ABC Special

    As girls, most of us would experience that ‘special time of the month’. Despite experiencing it on a fairly regular basis, we sometimes have our own questions and speculations about it that we are hesitant to inquire about. Well, those questions were addressed and answered on the 18^th of March 2016, when Kolej Sakura in collaboration with JASSA organized an event called ‘Allah Bagi Cuti Special’ or fondly known as ‘ABC Special’. This talk was held at a lecture hall in PITAS, with Ustazah Nadiyah Hashim as a guest speaker.

    Students began to gather in the hall around 7.30 p.m for the signing in process. The event formally started at approximately 8.30 p.m with the arrival of the guest speaker, accompanied by the Fellow of the college, Madam Noorfarida. After singing the Asmaul Husna and a recitation of a short prayer, everyone took their seats as a video began to play. The video itself was an interesting one as it addressed various issues on menstruation and how in certain cultures, women who are menstruating are considered ‘unclean’ and ‘impure’, going so far as not allowing menstruating women to not eat and drink from the same source as the other family members. It explained how Islam is unlike these cultures, and how the religion accepts menstruation as a natural process and not a reason to shun women. The video ended on a positive note, as the narrator expressed her gratitude as being part of a very considerate and accepting religion such as Islam.

    Ustazah Nadiyah, introduced as a Contemporary Islamic Studies lecturer in UiTM Kota Samarahan, was then invited to the stage to give her talk. She started her speech by expressing her interest in the video and further cemented the fact that unlike certain cultures, Islam is one of the few existing ones that do not shun women for being who they are. Women, before the existence of Islam, were once treated as nothing more than a commodity and a source of sexual pleasure, bearing very little to no rights as a human being. It was only after Islam, she said, that women was defended and given rights.

    She then addressed the main issue of the evening; menstruation and how Islam views it. Ustazah Nadiyah explained that menstruation itself had various benefits such as preparing women for hardships of during and after childbirth as well as being as the sign of fertility. She further discussed on ways to reduce the pain that came with our monthly flow and the do’s and don’ts during menstruation. The students were rapt with attention as she spoke, as there was a never dull moment during her talk and her direct and blunt sense of humor never failed to bring laughter in the lecture hall.

    The talk ended with a Q&A session as she addressed various issues and inquiries from the students. The event officially came to an end at 10 p.m. after a souvenir was handed to the guest speaker by the JASSA representative. The students were then reminded to sign-out and collect their merit stickers before taking their leave.

Prepared by,

Imelia Kyra binti Mohamad Iskandar