Women & Islam: The Veil

It is with some degree of hesitation that I publically express my views about an issue as delicate as this. I know that I risk being profane to some and cowardly to others, yet I believe the veil worn by many Muslim women around the world is a topic worthy of discussion and it is germane to this blog’s theme of altruism and self-interest. 

I will be the first to admit that I have not studied this issue to any great extent.  I am not a Muslim； I am not a woman.  In light of these actualities, I welcome and encourage critiques, especially if you come from a background that is different from mine.  I’m willing to clarify my position, but I trust you will find it tactful.

Let us begin!

John L. Esposito’s What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam presents the verses from the Qur’an which are the basis of the hijab dress code.  According to him, one of the verses at the heart of this practice is:

“And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts.” (33:53, http://quran.com/33/53).

Esposito also points out that in recent years, scholars have called attention to the idea that these verses in Surah 33 do not apply to all women, but rather, only to the wives of Muhammad, while more conservative Muslim scholars have maintained that this verse should be binding to all women because women are a source of fitnah, or temptation, for men.

Two things to note here:

(1) “For their hearts” -- In a sense, this verse suggests an altruistic attempt to maintain the modesty of women.  This would be in line with the overarching message of Islam on women. Esposito states that “Islam raised the status of women by prohibiting female infanticide, abolishing women’s status as property, establishing women’s legal capacity . . . .” and the list goes on and on.

(2) “For your hearts” -- On the other hand, the notion of fintah suggests a deeply self-interested – selfish – attempt by men to compensate for the fact that many of them are too lazy or too unwilling to control their own sinful desires.

The movie Persepolis, which was adapted from the French graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi contains  one scene in which some male police officers in Iran (post-Revolution) yell at a woman for running down the street, saying that her butt movement is “obscene,” to which she retorts:

“Well then stop looking at my ass!”

(Si vous parlez français: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXKw6CkkGtY)

To me, both these justifications for the hijab are problematic.  The first seems to suggest by its very nature of an ugly paternalism more than a legitimate altruistic concern for women.   The second is blatantly sexist because men are not subjected to a congruent standard of modesty in dress.  In short, the hijab is a tool promoted by men at the expense of women.

This is not to say that wearing the veil cannot be a beautiful and personal decision.  I once had a teacher who proudly and voluntarily wore it.  She told us on the first day of class: “I want people to see me for who I am and not for what I look like.”  I think the decision by some women to veil themselves voluntarily is, of course, entirely different from women who are mandated by law to, or coerced into, wearing it.

And finally, I think it is always important to remember this:

(Diagram from: http://peacepalacelibrary-weekly.blogspot.com/2010/07/islamic-veil-secularism-and-freedom-of.html, Cartoon from: http://qahiri.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/bikini-vs-burqa/)