News

The flashing of flesh in several Gulf States may just have got a little harder after efforts were launched to ban bikinis and get visitors to cover up.
In Qatar, a campaign using posters and social media is encouraging expats to wear modest clothing in public, while in Kuwait, lawmakers have reportedly called for some swimwear to be outlawed.

A committee dealing with "tackling bad social behavior" has approved a proposal to ban "nudity" of women at all swimming pools, public places and in hotels, according to the English-language Kuwait Times.

Al Arabiya News reports that the Islamist lawmaker has not given a definition for the term ‘nudity' but, according to the Kuwait Times, issued a statement ‘strongly criticising women dressed in bikinis at some swimming pools, on beaches and in hotels' adding that the term ‘also includes revealing or improper dress'.

The newspaper added that any proposal must be accepted by the government as well as by the Assembly. A separate proposal to ban bikinis was thrown out by a parliamentary committee as unconstitutional in 2011, the newspaper reports. (Sources: CNN, Al Arabiya News)

Comment

The dress of women has often received the spotlight to measure how progressive or conservative a country or culture is. With the notions of personal freedom, where each person can decide what to wear, dominating discussions it can easily become confusing to decide what is acceptable or not. There is an argument that if Muslim women can cover up in Western countries then why is it not acceptable for non-Muslim women to dress as they please in Muslim countries? Also, traditional views are often relaxed in an effort to increase tourism for financial gains all the while causing internal conflicts.

The fact that this issue has arisen, is being debated and laws are to be passed, if approved, shows that the Gulf States are themselves in a state of confusion as to what the limits of women's dress should be.

Islam came to solve these problems with rules set by the Creator, Allah (swt) not the limited mind of man. For one man/woman limits may be a certain level and for another they may vary. For Muslims personal desires and freedoms are of no meaning and deciding what is acceptable is only by the Quran and the Sunnah.

(وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُّبِينًا)

"It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error." [Al Ahzab: 36]

So the dress of the woman whether living in the west of east will remain the same and the Muslim woman in the west who covers according to Islam is not availing freedoms but rather adhering to the commands of Allah (swt).

As for the non-Muslim tourists in the Muslim countries today they will have to comply with man-made rules which can change with time. The Gulf States are torn between conservative/progressive views and the absence of Islamic thought in their systems and laws. It will only be under the Khilafah "Caliphate" where a modest dress code will be one aspect of a comprehensive social system which ensures honour and dignity for all women. Enjoyment and recreation will be in a pure way with taqwa and goodness. All actions in society will seek to protect rather than objectify and devalue women and the state will be the guardian and protector of all citizens.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Nazia Rehman - Pakistan