The veil, and an untold story

The Muslim community is raging over a recent policy of the Pilar College in Zamboanga City, which is run by the RVM Sisters. The policy bans the wearing of the hijab by Muslim students enrolled in the school.

There were, expectedly, several reactions in social media. Excerpts from a Facebook posting by “Dawn”:

“More than a decade ago. . . we were in the streets calling for the passage of the anti-discrimination bill. Now we are at the helm of ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], RLA [Regional Legislative Assembly] and NCMF [National Commission on Muslim Filipinos]. We no longer need to shout for our calls to be heard. All we need is to whisper. We now have many Moro legal luminaries who can outshine any other lawyer in the country.

“The hijab issue in Pilar College is an example of unfair and unjust policies vs. Muslims that (have) been made customary for more than a century (now). It is one of the (reasons) why the Muslims in the Philippines want self-determination. The ‘Pilar Policy’ is an injustice that must be acted upon by the empowered Young Moros. . .

“The ‘Pilar Policy’ is the litmus test of Moro empowerment. It is a living symbol of unfair policies against the Moros that have curtailed our religious, political and economic freedom for more than a century. It is a reminder (for) us living in a modern free world but being treated as second-class citizens under the guise of overextended academic freedom. (Eighty), 50 and 30 years ago, we had no right to argue. But today, for the same archaic policy to be defended in the name of academic freedom no longer holds water in the name of justice. Even (by) the simple test of the golden rule it cannot pass. Beyond their defense of academic freedom, they propose no logical reason for such policy.

“If this hijab issue cannot be addressed now, in spite of our ‘empowerment’ and overflow of legal luminaries. . . then maybe our sickness as a people is not ‘disempowerment’ but apathy. Or, that as a people, we are trapped in the mental conditioning that since such policies, no matter how unjust and unfair, (have) been in existence for a century already, we are doomed to just accept it.

“Therefore, no matter how empowered we are, if we do not use these powers to unchain us from unfair and unjust religious, economic and political policies that surround us in our daily lives. . . we cannot truly say that we have left a legacy of a better community or world for our next generations. . .”

In a letter that can only be described as brilliant, addressed to Pilar College president Sr. Maria Nina C. Balbas, RVM, lawyer Mehol Sadain, secretary of the NCMF, pointed out the obvious: Wearing the hijab or veil is both a Muslim and Christian tradition.

On the other hand, Ardishier Arsad posted two resolutions of the city council of Zamboanga that was hailed by Muslims everywhere especially for its timeliness:

“Councilor Percival Ramos, through a Council Resolution passed the other day, is calling the Police to give some police protection to Muslims who go to the Mosque even before midnights for their midnight prayers as well as before the break of dawn for the dawn prayers particularly, in this holy Month of Ramadan.

“Resolution No. 437, dated May 16, 2012, passed by our City Council, also requests ‘all owners, managers and operators of food business establishments in the city of Zamboanga, such as hotels, restaurants,  carenderias  and fastfood chains to label appropriately their food, especially when it comes to buffet preparations, including their menus, so that the constituents in this city will be guided accordingly—whether it is with pork, with chicken, with fish or with beef. It is high time (for) the food business sector in the city (to) be sensitive especially to the Islamic Faith, and even to Christians whose religious doctrines do not allow them to eat pork, and to other Christians for health reasons.’”

“‘Thy Womb,’ Filipino  filmmaker  Brillante Mendoza’s new film about the seafaring Badjaos, is headed to Venice—though not literally sailing on a vinta… (Inquirer, 7/30/12).

“I’m more excited about sharing the story of the Badjaos with the whole world. I will get the chance to present a different face of Mindanao…. (In this film) I focused on a peace-loving people who live in Tawi-Tawi, a group of islands in the south,” Brillante said.

“I am not denying that there is conflict and poverty in our country, but there are untold stories in our midst,” he pointed out.

“I never knew there was such a story in our country,” he said. “The Badjaos are a generally passive people, not aggressive or quarrelsome, and very much capable of unconditional love.”

The Venice invitation that “Thy Womb” got somehow lessens the sting of its noninclusion in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

“Okay lang yon,” said Mendoza. “I am sure the MMFF committee has its reasons for not picking my movie.”

No, direk, it is not okay. This story about a Badjao midwife is a beautiful one. No wonder it was invited for screening at the Venice Film Festival. But the MMFF does not deem it good enough for inclusion in the local filmfest because it does not measure up to the standards of “Tanging Ina” and “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”

Still, Mendoza is right. There are so many untold stories about Mindanao and Sulu, the Badjaos and the Tausug, the Sama and the Yakan, the Mapun, etc.  Like what Susan Calo Medina in her “Travel Time” said, “to know them (the indigenous peoples), to know their history and their culture, is to respect them.”

From what I have seen so far, we still have a long, long way to go.

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