the casualties of valentine's day ...

....tears, tissues and tragedy


It is a few days to the beginning of the second month of the year and the once carefree Muslimah that was happy being unattached now sulks around, downturned face as none of her male mxit contacts have claimed undying love for her yet and the clock was ticking faster to the day of celebration. On the other side of the screen, the innocent looking Muslim boy spurts sweet nothing to every other female in hope of having one or maybe a few to call “His One” for that day.

Taking a step outside, one would feel as if they have adorned rose tinted glasses as the world looks as if it has been repainted in a blood red hue. Every tree seems to be blossoming plastic hearts, and tacky gifts seem to be more precious than jewels. One would not be wrong to assume that Cupid has struck the entire world with his arrow, from all the love struck couples that seem to surface at this period.

The commercial world which is always ahead of the mood of the consumer, add to the atmosphere with their romantic gifts, cards with lines that would make Shakespeare look like nursery rhymes and roses the price of an entire garden.

Looking through the chronicles of history one sees pages dedicated to the lovers of bygone days. Flipping open ones sees the legend of Romeo and Juliet’s two day love story, a few pages down and the tale of the unattainable love of Layla and Majnu is remembered. Flipping a few pages, one is reminded of the love story of Tristan and Isoldey and Anthony and Cleopatra and further on the romance of Pyramus and Thisbe is retold. As the book reaches an end, last but far from the least the love of Salim and Anarkali who was entombed alive is repeated. Saint Valentine the Christian priest who died for Love is honoured just as he is on this day. Each tale of love seems to hold a central of tragedy and a loss of love before it is even enjoyed.

We look for the definition of love in stories of couples who died before they could enjoy their love, of couples who went mad in the drug of love, ate of forbidden fruit and fell to their death and in fairytale that do not go beyond a feeble happily ever after.

To steal a line from the Brothers of Native Deen: “ We look for love in places dark and cold, when we have a guiding light for the whole world to be hold”.

We have a fairytale to be in awe off; the most romantic love story to share with all; a celebrity couple to use as role model; a match made not by man but by the Creator and the epitome of love; the love of our Prophet and his wife Khadija (May peace be upon them).

Today’s love is so fleeting that many do not have go deeper than the paper they were printed on and last no further than the next message.

Let us take a journey to the month of March and note the wilted flowers strewn on the floor as the once jubilant girl fervently chants, “he loves me, he loves me not”. Hear the regret on the lips on the lad who wasted his allowance all in hope to woo the girl who was never going to be his. Watch the girl franticly exercising off the chocolate induced weight, the only evidence of the love that has now been long forgotten. Get your glue ready to patch those broken hearts.

till the glue dries
i bid thee farewell

a long overdue ramble is due ...

after a crazy year of final exams, an evolution of myself,a metamorphis of my scribbling, lots of firsts and lasts, goodbyes and hellos to many intersting pepole, new charactes adding to my theatre of life and some walking out, others being snatched away and some just blending in with the surrounding, 2010 finally arrived.

No fireworks for my celebration, no drunken cheers but a candlelight vigil for peace in the land of the Pharoahs watched over like a misbehaving kid by police and surrounded my strangers who in that week became freinds in our common bond was how I welcomed in the year of magic, 2010.

Africa's year, My year and Your Year! the year every dream is said to come true, the year we get to showcase ourselves and the year of endless possibility!

returning from the city of dust, crazy taxies, sheesha, pharoahs and police took me many weeks to touchdown to reality and get back to the routine of life.

Check www.footsteps4gaza.blogspot.com to get a peek into the Cairo Chronicles, pictures and my ramblings to follow ..

Scribblings of 09 ...

Pink The ColoUr Of SolidarIty ...

If you happen to walk into AL Falaah College in Durban, on the 28th of November you would have been greeted by a cheery sight of little Muslimahs all donned in different shades of pink hijab and their feet in the cutest pink pumps, and young boys with a colourful array of toppies. Walking around your town you would have been sure to catch sight of many Muslimah’s looking very bright. While around the globe saw hundreds of Muslimah’s shed their normal hue scarf for the bright cheery pink colour.

This is not some new hijab fad or a ritual for the welcoming in, off the colourful season, but the participation of women in an initiative called Global Pink Hijab day. If you have not heard of this day, where have you been as October was Breast Cancer Awareness month. Our Muslim sisters decided to join hijab’s in support of this campaign.

Pink Hijab Day began with a small group of high school girls in the small town of Columbia, Missouri, and the event now has thousands of participates all over the world.
The event takes place the last Wednesday of every October. Participants in Pink Hijab Day encourage the curious to ask questions about hijab, as well as promote breast cancer education, and donate to various Breast Cancer Foundations.

”Pink Hijab Day is intended to shatter stereotypes of Muslim women, as well as raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research”, the Muslim Professional Network (MPN) stated. Muslim women, as well as their counterparts of other faiths across America, Egypt, Botswana, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Trinidad, UK and South Africa observed “Global Pink Hijab Day” by donning pink headscarves. “The MPN in partnership with ABSA Islamic Banking promoted the Day within the corporate sector... by handed out pink scarves in workplaces.”

Al Falaah College was one of the schools which brought this initiative to their classrooms for the second consecutive year, as the school felt they wanted to “inspire learners into doing their bit for the awareness of cancer”. A creative way of teaching by implementation added enough practicality with fun to make the day a phenomenal success. “Learners were asked to donate monies to participate in this campaign, and the proceeds were donated to an organisation which strives in the fight of cancer”, educator Rehana Sayed shared during our chat.

It was just not the learners who got involved in the day, the educators were not left behind, dressed in the pink inspired hijab , educators were treated to “high tea” were a female gynaecologist addressed them on the importance of breast self examination as well as illustrated the procedure that should be done every month.
Educators also had a chance to chat to her on different issues one on one.

Using creativity learners paired together to form a pink ribbon, a highlight of the day for many. This initiative “Brings Currents Issues into the "classroom” and is vitally important as it keeps our youth educated, informed and "in tuned" with the world around them. Using imaginative ways to do this ensures that the "current issues” are not easily forgotten but remembered through the initiatives taken.” This event would surely not be forgotten easily as creativity was one of the key elements in this campaign.

Global Pink Hijab day was intended to initiate dialogue, promote education about the Islamic headscarf and most importantly raise breast cancer awareness.





(PubLished in Inews 09)

Togeather In PinkNess :)