Hajib hijacked: Politics of the Veil
by Pari Esfandiari

The murder of a Muslim woman, who was shot and killed recently while walking with her three-year-old child, has been labeled as a hate crime--sparked by her veil. In response, Concerned Women of Fremont have proposed Wear a Hijab for the Day as an act of solidarity with Muslim women.

I salute their concern, and I think a public outcry is essential to show solidarity with veiled women. But “Wear a Hijab for the Day” sounds to me as though supporting women’s freedom of wardrobe choice has been confused with support for veiling women. Whether the confusion is due to the organizers’ political naivete or their political inclinations, I have no idea. But in our complicated world, the veil is a politically charged symbol.

Gone those days when I used to sit in my parents home in Tehran, in my miniskirt, next to my mom with her modest dress, my aunt and her head scarf and my grandmother and her chador. Three generations of women, who were united in respecting, tolerating and defending one another’s choice of outfit without even thinking politically.

Today, the veil is far from a personal choice – the veil has turned to a symbol of political significance that has many layers. For some women, the veil is a sign of religious devotion and asserting one’s Islamic identity; for others the veil is keeping up with a fashion trend. For Arab youths who are angry over the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the veil is a silent protest against their governments’ collaboration with Washington.

The veil also is at the crux of cultural clashes and East-West tension. Wear the veil in the West and it can easily be read as a public statement of devotion to traditional reading of Islam, and provoke fear that Islamic fundamentalism may seep into the West. Remove the veil in the east and you are importing corrupted Western values!

It should come to us as no surprise then that the veil has become a permanent topic in the news. Yesterday, Australia's most senior Islamic cleric described immodestly dressed women without headscarves as “uncovered meat” inviting sexual attack -- while the Iran women's karate team boycotts the veil ban. Last Friday, Judge Paul Paruk, in Hamtramck District Court, told Jina Muhammad to take off her niqab -- a scarf and veil, which covers her face and head except for her eyes -- or he would dismiss her case. The judge said he needed to see her face so he could judge her truthfulness.

In Britain a debate over the veil was set off earlier this month when Jack Straw – the former foreign secretary, said Islamic women visiting his office should remove their veils, while an Islamic teaching assistant in Northern England was suspended from her job for refusing to remove a black veil that left only her eyes visible. Last year, when France banned the veil in schools, Muslims around the world poured into the streets in protest. But in Egypt, the nation's most powerful cleric scandalized his followers by preaching in favor of France's banning of the veil.

Meanwhile, cultural interpretation of sharia law in Islamic countries determines whether women wear the veil or not. In some Muslim countries such as Saudi and Iran, women including visitors must wear veil in public. Yet, in Turkey and Tunisia, hijab is banned from public schools and offices, and veiled women are ridiculed and abused.

What are missing from this political debate are the voices of women and the very personal nature of each woman's decision to cover--or bare--her hair and the emotional and complex consequences that she has to face once she has made a choice. Women choose the veil in different stages of their life and for very different reasons. Some chose to convert to Islam and wear the veil; others are born Muslim and have never experienced the public life without veil.

For some women it is a choice, for others it is enforced. Some find comfort in the veil, for others it is a means to have greater choices. For some the veil liberates; for others it limits.

No matter what a woman’s reasons or the outcome, I think democratic societies have only one way to go: To support, respect and tolerate a woman’s choice. As for the public outcry on Nov 13th, and “Wear a Hajib for the Day,” I too am outraged with the murder of an innocent woman. Regardless of whether it was a hate crime or not, a public out cry in support of veiled women is a right thing to do.

But I also wish to see an eclectic mix of men and women wearing what truly reflects their own choice of outfit supporting women’s basic human right to decide and choose what they wear for themselves. By doing so, these people would demonstrate that -- no matter what their faith, gender or political belief -- they support a woman’s freedom to choose how, whether and when she veils.

Contributing editor Pari Esfandiari is the editor of http://irandokht.com

Submitted by Pari Esfandiari (view blog) on Thu, 10/26/2006 - 7:57pm

Comments

 

Hajib

I am deeply saddened that a woman would be shot for wearing something that is part of her religon. I feel if a woman chooses to wear a hajib it should be just that - her choice. I feel that this country was supposed to be built on religous freedom and we should not forget that.

Birdsword

Submitted by Roberta on Fri, 10/27/2006 - 07:41
 

Australian cleric suspended

This story keeps moving today. The BBC reports:

Australia Muslim cleric suspended
Australia's top Muslim cleric has been barred from preaching for up to three months, after comparing immodestly dressed women to "uncovered meat".
Sheikh Taj el-Din al-Hilali's comments, suggesting that women who did not wear a headscarf attracted sexual assault, have caused a storm of protest.

Sydney's mosque association said the suspension would give the cleric time to consider the impact of his words.

But Australian Premier John Howard said the action was insufficient.

Many people - including some Muslim leaders - have called for the cleric to be dismissed from office.

Sheikh Hilali sparked more controversy on Friday when, asked by reporters if he would resign, he responded: "After we clean the world of the White House first."

His comments, made outside his mosque in Sydney after Friday prayers, prompted a round of applause from supporters.

More here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6090136.stm

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Fri, 10/27/2006 - 17:12
 

Truly Upsetting

This is something that upsets me. If a woman decides to wear an article of clothing, whether it serves religious purposes or makes a fashion statement, it is her choice. Yet there are sick people out there who commit horrible crimes and then try to justify it by religion or politics or any other excuse. These murderers must be punished. We must also educate ourselves about other cultures to show understanding, compassion and acceptance of other human beings. I know this is said over and over again, but I keep hoping if I keep repeating it, people will start to listen and respect the lives of others.

Dana Tuszke

The Dana Files

Submitted by Dana J. Tuszke on Sat, 10/28/2006 - 09:17
 

Audrey and the Bad Apples on the Burqa

I completely missed this piece last week - the conversation/comments she has are so good I have to recommend it:

Excerpt from http://audreyapple.blogspot.com/2006/10/bullshit-on-burqa.html -

"Let me state for the record that I am not a Muslim hating, "Islamist" fearing, muck raking defender of the worldwide grand attack on Islamic culture. I grew up in an Islamic Middle Eastern country, where I had many Islamic friends. I have a great deal of respect for Islam, and in fact believe it to be a far more peaceful and equal religion than Chrisitianity. But as with any ideological system, I am able to accept some aspects of it while vehemently rejecting those that I see as regressive, oppressive, downright unfair and (more often than not) bastardised by those in power to gain control over those that adhere to it. I don't agree with a political system that forces women to shield themselves from the view of men, because men cannot be responsible for their lustful actions should they be exposed to a woman other than their sister, wife or daughter. Let's call a spade a spade here. It's bullshit.

Incidentally, when one lives in the Middle East, one is expected to follow the particular customs of that area. Women in Oman, even expatriates, are expected to dress modestly. This means no hotpants or tanktops on the street, no miniskirts or exposed brassieres. There is no eating on the streets during Ramadan. Prayer calls float out over the city at dawn and dusk, and they are truly one of the most beautiful things you'll ever hear. Knowing this to be the case, I have to say that I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same kind of respect for our cultural oddities and customs. Therefore, if Aishah Azmi chooses to work in an Anglican school as opposed to an Islamic one, she should respect the wishes of that school in regards to her teaching practices. Likewise, fundy Islamic clerics should shut the hell up about the sinful nature of Western women.

I understand this is a controversial topic. But I spend so much of my time arguing with conservatives about issues of race and national identity that I sometimes wonder if I've lost sight of what's rational and what's not. The excessive political correctness I sometimes find myself espousing makes me wonder if I'm not equally as ignorant as I consider most conservatives to be - just that I'm on the other side. So I've decided it's time to start calling bullshit on things. (If you're uninterested in the Azmi case, I'd still advise scrolling down to read a short history on the veil. You might be surprised.)"

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Sun, 10/29/2006 - 14:12
 

One more: Blogger Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the
Hijab in today's Times

Ali, a Muslim, has been threatened with death for her views. I found this column on her blog, but I see it's a version of her column in today's Sunday Times: http://ayaanhirsiali.web-log.nl/ayaanhirsiali/ayaan_hirsi_ali/index.html

"In Islamic societies the veil functions as a constant reminder to the outside world of a stifling morality that makes a Muslim man’s honour entirely dependent on the respectable, obedient behaviour of the female members of his family.

I am living proof that Muslim women in the West can only benefit from turning away from the principles in their faith that justify subordination and embracing those of liberty in their host cultures. But there is a high price for urging Muslims to examine their beliefs. I have received death threats for becoming an infidel and two years ago the airing of a film about the oppression of women which I made with the director Theo van Gogh resulted in his murder by an Islamic terrorist.

The arguments for and against the veil will rage on, but what increasingly alarms me is the emergence of a post 9/11 generation of young women in the West who are out to make a statement by wearing the niqab. They enjoy all the western freedoms but choose to flaunt the veil. They are the female equivalent of the radical young men who travel to Pakistan and come back wanting to blow up trains.

Such men see themselves as companions of the prophet and they are “high” on religion. Both groups have completely succumbed to totalitarian seduction; they are the worst enemies of Islam, both to its image and to its chances of reformation.

The existence of this noisy female minority, many of them wealthy and educated, hides the fact that there are thousands of poorer women in Europe and millions across the Muslim world who have no voice and no choice. They are punished and threatened for daring to follow a different path."

Lisa Stone
BlogHer Co-founder
Surfette

Submitted by Lisa Stone on Sun, 10/29/2006 - 14:18