Apollo Asset, a textile manufacturer, partners with Vertex Millennium to put up VOQUE Residential Condominium, a low-rise residential condominium on Sukhumvit 16. The project, which will include two 8-story buildings in Bangkok’s central business district, will have a starting price of 69,000 Baht per SQ.M. or 2.9 M.B. for a one-bedroom suite and a combined project value of 620 million Baht. With Century 21 as Marketing and Sales Management Advisor, it is scheduled to be up for a presale in an open house party to be held on this coming November 21, 2009.
Mr. Kittisak Jumpathippong, CEO of Century 21 Realty Affiliates (Thailand) Co., Ltd., discloses today that Century 21 has just been entrusted as Project Investment Advisor for VOQUE Residential Condominium, a brand-new residential condominium project on Sukhumvit 16. The project, which will include two 8-story buildings for a combined project value of 620 million Baht, is a joint venture between Apollo Asset,a textile manufacturer , and Vertex Millennium. At a starting price of 69,000 Baht per SQ.M. or 2.9 M.B. for a one-bedroom suite, Century 21 has scheduled a presale in an open house party to be held on this coming November 21. With special promotion to be offered on-site, there have been an overwhelming number of responses from its target, which enquired and registered to the event.
“The project is invested by a leading manufacturer group, who is interested in developing a residential condominium when the time is right, while we help take part in conducting the feasibility study and well craft out the marketing plan. The project is most outstanding in its location and has been conceptualized to be a condominium with high level of privacy and total relaxation. Designed to go and flow with its environment, it is a low-rise condominium in Bangkok’s central business district with an open view to the lake of Benjakitti Park. For Residential who stay from the third floor onward without the high-rise building blocking the eye good view. The VOQUE is the low rise project in the downtown. It is easily commuted by BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit as well as well connected to various main roads, i.e. Sukhumvit 22, 24 and 26, Rama 4, Ratchadapisek, and New Petchburi. Given its superb location and future potentials, the project is expected to be well received by its target, i.e. the working generation, which prompts us to put our presale target at 60% within this year.” Mr. Kittisak said.
Managed by Mr. Vorathep Srikuruwal, Managing Director of Apollo Asset, and Miss Premika Srichawla, Managing Director of Vertex Millennium (Miss Premika Srichawla comes from a real-estate development family,which has been in business for more than 30 years.) VOQUE Residential is a residential condominium project. It includes two 8-story buildings with basement located on approximately 563-Square-Wah plot of land on Sukhumvit 16, Klongtoey, Bangkok. Financial supported Ocean Life Insurance Co.,Ltd for this project. With Boonvess & Associates as Project Architect, Gooseberry Co.,Ltd as Designer& Interior. it is designed into two room types, i.e. one-bedroom suite with sellable area of 41.50 – 54.50 SQ.M. and two-bedroom suite with sellable area of 74.50 – 81 SQ.M. totaling 140 units. All units are equipped with DAIKIN air conditioner (or equivalent), built-in kitchen from RCD Thonglor, touch-ceramic electric stove , hood and sink from swiss brand ‘Franke’, American Standard sanitary ware (or equivalent), and tempered glass shower.
The project facilities include swimming pool, Jacuzzi, fitness center, parking lots, 2 sets of elevators in each building, built-in phone line socket, satellite television system and is fully secured with key card system, CCTV and 24-hour security guards. The project construction is expect to commence in early 2010 and complete by at the end of 2011.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
CRISIS FORCES ADAPTATION
Hoping to turn a crisis into an opportunity and take advantage of the nascent economic recovery, Thai businesses are adjusting the way they do business in a variety of ways.
Teeradej Snongtaweeporn, deputy administrative director of Big Star, the maker of Gambol footwear, said the company had revised its strategy to focus more on own-brand products and reduce the amount of original-equipment manufacturing (OEM) of footwear for client brands.
"We want to export more footwear under our Gambol brand, and to move away from the OEM business," Teeradej said, adding that the company currently exports Gambol footwear to 10 markets in Southeast Asia, in addition to the Middle East and Eastern European countries including Ukraine and Russia.
"We want to reduce OEM from 40 per cent to about 20 per cent of our export business by the second quarter of next year," Teeradej said. Exports currently account for about 40 per cent of Big Star's total sales.
"Relying too much on OEM leaves you vulnerable to clients who shift orders to lower-cost manufacturers. So we want to focus on our own brand, which is quite strong," Teeradej said.
The company saw OEM orders from Europe plunge during the recent global economic turmoil, but was able to offset this by exporting more footwear under the Gambol brand.
"The Thai economy is expected to recover in the second half of next year, driven by higher purchasing power among consumers, aided in part by the [government's] Thai Khemkhaeng economic stimulus scheme. We plan to increase our production capacity by 10 per cent next year. The company currently produces about 10 million pairs of footwear per annum," Teeradej said.
The economic crisis has also brought about some changes at ICC International, according to director Somphol Chaisiriroj, who oversees the Arrow apparel brand. He said the company expected to achieve close to Bt2 billion in sales of Arrow products this year, up nearly 10 per cent over last year - but lower than the 15 per cent targeted at the beginning of the year.
"Rather than worry about the economic crisis, I'd rather learn from it and use those lessons to formulate a new business plan," said Somphol.
The downturn should encourage business operators to think about society in all its dimensions, he said, and not just their bottom lines.
"It should be a mission of all businesspeople today to try and do something to help other people," he said.
Consumers want to buy brands that make a contribution to society, Somphol said.
In 2007, Arrow launched a corporate social responsibility campaign, "Send Me Home", with the goal of releasing eight captive elephants back into the wild. The last two elephants are due to be released next month.
Sales of Arrow apparel were stagnant for the first six months, but grew a strong 15 per cent in the third quarter, which he attributes largely to the exposure achieved via the campaign.
Singer Thailand, meanwhile, has revamped its instalment payment plan for electrical appliances.
"We have increased the payment-period options from 12 and 18 months to 24 and 38 months, and reduced the monthly payments from between Bt700 and Bt1,000 to just Bt500 for refrigerators, and from between Bt1,500 and Bt2,000 to Bt900 for air-conditioners. This will make it easier for consumers to access our installment plan amid the current economic difficulties," Boonyong said.
Teeradej Snongtaweeporn, deputy administrative director of Big Star, the maker of Gambol footwear, said the company had revised its strategy to focus more on own-brand products and reduce the amount of original-equipment manufacturing (OEM) of footwear for client brands.
"We want to export more footwear under our Gambol brand, and to move away from the OEM business," Teeradej said, adding that the company currently exports Gambol footwear to 10 markets in Southeast Asia, in addition to the Middle East and Eastern European countries including Ukraine and Russia.
"We want to reduce OEM from 40 per cent to about 20 per cent of our export business by the second quarter of next year," Teeradej said. Exports currently account for about 40 per cent of Big Star's total sales.
"Relying too much on OEM leaves you vulnerable to clients who shift orders to lower-cost manufacturers. So we want to focus on our own brand, which is quite strong," Teeradej said.
The company saw OEM orders from Europe plunge during the recent global economic turmoil, but was able to offset this by exporting more footwear under the Gambol brand.
"The Thai economy is expected to recover in the second half of next year, driven by higher purchasing power among consumers, aided in part by the [government's] Thai Khemkhaeng economic stimulus scheme. We plan to increase our production capacity by 10 per cent next year. The company currently produces about 10 million pairs of footwear per annum," Teeradej said.
The economic crisis has also brought about some changes at ICC International, according to director Somphol Chaisiriroj, who oversees the Arrow apparel brand. He said the company expected to achieve close to Bt2 billion in sales of Arrow products this year, up nearly 10 per cent over last year - but lower than the 15 per cent targeted at the beginning of the year.
"Rather than worry about the economic crisis, I'd rather learn from it and use those lessons to formulate a new business plan," said Somphol.
The downturn should encourage business operators to think about society in all its dimensions, he said, and not just their bottom lines.
"It should be a mission of all businesspeople today to try and do something to help other people," he said.
Consumers want to buy brands that make a contribution to society, Somphol said.
In 2007, Arrow launched a corporate social responsibility campaign, "Send Me Home", with the goal of releasing eight captive elephants back into the wild. The last two elephants are due to be released next month.
Sales of Arrow apparel were stagnant for the first six months, but grew a strong 15 per cent in the third quarter, which he attributes largely to the exposure achieved via the campaign.
Singer Thailand, meanwhile, has revamped its instalment payment plan for electrical appliances.
"We have increased the payment-period options from 12 and 18 months to 24 and 38 months, and reduced the monthly payments from between Bt700 and Bt1,000 to just Bt500 for refrigerators, and from between Bt1,500 and Bt2,000 to Bt900 for air-conditioners. This will make it easier for consumers to access our installment plan amid the current economic difficulties," Boonyong said.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Mittal trust to acquire Germany's Escada brand
Megha Mittal will buy the insolvent German luxury fashion house Escada for an undisclosed price,the company said on Thursday.
"Today the insolvency administrator of Escada AG signed a sale and transfer agreement with one of the Mittal family trusts," the company said in a statement late on Thursday after the preliminary creditors' committee approved the deal."The board of management and the new investor have agreed to cooperate on the basis of the business strategy launched in mid-2008 securing continuity of the operative business."
All key assets of Escada's operating business as well as shares in its subsidiaries will be transferred to Mittal's trust,excluding those that serve as guarantor for the Escada bond.
Escada, once one of the world's top fashion labels, filed for insolvency in August after years of diminishing sales took their toll and a broad restructuring plan failed to win approval from bondholders.
Mittal won the bidding war for Escada against Sven Ley, son of Escada founder Wolfgang Ley. He said on Tuesday he had teamed up with the former head of Gucci, Giacomo Santucci, and Italian investment group Borletti to mount a rescue bid.
Megha Mittal, the 33-year old daughter-in-law of ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal, had also expressed an interest in Escada.
German newspapers reported on Thursday that Lebanon's influential Mi-kati family was also among the frontrunners.
The family runs M1 Group, a multibillion dollar conglomerate invested in real estate, Geneva airline Fly Baboo and fashion line Facconable, as well as oil and gas.
The crux of the bidding war revolved around who will manage Escada in future.
The consortium around Ley had said it would replace the current CEO, Bruno Saelzer, with Santucci.
Mittal, on the other hand, supports Saelzer's approach of turning Escada into an affordable luxury fashion brand,offering more day-wear rather than the glamorous evening gowns Escada was once known for, the Mittal family source said.
Mittal would take a supervisory board seat, the source said.
Mittal has been looking for an investment in the fashion industry for about a year and has also expressed interest in Italian fashion brand Gianfranco Ferre.
"Today the insolvency administrator of Escada AG signed a sale and transfer agreement with one of the Mittal family trusts," the company said in a statement late on Thursday after the preliminary creditors' committee approved the deal."The board of management and the new investor have agreed to cooperate on the basis of the business strategy launched in mid-2008 securing continuity of the operative business."
All key assets of Escada's operating business as well as shares in its subsidiaries will be transferred to Mittal's trust,excluding those that serve as guarantor for the Escada bond.
Escada, once one of the world's top fashion labels, filed for insolvency in August after years of diminishing sales took their toll and a broad restructuring plan failed to win approval from bondholders.
Mittal won the bidding war for Escada against Sven Ley, son of Escada founder Wolfgang Ley. He said on Tuesday he had teamed up with the former head of Gucci, Giacomo Santucci, and Italian investment group Borletti to mount a rescue bid.
Megha Mittal, the 33-year old daughter-in-law of ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal, had also expressed an interest in Escada.
German newspapers reported on Thursday that Lebanon's influential Mi-kati family was also among the frontrunners.
The family runs M1 Group, a multibillion dollar conglomerate invested in real estate, Geneva airline Fly Baboo and fashion line Facconable, as well as oil and gas.
The crux of the bidding war revolved around who will manage Escada in future.
The consortium around Ley had said it would replace the current CEO, Bruno Saelzer, with Santucci.
Mittal, on the other hand, supports Saelzer's approach of turning Escada into an affordable luxury fashion brand,offering more day-wear rather than the glamorous evening gowns Escada was once known for, the Mittal family source said.
Mittal would take a supervisory board seat, the source said.
Mittal has been looking for an investment in the fashion industry for about a year and has also expressed interest in Italian fashion brand Gianfranco Ferre.
Man sells T-shirt ad space for $85,000
A T-shirt a day has kept unemployment at bay for an American man who is making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his torso.
Jason Sadler,26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com,in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm.
For his human billboard service, Sadler charges the "face value" of the day so January 1 costs $1, while December 31 costs $365.
Sadler said this "may not sound like a lot but it adds up to $66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year." He also sells monthly sponsorships for $1,500, adding another $18,000 to his income.
"I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day.... I blog about those photos, I put 'em up on Twitter, I change my Facebook profile ... and then I do a YouTube video," he told Reuters Television."I made about $83,000 this year."
The average US wage is about $615 a week or about $32,000 a year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sadler has already begun filling his 2010 calendar so, in true entrepreneurial fashion, he is expanding services by hiring another individual to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States and is doubling his price.
Jason Sadler,26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com,in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm.
For his human billboard service, Sadler charges the "face value" of the day so January 1 costs $1, while December 31 costs $365.
Sadler said this "may not sound like a lot but it adds up to $66,795 a year if he sells out every day, which he did this year." He also sells monthly sponsorships for $1,500, adding another $18,000 to his income.
"I walk around, take photos, wear the shirt all day.... I blog about those photos, I put 'em up on Twitter, I change my Facebook profile ... and then I do a YouTube video," he told Reuters Television."I made about $83,000 this year."
The average US wage is about $615 a week or about $32,000 a year, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sadler has already begun filling his 2010 calendar so, in true entrepreneurial fashion, he is expanding services by hiring another individual to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States and is doubling his price.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Water Lily commemoration
Central Department Store is celebrating its 62nd anniversary with the presentation of the "Water Lily Commemoration of the 77th Royal Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen".
All seven floors of Central Chidlom will be decorated with fresh flowers and is open to the public until Friday. A grand sale promotion at every branch, with the exception of Zen department store, begins today until November 15.
Presided last Thursday by Thanpuying Pharani Mahanonda, Her Majesty's Deputy Private Secretary, the giant lily situated at the Morakot area of Central Chidlom, was the highlight alongside 300 more water lilies as well as 62 award-winning plants including 15 species.
At the opening ceremony, actress Ann Thongprasom performed the lead dance role in Upsara Thawai Dokbua (Upsara Water Lily Presentation), as an introduction for the new water lily species.
Chermarn Bunyasakdi and Chris Horwang led the parade of 300 water lily plants and a variety of insects along with Central's top management team as well as distinguished guests into its Chidlom branch. The department store was flooded with flowers and plants, and each floor design was done by the nation's top florists.
Watercolour specialist Phansak Chakkaphak, food stylist and independent artist ML Jirathorn Jiraprawat, Arianna Caroli from Italy - who is fond of Thailand and its wide variety of flora and fauna - and designer Disaya Sornkraikittikul of the Disaya brand all contributed their personal designs for Central's cotton cloth bags at a price of only 395 baht. Only 8,000 bags will be available from each of the four artists' designs. All proceeds will be donated to the Chai Patana Foundation.
Call 02-255-6959.
All seven floors of Central Chidlom will be decorated with fresh flowers and is open to the public until Friday. A grand sale promotion at every branch, with the exception of Zen department store, begins today until November 15.
Presided last Thursday by Thanpuying Pharani Mahanonda, Her Majesty's Deputy Private Secretary, the giant lily situated at the Morakot area of Central Chidlom, was the highlight alongside 300 more water lilies as well as 62 award-winning plants including 15 species.
At the opening ceremony, actress Ann Thongprasom performed the lead dance role in Upsara Thawai Dokbua (Upsara Water Lily Presentation), as an introduction for the new water lily species.
Chermarn Bunyasakdi and Chris Horwang led the parade of 300 water lily plants and a variety of insects along with Central's top management team as well as distinguished guests into its Chidlom branch. The department store was flooded with flowers and plants, and each floor design was done by the nation's top florists.
Watercolour specialist Phansak Chakkaphak, food stylist and independent artist ML Jirathorn Jiraprawat, Arianna Caroli from Italy - who is fond of Thailand and its wide variety of flora and fauna - and designer Disaya Sornkraikittikul of the Disaya brand all contributed their personal designs for Central's cotton cloth bags at a price of only 395 baht. Only 8,000 bags will be available from each of the four artists' designs. All proceeds will be donated to the Chai Patana Foundation.
Call 02-255-6959.
LUXURY-BRAND FIRMS HUNT FOR UNTAPPED MARKETS
With spending on luxury goods down across the developed world in the economic crisis, luxury brands are increasingly looking far beyond the chic avenues of New York, London or Paris for revenue.
The new names on the lips of luxury professionals are far less familiar - Almaty, Shenzhen, Ulan Bator, respectively, the commercial capital of Kazakhstan, a major Chinese provincial centre and the capital of Mongolia.
"The desire for luxury is more and more universal so the luxury sector has to reach its clients around the world," Yves Carcelle, chairman of Louis Vuitton, said at the Paris launch of a new luxury products website for China.
Louis Vuitton earlier this month opened its first store in Mongolia, an Asian country of 2.7 million people with extensive mineral resources and an average per capital annual income of just $1,800 (Bt60,200).
"It's a country that is taking off economically," said Carcelle, adding: "In just a few days, we already know the store is doing well and we should make as much in Ulan Bator as in a good-sized provincial town in China."
Antoione Belge, luxury expert at British bank HSBC, explained the strategy.
"In Mongolio or in Kazakhstan, the big luxury brands are targeting pockets of wealth. In countries which are making revenues from energy, there are small communities of people that have money," he said.
"When you open a store in a new city in China, the clientele in that city multiplies by a factor of 10. There's the client who is used to buying the brand abroad and nine others who are new."
A study out this week by US-based consultancy Bain and Company showed luxury sales this year will drop by 16 per cent in North America, by 10 per cent in Japan and by 8 per cent in Europe compared to last year.
In Asia, however, sales are set to grow by 10 per cent.
"First we get local elites familiar with our brand, then we open a place where we offer the same quality of service, the same products and therefore the same prices as in other luxury-brand shops," said LVMH, the world's top luxury firm.
Out of 300 openings of upmarket stores in 2009, Bain said, 15 per cent will be in China, 25 per cent in other Asian countries, 30 per cent in the Middle East, and 15 per cent in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Just 15 per cent would be in Western markets, the study found.
"Emerging markets with dynamic profiles and appropriate economic potential will offer good growth opportunities," the Gucci luxury group said in a statement.
The new names on the lips of luxury professionals are far less familiar - Almaty, Shenzhen, Ulan Bator, respectively, the commercial capital of Kazakhstan, a major Chinese provincial centre and the capital of Mongolia.
"The desire for luxury is more and more universal so the luxury sector has to reach its clients around the world," Yves Carcelle, chairman of Louis Vuitton, said at the Paris launch of a new luxury products website for China.
Louis Vuitton earlier this month opened its first store in Mongolia, an Asian country of 2.7 million people with extensive mineral resources and an average per capital annual income of just $1,800 (Bt60,200).
"It's a country that is taking off economically," said Carcelle, adding: "In just a few days, we already know the store is doing well and we should make as much in Ulan Bator as in a good-sized provincial town in China."
Antoione Belge, luxury expert at British bank HSBC, explained the strategy.
"In Mongolio or in Kazakhstan, the big luxury brands are targeting pockets of wealth. In countries which are making revenues from energy, there are small communities of people that have money," he said.
"When you open a store in a new city in China, the clientele in that city multiplies by a factor of 10. There's the client who is used to buying the brand abroad and nine others who are new."
A study out this week by US-based consultancy Bain and Company showed luxury sales this year will drop by 16 per cent in North America, by 10 per cent in Japan and by 8 per cent in Europe compared to last year.
In Asia, however, sales are set to grow by 10 per cent.
"First we get local elites familiar with our brand, then we open a place where we offer the same quality of service, the same products and therefore the same prices as in other luxury-brand shops," said LVMH, the world's top luxury firm.
Out of 300 openings of upmarket stores in 2009, Bain said, 15 per cent will be in China, 25 per cent in other Asian countries, 30 per cent in the Middle East, and 15 per cent in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Just 15 per cent would be in Western markets, the study found.
"Emerging markets with dynamic profiles and appropriate economic potential will offer good growth opportunities," the Gucci luxury group said in a statement.
WHEN WOMEN ARE SINNERS IN THE EYES OF EXTREMISTS
The Shabaab movement in Somalia controls large parts of the south and centre of the country, and because officials in the movement embrace the Wahabi ideology they have imposed their views on Somalis by force and have issued strict decrees banning films, plays,dancing at weddings, football matches and all forms of music - even the ring tones on mobile phones.
Some days ago these extremists carried out a strange operation - they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing bras was un-Islamic because it is a form of fraud and deception.
We may well ask what wearing bras has to do with religion, why they would consider them to be a form of fraud and deception,and how they managed to arrest the woman wearing the bra when all Somali women go around with their bodies completely covered.Did they appoint a special female officer to inspect the breasts of women passing by in the street? One Somali woman called Halima said:"Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts ... they first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women's chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat."
In fact, this excessive interest in covering up women's bodies is not confined to the extremists in Somalia. In Sudan, the police examine women's clothing with extreme vigilance and arrest any woman who is wearing trousers. They force her to make a public apology for what she has done and then they whip her in public as an example to other women.
Some weeks ago the Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Husseini insisted on wearing trousers and refused to make the public apology. When she refused to submit to flogging she was referred to a real trial, and the farce reached its climax when the judge summoned three witnesses and asked them if they had been able to detect the shape of the accused's underwear when she was wearing the trousers.When one of the witnesses hesitated in answering, the judge asked him directly:"Did you see Lubna's stomach when she was wearing the trousers?" The witness gravely replied:"To some extent."
Ms Lubna said she was wearing a modest pair of trousers and that the scandalous pair she was accused of wearing would not suit her because she is plump and would need to lose 20kg in order to put them on. But the judge convicted her anyway and fined her ฃ500(27,700 baht) or a month in prison.
In Egypt, too, extremists continue to take an excessive interest in women's bodies and in trying to cover them up entirely. They not only advocate that women wear the niqab,but also that they wear gloves on their hands,which they believe will ensure that no passions are aroused when men and women shake hands. We really do face a phenomenon which deserves consideration - why are extremists so obsessed with women's bodies?Some ideas might help us answer this question:
Firstly, the extremist view of women is that they are only bodies and instruments for either legitimate pleasure or temptation,as well as factories for producing children.This view strips women of their human nature.Accusing the Somali woman of fraud and deception because she was wearing a bra is the same charge of commercial fraud which the law holds against a merchant who conceals the defects of his goods and makes false claims about their qualities in order to sell them at a higher price. The idea here is that a woman who accentuates her breasts by using a bra gives a false impression of the goods (her body), which is seen as fraud and deception of the buyer (the man) who might buy (marry) her for her ample breasts and later discover that they were ample because of the bra and not by nature.
It would be fair to remember that treating women's bodies as commodities is not something found only in extremist ideologies, but often happens in Western societies too.
The use of women's naked bodies to market commercial products in the West is merely another application of the idea that women are commodities. Anyone who visits the redlight district in Amsterdam can see for himself how wretched prostitutes, completely naked,are lined up behind glass windows so that passers-by can inspect their charms before agreeing on the price. Isn't that a modernday slave market, where women's bodies are on sale to anyone willing to pay?
Secondly, the extremists believe women to be the source of temptation and the prime cause of sin. This view, which is prevalent in all primitive societies, is unfair and inhuman,because men and women commit sin together and the responsibility is shared and equal. If a beautiful woman arouses and tempts men,then a handsome man also arouses and tempts women. But the extremist ideology is naturally biased in favour of the man and hostile to the woman, and considers that she alone is primarily responsible for all sins.
Thirdly, being strict about covering up women's bodies is an easy and effortless form of religious struggle. In Egypt we see dozens of Wahabi sheikhs who enthusiastically advocate covering up women's bodies, but do not utter a single word against despotism,corruption, fraudulence or torture because they know very well that serious opposition to the despotic regime (which should really be their first duty) would inevitably lead to their arrest, torture and the destruction of their lives. Their strictness on things related to women's bodies enables them to operate as evangelists without any real costs.
Throughout human history, strictness toward women has usually been a way to conceal political abuses and real crimes.Somalia is a wretched country in the grip of famine and chaos, but officials there are distracted from that by inspecting bras. The Sudanese regime is implicated in crimes of murder, torture and raping thousands of innocents in Darfur, but that does not stop the regime from putting on trial a woman who insisted on wearing trousers.
It is women rather than men who always pay the price for despotism, corruption and religious hypocrisy.
Fourthly, the extremist ideology assumes that humans are a group of wild beasts that are completely incapable of controlling their instincts, that it is enough for a man to see a bare piece of female flesh for him to pounce on her and have intercourse. This assumption is incorrect, because humans, unlike animals,always have the power to control their instincts by will power and ethics.
An ordinary man, if he is sane, cannot have his instincts aroused by his mother,sister, daughter or even the wife of a friend,because his sense of honour and morality transcends his desires and neutralises their effect. So virtue will never come about through bans, repression and pursuing women in the street, but rather through giving children a good upbringing, propagating morality and refining character.
Societies which impose segregation between men and women (as in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia), according to official statistics, do not have lower rates of sexual crimes than other societies. The rates there may even be higher. We favour and advocate modesty for women, but firstly we advocate a humane view of women, a view that respects their abilities, their wishes and their thinking.
What is really saddening is that the Wahabi extremism, which is spreading throughout the world with oil money and which gives Muslims a bad image, is as far as can be from the real teachings of Islam. Anyone who reads the history of Islam fairly has to be impressed by the high status it accords to women, because from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fall of Andalusia, Muslim women mixed with men, were educated,worked and traded, fought and had financial responsibilities separately from their fathers or husbands. They had the right to choose the husband they loved and the right to divorce if they wanted. Western civilisation gave women these rights many centuries after Islam. Finally, let me say that religious extremism is the other face of political despotism. We cannot get rid of the extremism before we end the despotism.
Some days ago these extremists carried out a strange operation - they arrested a Somali woman and whipped her in public because she was wearing a bra. They announced clearly that wearing bras was un-Islamic because it is a form of fraud and deception.
We may well ask what wearing bras has to do with religion, why they would consider them to be a form of fraud and deception,and how they managed to arrest the woman wearing the bra when all Somali women go around with their bodies completely covered.Did they appoint a special female officer to inspect the breasts of women passing by in the street? One Somali woman called Halima said:"Al Shabaab forced us to wear their type of veil and now they order us to shake our breasts ... they first banned the former veil and introduced a hard fabric which stands stiffly on women's chests. They are now saying that breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat."
In fact, this excessive interest in covering up women's bodies is not confined to the extremists in Somalia. In Sudan, the police examine women's clothing with extreme vigilance and arrest any woman who is wearing trousers. They force her to make a public apology for what she has done and then they whip her in public as an example to other women.
Some weeks ago the Sudanese journalist Lubna al-Husseini insisted on wearing trousers and refused to make the public apology. When she refused to submit to flogging she was referred to a real trial, and the farce reached its climax when the judge summoned three witnesses and asked them if they had been able to detect the shape of the accused's underwear when she was wearing the trousers.When one of the witnesses hesitated in answering, the judge asked him directly:"Did you see Lubna's stomach when she was wearing the trousers?" The witness gravely replied:"To some extent."
Ms Lubna said she was wearing a modest pair of trousers and that the scandalous pair she was accused of wearing would not suit her because she is plump and would need to lose 20kg in order to put them on. But the judge convicted her anyway and fined her ฃ500(27,700 baht) or a month in prison.
In Egypt, too, extremists continue to take an excessive interest in women's bodies and in trying to cover them up entirely. They not only advocate that women wear the niqab,but also that they wear gloves on their hands,which they believe will ensure that no passions are aroused when men and women shake hands. We really do face a phenomenon which deserves consideration - why are extremists so obsessed with women's bodies?Some ideas might help us answer this question:
Firstly, the extremist view of women is that they are only bodies and instruments for either legitimate pleasure or temptation,as well as factories for producing children.This view strips women of their human nature.Accusing the Somali woman of fraud and deception because she was wearing a bra is the same charge of commercial fraud which the law holds against a merchant who conceals the defects of his goods and makes false claims about their qualities in order to sell them at a higher price. The idea here is that a woman who accentuates her breasts by using a bra gives a false impression of the goods (her body), which is seen as fraud and deception of the buyer (the man) who might buy (marry) her for her ample breasts and later discover that they were ample because of the bra and not by nature.
It would be fair to remember that treating women's bodies as commodities is not something found only in extremist ideologies, but often happens in Western societies too.
The use of women's naked bodies to market commercial products in the West is merely another application of the idea that women are commodities. Anyone who visits the redlight district in Amsterdam can see for himself how wretched prostitutes, completely naked,are lined up behind glass windows so that passers-by can inspect their charms before agreeing on the price. Isn't that a modernday slave market, where women's bodies are on sale to anyone willing to pay?
Secondly, the extremists believe women to be the source of temptation and the prime cause of sin. This view, which is prevalent in all primitive societies, is unfair and inhuman,because men and women commit sin together and the responsibility is shared and equal. If a beautiful woman arouses and tempts men,then a handsome man also arouses and tempts women. But the extremist ideology is naturally biased in favour of the man and hostile to the woman, and considers that she alone is primarily responsible for all sins.
Thirdly, being strict about covering up women's bodies is an easy and effortless form of religious struggle. In Egypt we see dozens of Wahabi sheikhs who enthusiastically advocate covering up women's bodies, but do not utter a single word against despotism,corruption, fraudulence or torture because they know very well that serious opposition to the despotic regime (which should really be their first duty) would inevitably lead to their arrest, torture and the destruction of their lives. Their strictness on things related to women's bodies enables them to operate as evangelists without any real costs.
Throughout human history, strictness toward women has usually been a way to conceal political abuses and real crimes.Somalia is a wretched country in the grip of famine and chaos, but officials there are distracted from that by inspecting bras. The Sudanese regime is implicated in crimes of murder, torture and raping thousands of innocents in Darfur, but that does not stop the regime from putting on trial a woman who insisted on wearing trousers.
It is women rather than men who always pay the price for despotism, corruption and religious hypocrisy.
Fourthly, the extremist ideology assumes that humans are a group of wild beasts that are completely incapable of controlling their instincts, that it is enough for a man to see a bare piece of female flesh for him to pounce on her and have intercourse. This assumption is incorrect, because humans, unlike animals,always have the power to control their instincts by will power and ethics.
An ordinary man, if he is sane, cannot have his instincts aroused by his mother,sister, daughter or even the wife of a friend,because his sense of honour and morality transcends his desires and neutralises their effect. So virtue will never come about through bans, repression and pursuing women in the street, but rather through giving children a good upbringing, propagating morality and refining character.
Societies which impose segregation between men and women (as in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia), according to official statistics, do not have lower rates of sexual crimes than other societies. The rates there may even be higher. We favour and advocate modesty for women, but firstly we advocate a humane view of women, a view that respects their abilities, their wishes and their thinking.
What is really saddening is that the Wahabi extremism, which is spreading throughout the world with oil money and which gives Muslims a bad image, is as far as can be from the real teachings of Islam. Anyone who reads the history of Islam fairly has to be impressed by the high status it accords to women, because from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fall of Andalusia, Muslim women mixed with men, were educated,worked and traded, fought and had financial responsibilities separately from their fathers or husbands. They had the right to choose the husband they loved and the right to divorce if they wanted. Western civilisation gave women these rights many centuries after Islam. Finally, let me say that religious extremism is the other face of political despotism. We cannot get rid of the extremism before we end the despotism.
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