I have always advocated for respecting the personal freedom of wearing whatever each individual pleases, especially for women in our societies. Be it a veil, a skirt, shorts, or a bikini. Standing up to defending this personal right is something I respect. However, we often forget that most women in these societies are deprived of this right, and yet we judge those who fight for it. Unfortunately, it is a fact that a great number of girls are forced to wear the veil, and mostly from young ages. Few women decide to take the risks, and survive the consequences of removing their veil when they no longer want them in this oppressive society. Whether you agree with the veil or not, whether you are veiled yourself or not, it is necessary that we
Muslim women living in North America and Europe often face scrutiny over their choice to wear the veil, even though many Western people do not fully understand the practice.
Another aspect of the veil is the identity value, many women from different countries affirmed they feel that the veil is part of them; it is so important for them that “many women […] feel self-conscious, vulnerable, and even naked when they first walked on a public street without the veil […] as if they were making a display of themselves” – paragraph 22
Muslim women all throughout the world are being discriminated against because of the clothing that they wear. After recent terrorist attacks, the stigma of Muslims being terrorists has become even more apparent. This has led to multiple harassments and hate crimes against Muslim women, primarily in Western countries. The discrimination has become so bad that some are suggesting that women who practice Islam shouldn’t wear hijabs or other veils while in public. It sounds like a great solution, but, in a way, would also violate their rights of religion. There’s also the fact that women in hijabs are viewed as being controlled by men. However, there are many Muslim women who are very independent and are not wearing the veils because a man told them to do so.
of the veil is to conceal and hide women as well as to prevent women
Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that women wear a veil or hijab, which is a head scarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture, supports and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). It could be inferred that women wear the burqa and veil willingly because of their geographical location. However, when Muslim women are withdrawn from the Middle East, and are placed
The most significant of these changes is a new law making it obligatory for women to don the Islamic veil. Within Islamic culture, the veil has different connotations based on the individual's interpretation. However, the veil can be customarily understood as a sign of modesty, cultural identity and religious devotion. A
When she stated, “They did not always have an opportunity to speak for themselves,” she was referring to the Muslim women in Islam dominated countries with people seeing them as victims of a patriarchal society where they cannot voice their opinions without having to suffer from a punishment. Also, because the images within the media showed women wearing burqas, which are also worn by Muslim women in America, people in the West see them as victims who are just crying out for help. It is not the social norm to wear a veil in the West because people believe in liberation when it comes to clothing, even if certain clothes may be terrifyingly revealing. They are unaware of the Islamic beliefs and that in countries, such as Afghanistan, the women accept the veil because it is part of their religion. Muslims follow rules and regulations that were divinely written within the Quran, and the burqa, which is considered to be a hijab (a veil/covering), is outlined within the Quran as follows:
One of the most controversial topics concerning Muslim women’s rights is the idea of the veil. It is believed by some Muslims that the veil is an Islamic obligation that all Muslim women must adhere to. But nowadays, the veil can have different meanings that are not necessarily religious. In her article “Reinventing the Veil,” Leila Ahmed addresses some of the different meanings that the veil can have. Marjane Satrapi explores one of those meanings in her animated autobiography Persepolis (2008). In Persepolis, Marjane tells the story of her rebellion against the Iranian Islamist regime that takes over Iran, oppresses women, and forces them to wear the veil. What was interesting to me was seeing Marjane wear the veil without being oppressed, although she does not believe in it, and is being forced to wear it. In Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi escapes being a subject to the Iranian Islamist ideology by establishing her individual identity through transforming the veil from a means of oppression into a means of feminist rebellion.
The veil was such a hindrance that the author made a whole chapter about it ironically calling the chapter “veil,” but that’s not wear the inequality ends, not only was it the fact that women had to wear the veil, but the men were free to express themselves, they could wear what they please and not have to be worried about being set on fire for breaking the
In Veiled Sentiments by Lila Abu-Lughod, veiling is a choice and is not forced on women. Due to the faith and freedom of choice, most women willingly and happily veil properly. Although sexuality is not a popular norm among the Bedouin, it is not the sole reason for veiling. Granted, women will be criticized and mocked for not veiling or taking part in sexual affiliations. Such mockery is described in a story where grandmothers react to the granddaughters Western-style negligees. Once the grandmothers had found out about them, they put them on, initially embarrassing the girls,
This article was about a study done on English speaking Muslim women living in North Carolina who choose to wear a Hijab and their attitudes about Western feminism (pg. 325). Twelve different Muslim women were interviewed and ten out of the twelve said they identified with Western feminism in some fashion (pg. 329). There was no specific age of when the Muslim women started to wear the Hijab. Some started around the age of nine, some later in there 30s and 40s (pg. 328). All women said they decided to cover out of faith and not because of political reasoning or force (pg. 328).
Here in the United States, some individuals think that by wearing a hijab you are you enforcing the belief that Muslim women are being forced to wear one despite the reason that some of these women wear it’s a sign of freedom. Therefore, it appears that to some women, the veil is unjust; while other women feel it is not unjust but a decision they made on their own in dedication to their religion. Still, for many women especially the ones in Western countries, they have no choice and for that reason alone, they are being made to wear a
In the Islamic community there has been a rise of females wearing the hijab in the 21st century. The hijab is defined as “an outer garment worn by women in Islamic societies for the purpose of concealing their bodies and/or face” This garment is mandatory to wear it due to Muslim practices and conservativeness and promiscuity (www.quran-islam.org) .In the Quran the rules of promiscuity are stated
women are forced by men wear a burqa or niqab out of fear of beatings, arrests or honor killing. In many Muslim countries, women lack equality and basic rights that other women take for granted…..is just one more example of patriarchal control
One of the most well-known painters in Western Art, Vincent Van Gogh was born into a middle-class family in the Netherlands. Known for his artistic talent, Van Gogh’s life still remains one of the greatest mysteries in art history. Despite the awe-inspiring paintings such as The Starry Night and Irises he created while he was alive, he was considered an outcast and lacked a strong positive social support. In fact, his idiosyncratic ways made him infamous for being the “drunken madman” who had cut off his ear and given it as present to a prostitute.