PSquared aap jo keh rahay ho ... i will not disagree with it because those people DO EXIST ... the kind you are referring to ... my only point is that such people exist on both sides ... so what's the entire hassle about rakhshandaz being that sort or the rasheedaz ... but i have to disagree with your point that the fashions like sleeveless and capris are being imported ... it's not as straight-forward as that ... it's a cycle ... and i think that media is playing a very evil role ... and i cant stress on it much ... and cant do enough projects on this fact (i am an artist/designer and write articles too) ... sab log aisa nahi sochtay k aap logoun ko kuch kerna nahi ata ... i think it's the other way around for the most part ... I DIDNT KNOW HOW TO DO ANYTHING till the day i came here ... and i was very well aware of it ... i cant say about those oblivious people who forget about the maids and the cooks in their house ... and as iv said in my post ... that girls abroad seem more religious than those back home ... but there is an obvious reason behind it ... and we cant just resort to blaming someone of how they are .... and this is a change i myself have undergone ... and i was quite intimidates in the beginning to find people here (beyond GS, not just here) with even their casual conversations dripping with Islamism ... adn the reason i think you'v'e also mentioned ... k jab ap pakistan mein aur her taraf aik cheez ho rahi hai ... to you tend to become more casual about it ... for example roza rakhna ... but believe me ... jab say me yahan ayi houn ... i too have had those feelings for holding onto my identity ... mein chahoun roza na rakhoun, namaz na parhoun ... but these are the things that define me as who i am ... and in this society, these are the things that make me unique ... and this brand new feeling of being where your morals are not the majority ... you work more hard to practice them ... i too had a rishta some time back from some guy in the US ... i just had a flat out no to it .. and i think even the MIL-on-hunting-spree was not so impressed by me ... i had too much of an opinion and completely carefree of the fact k larkay walay aye hain ... becuz i hate this concept ... so the imported brides that you have to deal with are a very specific kind that the foreign MILs pick and choose from in pakistan ... the kind who are perhaps not aware and in oblivion ... all the people i know in pakistan at least ... none of them thinks the way you are projecting the image of pakistanis ... which clearly means that there are better people out there ... and also ... i said in my post that the girls who used to come to paki during their school years, MOST of the were the docile, shy, religious kind ...
Farrah, I respect how open minded you are and able to see past stereotypes. Im just really cranky lately because Ive had relatives visiting from Pakistan for the past few months who have driven me crazy about my Wild, Wicked, Western roots. So, I lashed out at every opportunity I got. It just hit a nerve I guess. :(
In this country, we have to work harder to find, define and maintain who we are for fear of losing ourselves and not having an idea of our origins. If I told you how my friends, sisters and I were raised...you would laugh and think my parents were Pendu. I have an ABCD friend who has never even bought her own clothes, EVER. Her mother has shopped for her all her life and still does at the age of 25. Another ABCD friend of mine is now 28 yrs old, divorced and her parents STILL dont allow her to sleep over ANYWHERE. I was never allowed any non-muslim friends until college where my mom n dad had no choice but to let me have some non-muslim classmates. I had never seen the inside of a mall until the age of 19. Yeah, they were that strict with their girls. Ask anyone on this forum who is a parent and they will tell you how hard it is to raise kids in the US with good morals and values. My precious grandmother (may Allah swt grant her Jannatul Firdaus) spent years teaching me how to cook, Quran with tajweed, Urdu, etc.
After all of this, you get to hear how wild and out there we are. It doesnt feel good...for me or my parents.
And Im sure when I said what I said, I probably didnt make a lot of Pakistani girls out there feel great either. So, Im sorry if I hurt any Rasheedaz out there with my comments.