If looks could kill...




I hate walking on the streets in Male', I really do. Why? Because people friggin' stare so much. What is their problem? And even if you catch them staring, they'd still stare back as if its not at all rude or anything. Bah..Maldivians..If only they'd at least do it subtly I wouldn't complain so much.

What I've noticed also is that it's mostly the women who stare at other women. Before I always thought I was imagining it and I'm being paranoid but recently me and my guy (lets call him Dhonkalo) went out for a bite and we came across a bunch of girls at the door. The moment they saw me they were like just glaring at me looking me up and down as if i had just mugged their grandma or something! :S I was oookay..(gulp) and just meekly and hurriedly went inside past them. I still thought nah they must Its prolly just me when Dhonkalo remarked, "Haadha rulhi aissa ey dho ebely" I was like bingo! It's not just me! They do stare like vultures..almost foaming at the mouth they were yesh!

Some people might say oh women just look at other women to check out what they are wearing. I also do that if i see someone wearing something drool worthy. But I always make sure they don't catch me while doing it. Also I don't glare at random women. Or maybe I should? Maybe it's some feminine gene I'm missing like the mother gene (that's for another post)

Others say that they are just jealous. I'd believe that if it were the ugly women who stare, but nooo these are actually good looking women who actually feel so insecure that they need to look down on other women. I just don't get it at all.

Then of course there are the ones who say that those are lesbians..but trust me their stares smoulder in a whole different way. Point is, weren't they taught at all that openly just staring at someone is just rude? It makes me so uncomfortable, like I just don't enjoy going out at all because of it. But lately since I ruined my contacts it has been easier since I am half blind and oblivious to all the staring. Ignorance is bliss.

What is it about people here that makes them want to look up and stare at them whenever someone enters a coffee shop? Sure, looking up is a reflex, but have they not heard of common etiquette??? Constantly, just constantly it feels like someone is analyzing me up and down. It's not just the staring..then they start staring and whispering. And all you hear are "psss pspspsss eyna pss pss" So annoying!

So I plan to master the art of not seeing them. Just pretend they don't exist. (It's pretty hard at times when someone is trying to burn a hole in your forehead though) So yeah I shall try to ignore them..hence will achieve bliss. Wish me luck.


Comments

The staring type of Maldivians are those who have so uninteresting lives themselves that they automatically take an interest in the lives of other people around them, staring at others and gossiping about them. I just ignore these no-lives.
Anonymous said…
A foreigner's point of view:

"One of disconcerting things about life in Maldives is that it’s normal to stare, not just at out-of-place Westerners like us but at everyone else, especially women (as someone from the US Embassy warned us, it’s more like leering). This seems jarring and unexpected for a strait-laced Islamic country, but it’s just the way things are. Maldivians are reserved and show little emotion, but once you know them they open up a bit. Anthropologist Clarence Maloney suggested that these people “who live a lifetime confined with the same fellow-islanders are bound to be restrained in exhibition of their emotion.” Since Maldivians live virtually on top of each other they must repress feelings, speaking quietly and with few gestures, meeting everything with a stoical calm. In short, they are polar opposites of our three year-old Gwen, who, as she runs screaming in circles, hands above head, tries to show them another way to live. She draws lots of stares"

http://www.hsc.edu/academics/biology/werth/03-08-2006.html
Unknown said…
Hilath: I guessing you must get that a lot worse after what you been through eh :|

Anon: Pretty interesting..Thanks :)
Anonymous said…
It's not just women, bluebooze. Nor is it mostly women, men stare at people just like every other maldivian pedestrian.

It sometimes goes rather far. For example, you pass by a person who is entering a building, and he/or she might actually stop on the threshold and take a couple of seconds to stare at you before going in.

Sometimes I find it really hard to resist flipping them off.
crawler said…
thank god i look butt ugly!

& whats taking that frikking plastic surgeon so long!!

u know, u cant blame someone if s/he stares at something out of the ordinary. & im not talking about the people who need special attention ;) but yeah, there would be more decent ways. like a pair of sunglass!!
Unknown said…
can of worms: i always get tempted to ask em, "What the eff are you looking at???"

Crawler: Hehe girl watching is also an art.
shai said…
some times we play The 'this chik tat chik game' hehe,, bt we dnt stare.......yea gals look at gals...we just chek it out a bit,,,,
I run into that sort of thing sometimes. The best way to deal with them is to cultivate the "Hey you!. I wonder how much you'll scream when I rip out your spleen?" look.

It worked too well for me. :P
Iya said…
Interesting. I've always wanted a woman's point of view on this.

I can use you for my research. As a contributor, of course. Not a test subject.
Unknown said…
devils clone: thats pretty much normal everywhere :)

strider: teach me that look! :D

Iya: count me in ^^
moyameehaa said…
ive noticed dat when i was a kid. back the i noticed it was worse in the islands, but dats probly coz we're to those islands. its sort of a maldivian thing. weirdos!

perhaps these stares are part of their judging process.putting people in to categories. labelling them. analysing their history. whoz daughter is that? where does she live?who was her boyfriend. was she married? is she a slut? how slutty? what comment can i make about her dress? ...these are questions that need to be answered. observing the subject carefully is of utmost importance.
Protip: Carry a Thompson machine gun and if someone pisses you off, point it at them and declare "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!"

Extra benefit: Carrying that huge piece is a great workout, and will help you stay toned and balanced.
Unknown said…
I dont think its just a Maldivian thing, ofcoz we Maldivians do take it up a notch..

Its more of a south asian thing..I am someone who gets stared constantly.. ( yes I dont fit into the 'prototype')..

One of the worst staring incident was in Nepal, when I had this guy walk with me for around 15 mins .. just staring at me up and down.. first he was behind me then.. right beside me for like 10 mins and then infront of me..yes he was turning back for another 5 mins.. I thought I had sprouted an extra head or something!!!!

Another staring scenario is when I get on a bus...all eyes are turned towards me and they start whispering.. my friend jokingly say its Channel Shanoo time.. believe me a bus full of people.. confined spaces is not a good place to be..

Oh well..

I am oblivious to my surroundings after being Channel Shanoo...I mean I wasnt going to let a bunch of ignorant people stop me from doing and going where I wanted..

People who dont matter to me are irrelevant..
kaiza shozey said…
i did ask that same Q to some friends and here's what they said
"we look to see what the girl is wearing, whether if its fashionable, does it look good on her, will it look good on me if i wore that, whose the guy she's with, is it someone i know, is he hot or not, does she deserve him or not, why is SHE with him or why is HE with her, do they match or is it jes weird" :s beats me! hehe
Tasha said…
My thoughts exactly.. *sighs*
oven said…
could this be the reason people are hiding their faces these days? (beards and buruga)
but you are right about the glaring by girls. its like they hate you for breathing!!!
Naena said…
SENSE MAKING!!! i hate when women stare. i go through the same thing and it sometimes is just unbearable. i hate going out on the street when im in male' and not to even talk about, maldivian girls and women living abroad, are WORSE! they stare as if nobody else is even ALLOWED to be abroad expect for them!
Naena said…
SO TRUE! happens to me allll the time as well and its annoying. i hate being stared at specialy by women. i dress decent, i look down when i walk, but even if, i notice people staring! and not to even talk about maldivians living abroad. they are worse!
Anonymous said…
Thank god someone said it out loud. I just came across your blog. And I like it. I like this one the best. But hey, home is home, home is where we are suppose to be; even if the inhabitants kills you with their looks. I'm just glad it irritates a lot of people as it irritates me. Well g'luck with everything.
Unknown said…
good to find other people who notice it too and find it just as annoying :)

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