• If shop mannequins were real women, they'd be too thin to menstruate. 
  
  
• There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do. 
  
  
• Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14. 
  
  
• If Barbie was a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions. The average American woman weighs 144 lbs. and wears between a size 12 and 14. One out of every four college aged women has an eating disorder. The models in the magazines are airbrushed - they're not perfect!! 
  
  
• A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at models in a fashion magazine caused  70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful. Models twenty years ago weighed 8% less than the average woman, today they weigh 23% less. 
  
  

....this paints an awfully different picture compared to Hollywood and beauty magazines, doesn't it? I see a blinking neon sign that says, "Oppression of women" by men, AND women themselves! Why do we put ourselves through this?

Many claim that Muslims oppress their women and Muslim women allow themselves to be oppressed because they wear the scarf/hijaab.

Nothing is further from the truth. The Hijaab is a form of liberation from being treated like a sex symbol. Always remember, hijaabis are judged according to character, not physical appearance and SHE COVERS HER HEAD AND CHEST, NOT HER BRAINS!

When a hijaabi speaks to men, they look into her eyes, not parts of her body. They speak with a respectful tone and they treat her seriously.

If you want more evidence that Islam liberates and not oppresses the woman, visit HIJAB & THE MUSLIM WOMAN.

I'll be honest with all of you. I used to read Sweet Valley High books when I was a teenager and all my life - until I received the above information, I have felt inadequate simply because SVH books taught me that only SIZE 6 girls are perfect.

And then there's the 36-24-36 stereotype. I am nowhere CLOSE to SIZE 6 and I swear, I have always used the 36-24-36 rule to judge myself. It was painful and I'm sure not just for me alone!

The above information has done wonders for me so please forward it to others. You never know how it could change another woman's life.