It is always necessary to determine and explain the factors that greatly affect our clothing behavior. Following are some important factors that greatly affect the clothing behavior of women all over the world. Consent and choice are two words that have dominated conversations around women’s lives over the last few years.
While the battles that women fight daily when it comes to consent and choice are several, today let’s focus on the latter, because ‘choice’ is fundamental to every human’s life. Yet, women are questioned, ridiculed, tortured, and even killed for the choices they make, in society even today. The basic of choices – a choice to wear what they want – is almost always under attack almost everywhere in the world.
However, one Muslim street preacher calls a fellow Muslim ‘prostitute, Satan and a slut’ for wearing tight jeans and vowed to “follow her home and blow her up.”
Noor Alneaimi, a Muslim woman, was attending a sermon in Birmingham, England, when she was verbally attacked by a man for wearing tight skinny jeans. The man, Krissoni Henderson, called her names and threatened to blow her up if she didn’t change her outfit to something less form-fitting.
Despite Noor’s shock, Henderson continued to insult her, calling her a “prostitute” and the “spawn of Satan.” A crowd gathered around them, but instead of defending Noor, they joined in on the public shaming.
Noor was deeply upset by the incident and brought to tears by the harassment. However, the law eventually caught up with Henderson, and he was charged with intentional harassment, alarm, or distress and using racially aggravated words. The police arrested him without incident.
During the trial, prosecutor Simon Brownsey stated that “at the hands of Mr. Henderson, this woman was the victim of religious and offensive words, including calling her a kafir — a derogatory term for a non-believer.” He also threatened to blow her up and observed that Noor was wearing tight jeans, demanding she take them off.
According to the Birmingham Mail, prosecutor Simon Brownsey told the court:
“It’s the Crown’s case that at the hands of Mr. Henderson this woman was the victim of religious and offensive words, including calling her a kafir – a derogatory term for a non-believer.
“(He also said) he would follow her home and blow her up. At the time he wasn’t known to her and she has expressed concerns about seeing him again because of the threat.
“She was listening to a Christian preacher on New Street and the defendant was also present. He targeted Noor Alneaimi by observing she was wearing tight jeans and told her to take them off.”
Noor then bravely appeared in court to speak out against the man who harassed her and share her side of the story. She expressed her respect for all religions and recounted how Henderson shouted abusive language to passers-by, calling women on the street prostitutes, predominantly white women, and calling them sluts.
“Around 5.30pm, I was listening to a Christian preacher in New Street. Being Muslim, I am respectful for all religions and I was interested in what he was saying. “ Noor told the court, “I was then suddenly aware of the defendant, who was being abusive to women nearby, calling them prostitutes because of what they were wearing. The women were quite distressed and one was crying.”
She continued: “He then started to direct the abuse towards me. He called me Satan, he said look at those tight jeans. His voice was aggressive, he was volatile. I was frightened and his voice was getting progressively louder.”
Adding: “As a Muslim lady, to be called a non-believer, I was disgusted: I was terrified. I was going to walk away but I thought ‘no, I am going to make a stand and confront this man.’
“He called me Satan, the devil, he said, look at your jeans, you slut. He said he was going to follow me home and blow my house up. Passers-by started sniggering at me and asking how much I charge for the night. I was terrified.”
The incident garnered attention, and many people followed Henderson’s trial. While some saw his arrest as karma for his actions, others recognized that the incident was an isolated occurrence and not reflective of Islam as a whole.
This incident serves as a reminder that hate and intolerance still exist in our society, but it also highlights the importance of standing up against such behavior. Noor showed great bravery in speaking out against her attacker, and the law rightfully punished Henderson for his actions. It is up to all of us to continue to fight against hate and discrimination and work towards a more inclusive and accepting society.
Sources: AWM, Dailymail, Thesun
