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.
This is the original message of a woman, which we have published here with only minor editorial changes.
It is important to note that this woman is not an ex-Muslim. According to her, she still considers herself a Muslim and has not yet seriously contemplated leaving Islam. Her only request was a simple one that we provide a space on our website for her feelings and her voice to be heard.
While her personal experience may not represent the diverse lives of all Muslim women globally, the fact remains that her lament is a profound echo of the suffocating reality endured by millions. For this reason, we recognize this pain as an undeniable truth, and we are publishing this elegy of her life.
Postscript: Although years have passed since I left Islam, as a man, I still find myself unable to fully grasp the true depth of this oppression. Every new testimony, every new realization, serves as a reminder that I still cannot see the world through a woman’s eyes, and perhaps I will never truly be able to comprehend the full agony of that confinement.
Hassan Radwan