. We were asked to say what we thought the emotion on her face was expressing. I thought it mostly expressed anger, not fear. But I could see how some would interpret the picture in that way. Her face was a little dirty, which could mean that she was homeless at the time or was in poverty. The thing is, we really don't know because the photographer didn't bother to even ask her what her name is, let alone ask about her life. It wasn't until 2002 when the photographer was offered money to track down the girl in the picture, who by the time was an adult. He had nothing to go off of to help him find this woman. If it weren't for new facial recognition technology, he most likely would not have been able to find her. When he did he found out her name was, Sharbat Gula. She was going to be on the cover of National Geographic again, and I was shocked when I saw the picture they chose to put on the cover. She was completely covered from head to toe, not showing her face. She was holding a copy of the 1985 issue with her on the cover as a young girl. I think that this heavily relates to the "Silenced Dialogues" by Lisa Delpit. As a young girl, Sharbat Gula was silenced

without even knowing it. This man that took a picture of her and didn't bother to ask her anything had silenced her. What if she had a lot to say? We would never have known. After he found her 17 years later she did have something to say. This was on the inside of the National Geographic issue with her on the cover. She was very angry with the photographer for taking that photo because she had never been photographed before in her life. He was also a complete stranger. It turns out the next time she would be photographed was 17 years later for national geographic yet again. She was silenced for 17 years. People not knowing how she felt about the picture or if she even wanted it taken, which clearly she didn't. After learning that I thought, maybe she wanted to be covered up on the front cover this time. Maybe that was her way of showing she didn't want the picture taken the first time. There is i replica picture on the inside of the magazine of her making the same face she did as a girl. But maybe after all of this she wanted to send a message after she had been silenced for 17 years.

 Jafar discussed that it's not the clothing of Muslim women that makes them seem oppressed. It is what our culture thinks of as looking oppressed. That statement really opened my eyes. The clothing isn't saying anything, it's what we think that type of clothing means. We might also say that tribes that live naked are "inappropriate", but to them that's completely normal, and it should be because that is their cultures morals and beliefs. So, before we go judging other cultures on what they wear, we should respect their culture and understand just because they are covered up doesn't mean they are

controlled and oppressed. And just because they are naked, does not mean their culture revolves around sex. This can relate back to the article "White Privilege" by Peggy McIntosh. Not being aware of how your views have been influenced by your own culture. With white privilege, one may not even realize how their views have been influenced and shaped. The picture that I posted is a great example of this. It shows that other cultures may have views on our culture that we don't "agree" with or see ourselves, but this picture makes perfect sense. Wearing minimal clothes may show that we are trying to appease men by showing off our bodies. I watched a great video on a Muslim Women that talked about HER opinions and choices. One example is that many think that Muslim women are forced to wear a Hijab and that is not true, they can chose to wear a Hijab with their own free will. The Hijab is meant to protect and honor women and the women want to honor that law wear the Hijab. Another video I found argues who is more oppressed, Muslim women or western society women. It's a great video that directly relates to the photo I posted. This was a great conference and a great learning experience.

Outside Sources:
Pocahontas Racism - http://disneyandmovies.pbworks.com/w/page/17905676/1%20Pocahontas
Sharbat Gula - http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2002/04/afghan-girl/index-text
Hijab - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-1MP_IAj0
Who is Oppressed?- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTI0HOQceqM