Gen- X is trendy. They live in a global village. They keep pace with the latest in the fashion world. They are guided in their pursuit by information super highways.   Internet has revolutionized their lives. They live with latest gadgets which give them an edge over less privileged children. The valley also has progressed and there has been perceptible change in the outlook of our youth. With limited scope for outdoor activities, they socialize on networking sites. Facebook has come to be recognized as in –thing. The elders also find the networking sites crazy as it indicates one is young at heart.
These children spend hours on networking. In the valley it has turned into viral networking. with I-pad, I-pod apple 3G’s and 4G’s there seems to be a new alien world which is replacing the way information is shared and the speed at which it is communicated.
Networking has opened new and unexplored windows for teenagers. They are open to sexually explicit material which is available at the click of the button. Equipping them with I phones has compounded the problem, with 3G and mms round the corner we will find our youth exposed to sexually explicit material which will have devastating effect upon our GEN-X. Parenting needs fresh definitions. Parenting now needs to be related to involvement. Sharing time with your children not just giving them gadgets. Parents who give space to children should rethink where to draw the line. Wake up parents ! your child your son your daughter is not probably in school, or is not attending tuition, but has fallen prey to bad company. Visit his /her school, tuition centre how do they relate with others when alone? This is an emergency call! Our future generation is not safe. Dear parent, do you want to be called to the police station, to inform you about the misdeeds of your child. Avoid such an embarrassing situation. Take remedial steps today. Be alive to needs of your children. They are not grown , they can fumble in their decision. Are you as a parent aware about the profile of your girl child as displayed on the Facebook?
Parents have to act as friends and above all steer them through the trying teen times. It requires foresight and psychological approach.
Muslim men are commanded to lower their gaze while walking through the market and not to look at women. Quran (surah AL-Ahzab) verse 59:  calls,
“O Prophet! Tell your Wives and your daughters and the women of believers to draw their cloaks /veils all over their bodies except the eyes or one eye to see the way.”    Narrated Safiya bint shaiba, hazrat Aisha(ra) said, “ When the verse, they should draw their veils over their bodies, faces,neck and bossoms,” was revealed the ladies cut theirwaste sheets at the edges to cover their faces with these pieces. Sahih al bukhari, vol 6
Quran lays down modesty for men and women. Muslim women should cover themselves modestly. Two verses of Quran prescribe hijab for women.
Surah Noor verse 30-31: “ say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty, that will make greater purity for them, and Allah is well aquainted with all that they do.’’ Verse 30
“ And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty, and they should not display their beauty and ornaments, except what must ordinarily appear thereof, and they should draw their veils over their bossoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands.” Verse 31
Hijab is seen as a spiritual shield or cover and the purpose is to dress modestly so that evil eye does not harm you. Muslim women are enjoined to cover their bosoms, with the word ‘’ khimar”  denotes the head covering used by Arab women but was used more as an ornament rather than head covering in pre Islamic times. Muslim women and men were subject to harassment and it was to distinguish muslim women from others and their safety was the prime objective. Islam enjoins both men and women to wear such clothes where your body contours are not displayed in a pronounced manner and wear loose clothes so as not to display what is apparent. The prime objective was not to confine women to their houses  but to make their daily out going safe.
Our society also keeping pace with the fashion trends around the globe, have opted for head scarfs  which are fashionable accessories of women in the valley. The young girls wearing  colourful  headscarf as part of dress has relegated it and confined use of scarf to trendy fashion rather than opting it as a symbol of modesty.
The Holy Quran does not specifically prescribe covering of face but when we read verses of Quran which relate to who is “muhuram” and those relating to wearing outer garments to cover your body, it can be safely inferred that women are enjoined to cover their face.
“ And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts from sin and not show of their adornment except only that which is apparent, and draw their headcovers over their necks and bosoms and not reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women (i.e., their sisters in Islam), or their female slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants free of physical desires, or small children who have no sense of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah altogether, O you Believers, in order that you may attain success.[An-Nur, 24:31]
We need to understand the message of Islam so that we are not led astray.

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Lastupdate on : Thu, 2 Jun 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 2 Jun 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 3 Jun 2011 00:00:00 IST