In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
The Debate Over the Use of the Veil
World Cultures Middle East
Professor Tarek el-Ariss
New York University
Paul McGhee Division
School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Digital Communications Media
Written by
Tramell Dominic Caldeyro
Spring 2007 – Revised Spring of 2010
Revision Completed in London, United Kingdom
The earliest record of the use of the veil dates back to the Assyrian empire of ancient Mesopotamia, centered between the Tigris and Euphrates River. The Assyrian Empire consisted of the landmass shared by the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea extending into Egypt beyond the Nile. For more than 3000 years women have been compelled to conceal their faces. The earliest legal documents related to the concealment of women’s faces are decoded from Assyrian stone tablets. In Assyrian society women were considered to be the property of their male benefactors. In modern society the veiling of women is usually associated with Islamic culture.
Within the Muslim clergy, theologians and fundamentalist believers argue that according to the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), a women should not be allowed to leave her home and if it is necessary for her to leave, she must shroud herself in a loose garment, cover her hair, and must not reveal any ornaments or make-up that she may have used. Rules regarding Muslim men’s, and women’s attire are made clear in the traditions (hadith) of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In Suruah 24: Nur, or Light; of the Noble Quran, it is written: "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty...And say to the believing women that they should lower their
gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and adornments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they
should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty
except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their son’s, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! You turn altogether toward Allah, that you may attain Bliss. " [Chapter 24, verses 30-31] Also, "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and
daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer
garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not
molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" [Chapter 33, verse 59]
Throughout history the use of veils has long predated Islam, and has evolved within many cultures. The custom of veiling has had great significance in many societies. In Assyria, the veil was a symbol of class worn strictly by the royal harem and the wealthy. The veil was originally made of a rectangular piece of material adorned to conceal the face. The veil was usually weaves of linen, cotton, or wool. Although the wealthy often wore very decorative veils, they were not simply worn as fashion apparel. Common women, slaves, and prostitutes were not permitted to wear a veil and often times mutilated for the offense of wearing a veil under false pretenses. In the Byzantine Empire the veil is said to be associated with sexual abstinence in contrast to the harem. Within the realm of Christianity nuns traditionally “take the veil” as a token of their vow of chastity. In the Western Civilization it is a custom of brides to wear a veil as they walk down the aisle, then it is pulled back ounce they reach the altar.
In the western culture the veil is used as a sign of mourning. “The Victorian age was named for England’s Queen Victoria. She took the throne in 1837 and died on January 22, 1901. Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. During this period of forty years, the Queen was in mourning. She remained in full mourning for three years and dressed the entire court that way. The Victorian era reflected the Queen’s prudish ethics as well as, most visibly, her personal taste in mourning. Victorian mourning fashion was aimed mainly at women, widows in particular. The fashion had a way of isolating a widow in her time of need just as the Queen had done. For the first year, a woman who was in mourning was not allowed to exit her home with out full black attire and a weeping veil. Her activities were initially restricted to church services. But mourning attire was the perfect way to show the wealth and respectability of a woman. Some went so far as to dress their servants for mourning when the head of the household passed away. Middle and lower class women would go to great lengths to appear fashionable in times of mourning.” Extract from Victorian Mourning Garb by Kyshah Hell For full article please visit the following link http://www.morbidoutlook.com/fashion/historical/2001_03_victorianmourn.html.
During the 10th century AD, Egypt was one of the first societies to impose the veil as a symbol of bondage, making it commonplace amongst Muslim women. During the 14th century Muslim visitors to Turkish cities were shocked to see both common women and royal ladies with their windows open and their faces visible. (3,000-year history of feminine effacement, published in The Daily Telegraph in 2006, Damian Thompson)
There are many variations of the veil. The hijab, a garment worn by Muslim women throughout the world, is a scarf covering the head but not the face. The burqa, a more extreme form of the veil is a head-to-toe covering invented by modern Islamic fundamentalist. Islamic regimes such as Saudi Arabia are connected with veils that cover the face. In Islam the veil conveys a political as well as religious message. During the Shah’s regime of the 1970’s the use of the veil was banned in Iran. At the beginning of the Islamic Revolution, which started in 1979, donning the veil became a gesture of defiance of the Shah’s regime as explained in Persepolis the graphic novel written by Marjane Sartrapi. Under the Ayatollahs it is customary for middleclass women to wear expensive cosmetics underneath their veil. “The use of the veil represents religious, political and sexual customs; therefore the expression of strong opinion on the subject has caused serious debate”. (3,000-year history of feminine effacement, published in The Daily Telegraph in 2006, Damian Thompson)
Marjane Satrapi’s 2003 graphic novel Persepolis begins at the start of the Islamic Revolution in the year 1979. In the chapter “The Veil” Marjane was 10 years old, the year it became obligatory to wear the veil in school. The fundamentalist argued that women’s hair emanates rays that excite men therefore women should cover their hair to avoid being assaulted or offended. Satrapi stated, “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). She adds, “And also because we were in a French non-religious school, were boys and girls were together. We found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends” (4). The way people dressed became an ideological sign. Women were required to wear a veil and wearing short sleeve shirts was also forbidden for both men and women but the fundamentalist women wore a chador and veil. Everywhere in the streets there were demonstrations for and against the veil.
In “Iran in Brief; Protection of women,” broadcasted on The British Broadcasting Corporation on March 8, 1979 it was reported regarding women wearing the chador, a group of girls from area universities and schools took to the streets carrying signs and chanting slogans opposing Islamic veils and restrictions on women regarding their dress, headed for the University of Tehran from various high schools. The mass of protestors was joined by a number of women employees from various companies along with a group of female university students near the main gate of the university; from there the headed for the capital district. The group headed for the office of the Prime Minister and residence of Ayatollah Tsheqari to voice their objections after making speeches at the Technical College.
After nearly thirty years of cultural struggle fundamentalists are once again obligating the population to adhere to policies concerning the appropriate use of the veil. In “Teheran police order 64,000 women to cover up in the heat of summer tens of thousands of women are told to cover up in Teheran crackdown,” published in The Daily Telegraph (London) in 2006, David Blair reports that the police in Iran’s capitol Tehran, have stopped almost 64,000 women and warned them against breaching strict Muslim dress codes in the month of August. During the hottest period of the summer police were taking serious measures to ensure that women cover their heads appropriately with veils and their bodies with long, heavy overcoats whenever appearing in public. Police in Iran were ordered to warn any women they observe to be “badly veiled”. For many years Iran’s police have been lenient in enforcing dress code but the conservative regime of President Mahmoud Amadinejad is steadily reversing this trend. “We are certainly seeing a return to behavior we haven’t seen for 10 years”, said Hadi Ghaemi, the Iranian researcher for Human Rights Watch. The fate of women who police decide are improperly veiled is completely at the officers’ discretion. A woman charged with such a crime could possibly be released with caution, or detained and bailed. Individuals with political connections are normally treated leniently. Others may remain in custody. “The person could end up in jail depending on their relationship with authorities,” said Mr. Ghaemi(1).
In “Iran launches crackdown against 'insufficiently veiled' women”, published April 23, 2006 in the Associated Press, Ali Akbar Dareini writes, “The campaign in the streets of major cities is the toughest such crackdown in nearly two decades, raising fears that hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad intends to re-impose the tough Islamic Revolution-era constraints on women's dress that had loosened in recent years.”
This is an example of the recent return to the Islamic Fundamentalist era practices.
The office practices of Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw are a common example of the complex debate about the use of the veil. In "Straw: I feel uncomfortable with women wearing veils," published in The Independent in 2006, Nigel Morris reported that Mr. Straw reconsidered his views on the issue after a meeting last year in which a veiled woman greeted him with the words: "It's really nice to meet you face to face, Mr. Straw."(1). Jack Straw said he now asks, in the presence of a female member of staff , for the women to remove their veils and added : "I can't recall a single occasion when the lady concerned had refused to lift her veil' and most I ask seem relieved"(1). Jack straw has received much criticism and has been accused of discrimination against Muslim women after disclosing he asks them to remove veils in meetings so they can speak "face to face". "In “Blair Criticizes Full Islamic Veils as ‘Mark of Separation’,” published in The New York Times in 2006, Alan Cowell writes that Prime Minister Tony Blair began a passionate and intensely contentious debate over the full faced veils worn by some British Muslim women, calling it a “mark of separation”. Mr. Blair stated at a regular news conference in support of Jack Straw, "No one wants to say that people don’t have the right to do it, that is to take it too far. But I think we need to confront this issue about how we integrate people properly into our society"(1).
This excerpt was taken from Articles from David Berg and the Family International - www.deeptruths.com. Paradigm shift: A paradigm is our perception of reality, our view of the world. It is our interpretation of events based on previous teaching we have received. If our paradigm is based only on our input from the media of conventional newspapers, magazines, radio, television, Hollywood films, public education etc., may God help us, for we will only see things the way they, the elite and wealthy rulers of this world who control these sources of information, want us to see things! This is often the opposite of the Truth. A paradigm shift means to have a sudden change in perception, a sudden change in point of view, of how you see things. Hopefully this change will be in the right direction. (Based on Stephen R. Covey's definition in "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People") When stating “the elite and wealthy rulers of this who control these sources of information”; Berg is referring to the bourgeois class which controls the material relations of society. The following excerpt is taken from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Steven Covey – Part One: Paradigms and Principles, “Inside-Out” The Power of a Paradigm Shift.
Covey has the best example of a paradigm shift: he was traveling in a subway, a man gets in with his two sons, the sons are running all over the place bothering the people, this continues, so he finally gets irritated enough to ask the father why he doesn't do something to control his kids. The father replies, "We just got back from the hospital where their mother died. I don't know how to handle it and I guess they don't either."
Suddenly you see everything differently. That is the power of a paradigm shift. They are the same kids yelling and screaming in the subway, but you look at them and understand them in a different way.
I was at the swimming pool the other day and saw a family of three leaving out the door. The little boy suddenly stopped and stood looking through the glass at the swimmers in the pool who were still swimming. The father yelled back to him, "Come on, what are you doing, just staring at things again? Let's go!" I thought about the paradigm that the father had of his son: "stupid, slow kid who's always doing something he isn't supposed to." Now what if the school conselor were to call the father up the next day and tell him, "We have just received the test results back from your son and have discovered that he has impressively high IQ. He is a genius." The next time his kid stood staring at something, I wonder if the father wouldn't go back to him inquisitively and say, "Tell me what you are thinking about son. What do you see?"
Our behavior results from our paradigms of the world. The classic example of the old woman/young woman picture which Covey includes in the book is a good example. You can look at the picture and see an old woman or you can look at the picture and see a young woman. Depending on what you see is what you are going to say about "that picture."
In resent years a paradigm shift has occurred in the presence of the use of the veil. A paradigm shift which, has been introduced by women in the workplace, public sector, and on college campuses. Today there are women wearing some form of the veil in every glance of the eye, in every turn of the corner, down every stretch of corridor, in every aspect of life, both public and private. In every instance the use of the veil has caused the general public to take notice of this Islamic cultural practice. Furthermore it appears that the individuals that use the veil function in the same manner as the majority of population that does not use the veil. It is clear that the use of the veil does not separate an individual from the majority but rather as an icon of their culture it serves as an aid to integrate them into this complex and multicultural society that we live in today. With regards to religious and cultural freedom of expression: any hindrance, ridicule, discrimination, or prejudice in reference to the use of the veil would only create obstacles and prevent the integration of said religion or creed. http://twitpic.com/1rauzk
By: Tramell Dominic Caldeyro
