Technologies Can Change the Bad Impressions against Muslims Women?

Over the last decade, Muslim women's garb and Muslim women’s freedom have been the focus of public attention either in Western media or our own country. Characterizations of Muslim women as '”oppressed,” ”ignorant,” “submissive” and “uneducated” are rampant in the Western media. There is a significant role of technology in changing negative stereotypes upon Muslim woman. What is specifically damaging about stereotypes involving Muslim women is these stereotypes have the potential to limit their activity in various career fields, as well as lead to a perpetuation of loss of rights in education, work and even the rights over one's own body. There is no problem more systemic than stereotypes, so there is a large hope that technological advances will be able to address this issue.

Behind all the programs involving a technology such as Facebok, blogs, twitter and YouTube reports are individuals who chose to make a difference. One of technological mechanism that allowed for a change in stereotypes is blogging. Blogs have allowed Muslim women to address groups without fear of misrepresentation due to stereotypes. A rapid increase in blogs and media watch sites have occurred. For instance, Fatemah Fakhraie, the founder of Muslimah Media Watch (MMW) has made significant strides in this field. She says that her reason for starting the blog was that she was "uncomfortable with the mainstream media's tendency to portray Muslim women as either 'exotic sex slave, oppressed women, or dangerous terrorists.'" As such, she established the Website as a method with which to tackle one-dimensional and misleading representations of Muslimah in media sources.

Muslim women should take the matter into their own hands. As noted, several individuals have come up with remarkable ideas and literally have taken the problems into their own hands. From such actions, problems have begun to ease. Sexual harassment is being reduced. Stereotypes are being broken. In the end, technology is an aid to change, but it is only the individual who has the ability to make that change.

Muslimah: Muslim women

Refference: Muslimah Media Watch, from http://muslimahmediawatch.org

Karya :
Noor Azila Binti Johari
Timbalan Lujnah Penerbitan & Informasi Kelab Iqra' sesi 2012/2013