conditioning

*unplugged*

There are some short films that we wanted to shoot, where Nadhrah, my girlish, dainty 8 yr old baby, has been cordially requested to act in.

When I first told her, she asked me.. 'is it a speaking role?'.. macam dah biasa gitu.
Ok lah.. she didn't use those exact words.. she asked 'do I need to say something?'

I said, maybe. She said, she'll think about it.

Today I brought it up to her again. I told her, in the film, she will be flying a kite with her 'father' She said.. "ha! and I'm alone?" I said 'Yes.'
"Nadhrah malu.." (I'm shy)
"Ok.. what about dgn abg hazman? You become abg hazman's sister, he'll read to you a story"
She still has that 'errrrrr' look on her face. Then she finally coyly said.. "I don't want to act with any boy..."

And I immediately decide to respect her decision. Because masyaAllah.. that's how I want her to be.

And this is an 8 yr old.. and naturally, they are shy. And naturally, they are not comfortable being around members of the opposite sex, no matter how old the other person is. This is natural.. fitrah. And I want her to stay like that as long as she wants..

And it is also natural for girls to be shy about showing off their skin.. Naturally, they want to cover up. But the people around them, condition them to care less or feel less about the way they dress, the way they act.

But sadly, in Singapore circular schools, the girls are FORCED to show off their legs since P1, during P.E. And what the hell for, I don't know. Why can't they wear slacks? WHY WHY must they be conditioned to be less modest?

Ooooh baby, it's a wild world.