After reading many accounts of women all across the world who wore a veil and who were oppressed by it, I wondered if all felt this way. What I found was a lot of articles that talked about how women felt safe, and even liberated wearing the veil. They had no problem with the tradition of wearing a veil to safe guard their chastity. What is it that makes them feel safe with a cover?
First of all, when they wear the veil, they blend in with those around them. Most don’t desire to call any attention to themselves. They essentially become invisible to those around them. There is something comforting about not drawing extra attention to you or your family. In the Middle East in many traditional areas, if a woman brings dishonor to a family it is the ultimate in shame. It is considered the duty of all the men in that family to murder her so they can restore honor to the family. I guess it is a cultural thing, but I still don’t understand why murdering a woman restores honor to your family. In Iraq, from 1991 to 2003, there were over 4,000 ‘honor killings’ reported. [Talk about a misnomer, honor killings?? By murdering your daughter or wife you restore ‘honor.’] That’s nearly one a day for 12 years. And those are the ones that were recorded.
I know it is still a worry for many women. When I was in Iraq, a car bomb went off in a market place in Ramadi. They started bringing in Iraqis into our Combat Hospital. They brought in men, women, and children of all ages. One woman who they brought in was bleeding badly from shrapnel wounds to the length of her body. She was in pain, but refused to let any man touch her. She was yelling loudly in Arabic, and the interpreters convinced us to put her in her own curtained off area, where only female medics could see her or attended to her. She obviously was quite afraid of what people would say if they found out that American men had touched her. Even when we only would have touched her to save her life.
Most followers say that Islamic dress is “their...freely adopted symbol of identification with a religious system in which they wish to express a deep commitment and allegiance.” I agree that the majority of women probably have no problem wearing the veil. It is to them, a symbol of devotion. They feel that they are showing their modesty and it is the right thing to do. I do feel they should be allowed to dress how they wish, with out fearing being murdered by others who disagree. But, maybe I expect to much…
This is a very interesting concept. I grew up in a small town where I attended a “nondenominational” church where the women wore skirts and did not cut their hair. To fit in, I also wore skirts to school most days and wore them every Sunday to this church. The pastor’s son is now married to a friend of mine and neither of them attend that church currently; however, my friend still wears a skirt on a daily basis in respect for her parent’s beliefs. She says she knows it’s not a Christian requirement but if it makes them happy, she’s happy to do it. I think of this tradition as similar to the veil wearing in the Middle East, without the honorable killing. It is mind boggling to me that a religion would support murder. I am blessed to live in America where my family will always be by my side, even if I dishonor them from time to time.
ReplyDeleteNot being very familiar with the Islamic religion or the Qur’an, it seems quite confusing to me. Some Islamic countries have the women wearing clothing covering every inch of flesh, while others have women as the president of their country.
ReplyDeleteI can see that covering up their bodies, protects Islamic women from being molested. Because, as you mentioned, modesty is their protection. Any time you get a woman and a man in the same room, the third one among them is the devil. By covering up temptation, chances of going astray may be avoided.
Being Catholic, I am used to seeing women wearing scarves and veils. When worn by Catholic Nuns, it is a sign of 'holiness'. Also at church, I still see some of the older Mexican women wear a rebozo. The rebozo is a wool scarf and is used to cover the head and shoulders. It is also used carry a baby or groceries.
I reference to the honor killings, I am sure that the laws will always favor the men because they are the ones that make up these laws and the interpretations of the laws. I sometimes try to compare other countries and cultures to our own. These honor killings, could they not be categorized as what we Americans call “Domestic Violence” ?
This is a response to your comment on my blog because I'm not sure how Greg wants us to respond. I never knew about Cryptozoology before and I find that really interesting. I think human beings know that animals exist on this world that we do not know about. For example, the Hobbit, they still think it exists in forests and even went on a search for it. Sandra told me about a show she was watching on it. It kind of reminds me of the search for the giant squid. I think a lot of the new discoveries we are making now are finding connections with legends of the past as well, and that is what I tried to focus my actual essay on. Also, if you haven't seen Planet Earth I think you should watch it. It is not really a search for animals, but when you watch the film makers' stories on what they had to go through to get footage of some of the animals it was ridiculous. On film maker stayed in a tent in a tree for weeks getting footage of this one birds' mating dance. The girl bird wouldn't show up, and when one finally did, the bird overwhelmed her so the film maker didn't even get all the footage that he wanted. I definitely you should watch it if you haven't already. And if you have, pretty groovy huh?
ReplyDeleteIn Response to Three D's Comment about Domestic violence. I also come from a conservative religious background so I know where you're coming from. I believe that women should dress modest, and certain situations should be avoided. However whether or not honor killings are considered domestic violence I would debate. Yes, they are in the category of domestic violence. They are perpetrated by people the women know, and are terrible violent acts against women. However, the men that carry them out often feel they are doing Gods duty, and they often have no remorse. It is a sad that they could consider murder an act of religious devotion. So, in regards to that I don't feel it is in the same category as solely domestic violence.
ReplyDelete