Muslim women and the practice of veiling has been a topic of discussion throughout history. Homa Hoodfar points out the first mention of women being veiled is in an Assyrian legal text in the thirteenth century B.C. Back in those times it was specified that “respectable” women were to be veiled. It was forbidden for prostitutes to do so. The veil was a sign of status.
This reminds me, in a way, of the way celebrities in modern times and in the Western world decide to cover themselves up. It is a sign of status still. And no one ever questions these people for not wanting to be seen.
It is also mentioned that veiling is not discussed directly in the Qur’an. Hoodfar says that there are two passages in the book that are often misinterpreted which is how women’s veiling may have come to be. One passage says that’s a woman’s bosom and jewelry should be covered, another says that women should wrap their robes close to their bodies to prevent being molested in public. Both verses have been taken to mean that all women should be completely covered.
Veiling is also discussed in an explanatory way. The article says that sometimes a veil can be worn to intensify beauty much like women in the West wear makeup. This point gets into the issue of how the West views the veil. Ahmed discusses the views of the Western world as well, and talks about Cromer and his hypocritical feminism in the saving of Muslim women. He is against them being veiled however he still doesn’t want them to be provided with equal educational opportunities, like to learn medicine for instance.
Muslim women, both Ahmed and Hoodfar point out, don’t appreciate being seen as charity cases or like they have to be saved from degradation. Many are comfortable in their culture and wear the veil out of respect for their culture and religion. They are more offended when Westerners who don’t understand intervene in an attempt to “help them.” The veil is a complex issue that is debated a lot between the Muslim world and the West.
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