DATE: 25 JAN 2017
LONDON: You must wear shoes with heels 5-10 cm high at all times when you are at work. You must wear make-up and regularly reapply it. You must wear tights, but not opaque one.
Those were some of the rules in a dress code imposed by British recruitment agency on its female workers before one of them, Nicola Thorp, refused to wear high heels one morning and was sent home without pay.
After Thorp, 27, started a petition against compulsory high heels on parliament's website that garnered 152, 420 signatures, her rebellion became a national talking point and led into to an inquiry by lawmakers into workplace dress codes in Britain.
They reported on Wednesday (Jan 25) that sexist dress codes were rife in some industries and women were routinely being forced to wear high heels in a job where they were on their feet all day and their shoes were causing them pain and health problems.
"This may have started with a pair of high heels, but what it has revealed about discrimination in the UK workplace is vital," said Thorp, commenting on the report.
Under Britain's equality law, company dress codes must make equivalent requirements for women and men, but lawmakers said breaches of the law were widespread in the sector including hotels, travel, temporary work agencies, hospitality, and retail.
The report said women facing discriminatory dress code tended to be young and in low-paid jobs with precarious contracts, making it difficult for them to challenge company practices.
It called on the government to take urgent action including raising financial penalties against employers found to be in breach of the law, promotion of awareness campaigns targeted at companies, workers, and students.
The lawmakers set up an online forum for one week in June last year, and 730 people came forward with stories.
While high heels were the most prominent issue, the lawmakers also heard from women who had been required by companies to dye their hair blonde or wear revealing outfits.
"I came in one morning and my manager was cracking down on uniform and informed me that I had to look 'sexy', which entailed wearing heels," wrote one retail worker, who gave her name as Jasmine.
Jasmine complied, but her job involved standing and walking all day and she found high heels extremely painful
"When I asked my manager if it would be OK if I changed to flats she replied saying what girl can't wear heels?' and continued to tell me I was being pathetic, she wrote - Reuters
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Summary
Alhamdulillah, in Malaysia we are free to be your own self. We are free to decide our own choice and accept its consequences. We are not being restricted to voice out our voice and ya, as we can feel now, we are genuinely happy to live in here.
Nevertheless, as we direct our view to other countrys, there is some part of them have to be someone else in order to get a job.
Even though, in London, their dominant community is non-Muslim, they still got awareness, where in reality (secara fitrahnya) they are too familiar or unlikely to wear high heels, wear revealing dress, and put make up all times as well as blonde their hair.
As we reflect on Islam teaching, all the above act are indeed against the Islam teaching. It touches on two aspects which cover
1. some part which would we have to cover (aurat)
2. changes that we can't do to our own body
1. AURAT
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُوْلِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاء وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss. (An-Nur: 31)
Why do we need to cover aurat??
because it is our obligation
Dear girls, every single thing that ALLAH ask us to do, just believe it that there will be always significance reasons behind it. For instance, in this case, even in LONDON, a country which is freely minded-civilised also think of shyness and voice out of not to wear a sexy costume.
Ya, it is undeniable because it is our 'fitrah' to cover it.
2. Changes that we can't do to our body
عن ابن مسعود رضى الله عنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لعن الله الواشمات والمستوشمات والمتنمصات والمتفلجات للحسن المغيرات خلق الله
Relate to this hadith, a London's folk refuse to dye their hair. Hence, we can see it is naturally we follow Islam teaching.
Be a true Muslim, put Islam in a higher place.
#innaddinindalahislam
