The Sky Taken Away
In the past, when homes lacked toilets and bathrooms, even women from the most conservative Muslim families had at least a small reason to step outside, to relieve themselves or to visit the public hammams for bathing. Those brief walks, though carried out under heavy veils and restrictions, still allowed them a momentary taste of freedom, of air, of sunlight, of existence beyond the walls that defined their lives.
But in today’s world, we have lost even that little escape.
The chains of modesty have tightened further. Now we spend endless days locked within concrete rooms, where neither sunlight touches our faces nor fresh air brushes our skin.
In the name of ghayrah, even the sky has been taken away from us.
It is the original message from a Muslim woman (with a slight change of words from our side), who requested to publish it on our website.
We recognize that her perspective may not reflect the diverse experiences of Muslim women globally, but still her lament indeed captures the suffocating truth of millions.
PS:
I’ve been an ex-Muslim for years now, yet as a man, I still struggle to fully grasp the depth of suffering endured by Muslim women. Even after all this time, new realizations keep emerging, each one leaving me wondering how I still fail to see the world through their eyes and still not able to comprehend their pain fully.
Hassan Radwan