I appreciate your words!

Well said.

Amina made the mistake of not consulting our very own keyboard activists for advice on proper protest conduct and behavior. Valuable information ignored, because as you know, those that spend most of their lives in front of a monitor are constantly on the front lines when it comes to fighting oppression.

there are always those who recognize that someone needs to move to the front of bus in order for the drivers to take notice, and then they go there, despite the fact that they are generally scared shitless about the possible consequences when they do it.

Alice Paul, MLK, Rosa Parks, etc....all were heavily criticized for being "uppity", in their respective times, for their approach to activism, for engaging in bold, timely, unconventional non-violent acts of civil disobedience, even often by their activist peers.

The story of the incredibly persistent, determined, and successful feminist activist Alice Paul is particularly relevant here, IMO.

In Amina's case here, I believe it may not always be appropriate for western feminists to project western perceptions/ conceptions of the sexualization and objectification of women onto women in the Muslim world, especially in regard to radical actions women in the Muslim world feel they need to engage in as they attempt to free themselves from the extreme, and sometimes even life threatening, fully institutionalized and often legalized misogyny intrinsic to most Islamic based cultures.

In this culture, we burned our bras and won our right to make our own choices decades ago.

Nor should it be thought of as an invitation of the forces of darkness.

I swear, the religious folk act like a bare breast is going to cause the earth to open up and bat winged demons will fly out.

She shook up the Arab world!

seriously. 19 years old, and she basically stuck a middle finger at the muslim male dominant culture, which she lives in and around. I think a movie could be made of her story. I think she is very inspiring. I know I'm gushing, but she is that special.

Women everywhere should have the freedom to dress as they so choose. If you like covering your body, cover your body. If you like showing your body, show your body. When we dress according to how men will react we give them our power. I myself dress in jeans and tee shirts. My daughter likes to experiment with her sexuality and with what she wears. This is her freedom to do so. She is not ashamed of her body and should not allow men to make her ashamed of her body. We have to own our bodies and how we feel about our bodies. We have to own our power. We only loose our power when we give it away to someone else.