Warning to all haters : This opinion is not intended to humiliate, anger or sadden Somali men! Its just a reaction to SOME somali guys who have been a bit arrogant in their opinions and observations of women today.
Its part opinion, part fact.
There are two things that irritate me : the first is how guys think that Somali gals have become more western, over confident, demanding and unprincipled.
The second thing is how guys think that any girl who does not wear hijab must be either sleeping around, highly adventerous, easy and or unislamic therefore she would not make a good wife/mother.
I know plp have talked about this, in groups, within social circles and etc, and i know that a few guys admit these days that there is nothing wrong with being over confident or whatever, but i think that this issue has not fully passed. Its a silent problem in that plp have not completely discussed this issue honestly and that is why i want to get this issue addressed once and for all.
Concerning the first issue, i would like to state that it is a great tragedy that our guys are blaming westernisation and personal weakness ( on the part of somali ladies) for girls these days being more demanding and loud. This must be nothing but a conspiracy waged by insecure, egotistical,woman-bashing somali men. Why and How you ask?
Culturally speaking Somali women have always been hard working, strong-minded,clever people since the begining of time. Its baiscally in their blood and language.
In Somali literature and music and poetty as well as in our great history, the man is always posed as being in awe and admiration of the Somali woman. He is always the one that is being led by her and she is posed as being in control of his entire being and sitaution. This also applies to our courting and romancing tradition.
Ask your great grand farther, and his farther and so on, they will tell you the same thing. Our women are beautiful, physically and mentally strong and charismatic plp and that is why they are too confident. They have many reason to be.
But that is down to culture, NOT western influences. It may seem to you guys that the somali ladies of today are too confident in a western way, but that is not neccessarily a bad thing, and it does not mean they are becoming more western. What it means is that they are expressing their cultural self independence in the enviroment they were raised in.Thats only natural and logical. Still that same charisma is there and is only being transalted in different ways now due the fact that our sisters are all around the world, and not in Somalia.
The second thing is that plp should never judge others at face value. Just becasue a girl does not wear hijab does not mean you could walk all over her. Religion, i believe, is a private matter. I have heard of (and seen a few) many girls who wear hijab, jilbab and all that and are hookers and users by night. So it is really unwise to make sweeping generalisations about women with no hijab, u never know whats in her heart.
I bet there are plenty of gals out there who dont dress unislamically but dream to be great teachers and mothers.
In conlusion, it is my personal wish that Somali men should just stop hating on their sisters and being ashamed of them. Sure we have somali hookers but what about also the lazy chad -chewing guys, what about them? Are they not a problem too?
It is so ironic because the Somali woman of today are so much better, more hard-working and educated than they were 50 years ago. You guys should be even more appreciative of us.
My mother is highly educated woman, majored in a Economics, and worked as a director of the Ministry of Finance before the war, she had a car and a villa before she met my dad. those days women had help in child bearing, they had maides all over.
Now, in this day and age ,its like waking up at 5.00 am in the morining, breast feeding/feeding the children and the hsuband , dropping the kids off and going to work @ 9.00. Come back at aroung four to do the same breast feeding and feeding routines, cooking for the husband and manage to get about 5 hours sleep atleast for the next day
Could you imagine investing your emotional and physical being to every body in the house and still keep a good 9-5 job career ? A man could never do that, he was not made for that. But its getting harder for us these days and we are stronger than ever, stronger than any somali man will ever be in a battlefield.
The bottom line, we are better than you, more educated than you, stronger than you , more patient than you. So dont hate us , blame us, patronize us, demean us and belittle us to a few alcohol drinking girls that you saw in last weeks rewayad at stratford! There are many others out there which you could only dream to be like!
Thank you
nOTE: I did not bring up the hijaab issue cos i dont wear one - because i do wear one. I have been living in london for the past 14 years and there was not one day i took my headscarf of. Its a personal choice.
And i am 22 years of age, student of economics at university in London, 2nd yr, and suprise suprise i aint fish and chips and will vehemently (and politely) react to anybody who says i am.
