Talk sheds light on realities of life for Muslim women

In an ironic twist of fate, Aminah Assilmi, who years ago began investigating Islam in order to convert its followers, ended up converting to the religion herself. As a part of the Muslim Students Association's Islam Awareness Week, Assilmi came to Penn to lead a discussion on the empowerment of women in Islam. The event drew a diverse audience of 50 students and community members, who came because they wanted to hear Assilmi's candid explanations of Islam's views on the roles of women. "Islam offers so much to women. It is absolutely amazing and it empowers women in so many ways," she said. Addressing the many misconceptions about Islam and its oppression of women -- that women are subjugated and have limited rights, for instance -- Assilmi explained the philosophies behind the traditional dress, marriage and divorce laws in her religion. She told the audience that hijab, the traditional dress code in which women wear scarves on their heads and cover all skin except for their face, hands and feet, does not signify repressed women -- instead, it is the mark of a strong one. "Nobody forces us to put this on," she said. "It's a choice that we make, but it takes a lot of strength and courage." Assilmi admitted, in fact, to having faced discrimination due to her traditional dress, yet said: "This is the mark of a woman who knows who she is. She knows her rights, she's not a toy. Don't mess with her because she'll take you out." Assilmi also asserted that polygamy, another Muslim practice, is not intended to adversely affect women. "Polygamy was designed for women," she said. "It was designed to meet their needs." According to census reports, she says, women outnumber men. Polygamy was instituted in order to satisfy their needs. "Women have a right to sex, but within the bounds of marriage," she said in support. As a speaker who wants to be known only as a woman, mother and follower of Allah, Assilmi said she hopes her efforts will do more than simply address the issues of women. "I come out to talk at universities like this not to convert people to Islam, but because I believe in peace," she said. She said she would like to reduce ignorance of Islam and believes that an understanding of the religion will help bring peace. Assilmi also made a clear distinction between jihad -- the principle behind religious war -- and terrorists, stating that terrorism violates all the rules of jihad and is not a true representation of Islam. Assilmi finished Tuesday night's event with a brief question-and-answer session providing practical advice to young Muslim women who are questioned about their beliefs. She suggested,"Tell them I wear this because I am Muslim and I love being Muslim. That's all you need to say."