Ramadan Rush

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/20/your-letters-ramadhan-rush.html

It’s a bright afternoon. Taking a motorcycle taxi, I could still smell the after taste of the sun baking the earth. The notorious orange Bajaj and Metromini belched, coughing thick black smokes that choked me. I cringed. The skies were cheesy, hugged closely by the polluted air. A ray on crimson appeared in the far horizon, a signal for the sun to disrobe and got ready for a slumber. As with the past few days, I waited in the train platform amongst a throng of shoppers laden with one, two or even more shopping bags full of all sorts of goodies, from clothes to shoes. Yes, it's a frenzy shopping spree approaching the Ramadan. Consumerism is thick in the air.

I look to my right, there’s a giant billboard seductively displaying artist advertising mobile phones, on my left another billboard is blaring about Jakarta Great Sale offering price reduction up to 70%. Another ads lures consumers to experience the annual midnight great sale. Get dress and show off your best apparel for Eid al-Fitr, so these ads say beguilingly! Shop till you drop!

Getting off the train, at another corner of the city, the supermarket at the mall nearby was packed with shoppers. People rush to pile up on all types of food stuffs and beverages, leaving shop shelves empty by the early afternoon, to prepare for Ramadan. Everything becomes too much while we are supposed to consume less by fasting. I sighed as I was part of this shopping feast.

It’s a graphic head-on collision between Ramadan and the consumerism and materialism that have unfortunately engulfed our societies. While the holy month of Ramadan is a period for self-restraint and spiritual reflection, the dawn-to-dusk fasting month is also a time for a lucrative business and making money.

Ramadan is coming within a few hours to Muslims all over the world, with their varied customs and lifestyles. This holy month is the month of patience, waiting, restraining one's appetites from eating, drinking or pursuing worldly pleasures. In its simple form: it is an abstinence from food, drink and sexual activities from dawn until dusk. 

In its greater essence, Ramadan is a divinely ordained antidote to the lax, free, pleasure seeking way of life. In fasting, we are trained to sharpen our social solidarity, be compassionate with the less fortunate, endure trials and tribulations with patience as well as promote humble lifestyle.

Unfortunately, as with any other religious events, this sacred moment has been turned into a commodity for consumerism. An abstinence from food and drink during the day is replaced with lavish family dinner and extravagant buffet companies' iftars, featuring restaurant specialties and culinary delights created especially for the Holy month. Instead of turning our attention to Allah, we turn to the exquisite setting and culinary delights to gain a status or symbol.

A solidarity for the poor is vulgarly drowned by the appetite to buy new clothes, bags, shoes, smart phones and any other items that is believed to supposedly upgrade our social standing during Eid celebration. This is how the agents of rampant consumerism counter Ramadan’s message of simplicity, sacrifice and self-discipline.

Unsurprisingly, the capitalist industries are keen to make the most of the opportunities. They see this religious festival as a lucrative business. What's more effective than flooding the media with ads and lifestyle in an integrated pop culture that worship consumerism? These ads have spurred and goaded us with their subtle and seductive ways into self-indulgence. Our subliminal recesses of the brain is gradually infected with the blaring message that says “eat, drink and be happy, for tomorrow we die“, the hallmark of a liberal consumer society. 

As a result, bazaars, games and gossip sessions go on during Ramadan nights live on TV— festive social gatherings featuring artists, politicians and any other public figures as well as other activities that work not to reinforce but counter the purpose and spirit of Ramadan.

Alas, we are but mere mortals with fickle hearts! We are more than happy to follow up the trend!

Ours is truly a consumer society! We have become preoccupied with consumer goods and their acquisition. Notwithstanding during Ramadan, we become more and more absorbed in acquiring goods and merchandises to satiate our needs for a status or symbol.

We are indeed a flesh and blood with many weaknesses!

We still have anger to conquer, envy to vanquish, hatred to quell, gluttony to quench and lust to restraint. We keep saying words that we do not mean out of anger. We keep harboring disgruntles and discontents at heart. We keep throwing jibes and taking pleasure in gossips.

Good Gracious! What a waste. Too many excuses for our follies. Too many justification for our errors! 

Taking this moment, let’s resolve to spend the remaining days of Ramadan in as much devotion, study and service to Allah as possible. Let not consumerism cast its net and get us trapped inside.

Original Sin: Should Women Always Take The Blame?

 http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/25/your-letters-should-women-always-take-blame.html

Jakarta rocks to celebrity sex scandal. An illegal prostitution that was selling sex with celebrities has been all the Indonesians media seems to talk about after the Police lifts the veil of such scandal. The recent arrest of Robbie Abbas a.k.a Obbie or R.A., the ringleader of a prostitution ring involving several celebrities, have confirmed the public secret that some celebrities participate in illegal prostitution service as side job. The so-called high class prostitution racket reportedly offered clients models, soap stars and other celebrities. The news spread like wild fire, it becomes trending topic in social media.

Many of us aware of the secretive world of high-class celebrity prostitutes when the work of Sinar Harapan journalist, Yuyu AN Krisna, uncovered the in-depth research into prostitution in Jakarta throughout the 1970s. Such illegal business is nothing new, yet it always gets the fuel from such coverage.

As always, the butt of the jokes always center on the actresses, instead of the regular clients. Circulated initials of the allegedly actresses taking part in the business have turned into a commodity for prank and insensitive humors. My colleague knit her eyebrows, a little annoyed that this humors although directed at the supposed actresses participating in the high class prostitution network, bring along the silent stamp that women always take the blame for the ancient trade.

I have to agree with her on this point. We do not take pleasures in such banal jokes. It's offending! It’s time to shift the focus on the clients instead of the supplier!

Starting in the garden, Eve is deemed responsible for the original sin and since that time women have been blamed for many of men's shortcomings and as a source of men's downfall. The cultural root of male dominance and supremacy is a universal occurrence, including Indonesia. It's irritating that the men (regular clients) always escape the mockery and targeted jest, not liable to become the laughingstock. They could just hide behind their anonymity, like a Godfather, fearless of the degraded public stamp on their infidelity!

C'mon, it takes two to tango! There's demand before there's a supply. Where demand exists, supply will emerge – and it is a fact that men’s demand for sex fuels prostitution. And yet again, the blame game centers on the sex workers. The law rarely touches the clients, especially those with power and wealth. What an irony!

Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world. It has existed thousands of years ago and perhaps it would never cease so long men glorify their libido. It is an ancient trade of profitable business. The victims of such cartel in prostitution network are helpless children and women who are forced intodepravity mostly due to economic reason.It cast an eerie and bleak reality.

With advanced development in technology, the industry has a “liberating” power for cash and sex work is “more and more like a normal service industry”. The two recent cases of sex service commercialized through social media, the first is the murder of sex worker in Tebet area, South Jakarta and now the rigged high class prostitution among our celebrities, have sent us a cardiac arrest symptom like. The private affairs of love which should be sanctified by the bond of marriage has now become a raw financial transaction. The carnal desire holds men above the bounds of morality and thus animal instinct takes over.

The crucial question is: can it be stopped? Well...reality has proved that thousands of years efforts to eradicate prostitution is in fact in futile. So long the demand exists, supply will remain staple.

Therefore, extreme approach in tackling the problem should be introduced instead of using the traditional ways of combating prostitution by involving criminal punishment that leads to cycle of sustained vulnerability for sex workers. Different actions to reduce demand and help women who are exploited should be taken into consideration. It’s about following the money and reducing the demand. It’s time to target MEN who buy sex instead of punishing the women who provide it. It’s time to criminalizing the customers.It is a criminal offense to buy sex!

These so called clients (men) are usually more affluent, have jobs, careers, and families and they’re definitely risking by being involved and fueling this primal industry. They help to make the industry flourish. Without them, this industry will diminish. Logically speaking, it’s much more effective to get them accountable for their role in this industry. It’s time to cut off the rope. The focus should be on the male. It’s time to take prostitution as a male violence against women and children, officially acknowledging it as a form of exploitation that is a barrier to gender equality.

Cut the demand! Expose the clients! Get them punished. They too should bear the consequences. They too should know how it feels to be a laughingstock! They should also be liable to be shamed but their illegal acts.