I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s not fair that men always have it easier in all aspects of life.
Let’s examine one particular requirement of fasting during Ramadan and that is that a woman should be dressed modestly and not apply make-up especially on the lips as it means you have broken your fast.
This point is a bone of contention amongst some women in Kuwait. According to Al-Qabas newspaper in a recent survey, 60% percent of the women interviewed applied make-up during Ramadan in one form or another (meaning 50% very lightly and 10% said they wore makeup as usual). 40% of the women interviewed said they refrained from applying make up at all as it would not be in the spirit of fasting.
Reading the interviews on the Al-Qabas survey only reconfirmed what I see around me. Some women opt to take a holiday from their jobs so as not to appear in front of anyone without makeup during the day. At night, after breaking the fast, they can go out as usual in all their made up finery.
Others, wear large dark sunglasses to hide their “pale” faces.
Others still wear light make up as in some foundation, some mascara, light kohl, and very light shades.
Many women opt to wear the Islamic abaya to work instead of their normal clothing which may be flashy or form fitting.
Interviewed women also expressed their distress at the way male colleagues viewed them with unhidden smirks at the “real” unmade-up women before them.
Some men say that they like to see women in their natural state; others say they were stunned with the transformations and did not even recognize their female colleagues. (!!)
I remember the first day of Ramadan someone called up Marina radio station and started an inane rant about the shock he had received at the sight of the women on the first day of Ramadan at work and out and about.
I say fasting should be like a pass to free us from the shackles we are normally bound to. If a woman feels she cannot go out without makeup, then that is a shackle that should be gotten rid of. Wearing make up should be a choice and not something done because others think it makes us look good or better.
If I were a man, in fact, I would be relieved to see fresh, clean faces all around me instead of those caked with foundation and superficial colours. Men who make snide remarks are missing the whole point of fasting and sound shallow.