THE CICAK.com

Malaysian space odyssey, where’s the kiblat and our female astronaut?

By POH SI TENG

If you’re Muslim…
- you can choose to fast in space, or make up for it when you return to earth.
- you can consume non-halal food “only to the extent of restraining hunger.”
- and a male astronaut, you need to cover “the portion between the navel and the knees.”

The bullet points above are based on an Associated Press article about “government-prepared advice for a Malaysian joining a Russian scientific mission on the International Space Station in October.”

And then there’s the question of praying in the right direction. Which way is east? Will the International Space Station display a temporary kiblat arrow for either Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor or Faiz Khaleed?

Wait a sec, what about female Muslim astronauts? Or is it simply out of the question to send a Malaysian woman to space?

We actually did have one female finalist who was shortlisted from 900 candidates that wanted to hobble in zero gravity, according to an AFP article.

It’s too bad S. Vanajah Siva Subramaniam didn’t make the cut. I wonder whether it’s because she’s a woman. Boohoo, no surprise if that’s the case.

Sigh.

If Iranian American Anousheh Ansari can be the first Muslim woman and female tourist in space, I don’t see why a Malaysian woman who qualifies, shouldn’t be allowed to reach for the stars.

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POH SI TENG is the director and co-founder of theCICAK.

Poh Si came to the United States in search of free speech and expression. Last summer, she interned as a science reporter for The Columbus Dispatch in Ohio. She has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Vallejo Times-Herald, the Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota and the New Straits Times in Malaysia. She will be interning as a multimedia journalist at The Virginian-Pilot this summer and The Miami Herald in the fall. Visit her site.