From Behind The Veil-

FROM BEHIND THE VEIL- Nazirah Sorrell Abstract From behind the veil, uncovering the face of oppression. The implication that veiling is a form of oppression is a very sensitive subject to the opponents on both sides. Delving deeper into the controversy surrounding the Islaamic dress code for women, I was sincerely hoping to gain clarity on the issue. The more research I conducted, the clearer I started to see that women are once again under attack, Muslim women. I found myself playing a political game of hide and go seek, looking for the truth. 1.2.3. Ready or not! Here I come!   FROM BEHIND THE VEIL “Today’s war on terror is like the Cold War. It Is an ideological struggle with the enemy that despises freedom and pursues totalitarian aims… I vowed then that I would use all assists of our power of Shock and Awe to win the war on terror. And so I said we were going to stay on the offensive two ways: one, hunt down the enemy and bring them to justice, and to take the threats seriously: and two, spread freedom” (Bush, April 10, 2006). Sorry Mr. President, that’s three ways not two. The actual meaning behind the “war on terror” is debatable and subjective. Its vagueness has resulted in a society immersed in fear and paranoia. A society destined to suffer a self inflected wound, brought on by its intolerances, suspicions, and growing hate of others. The growing fear of the unknown has demanded that a face be put on the enemy. And so the most recognizable figure of the growing Islamophibic society was chosen. The Muslim Woman… Scientific studies into human social behavior among groups and individuals, list the tools of oppression to include a progression of denigration, dehumanization and demonization; often of which generates a need for a scapegoat. Thus justifying their aggression against targeted groups and individuals. A general definition of oppression is: 1. the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust way. 2. The feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, anxiety, etc. (Websters.com) The term “oppression” is derived from the idea of being “weighted down”. The weighted down feeling of the Muslim Woman is not because of her veil, it’s because she has been forced by society into being the scapegoat in the “war on terror”. O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils)* all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Quraan) The Muslim Woman understands this to be a command from God to cover herself. Some understand it to mean to cover completely, while others understand it to cover everything but her face and hands. There are also plenty of Muslim women that see it not as a command but a personal choice. To those that see this Quraanic verse as a command from God, willingly cover out obedience to God’s Law. By forcing the Muslim Woman out of her veil, is a blatant violation of her deeply rooted religious convictions. Yet, all across the Western World steps are indeed being taken to strip the Muslim Woman of her dignity. A type of religious genocide, where the desired effect is the total annihilation of the Veil. All across Europe steps are being taken to ban the veil and force assimilation on Muslim Women. France introduced the ban in 2004, igniting the domino effect that is hitting European countries one by one. Some are only taking small steps towards actually banning the veil, specifically the UK. At the moment there is no ban on Islaamic dress, however, the schools have been allowed to decide their own dress code. Many teachers and leaders are applauding the decision. The main argument of the schools was based on the veil making communication between teachers and students difficult, and hampered learning. The schools also felt that the veil prevented teachers from knowing if the pupil was enthusiastic, paying attention or even distressed. Others citied the reason for the ban is because if the students face is obscured in anyway, a teacher is unable to judge their engagement with learning, and it prevents securing their participation in discussions and other classroom activities. (News, 2006) A city of Belgium near the Dutch border has completely banned the veil, and the Dutch cabinet in the Netherlands, has backed a proposal to ban wearing burkas/veils in public places. Citing the reason for the proposed ban to be because the burka/veil disturbs public order, citizens and safety. Banning the Veil in a country where illicit drugs are legal, along with prostitution shows exactly how disturbing the veil must be. Society is full of far more dangerous threats, than the veil. If in fact, the overwhelming desire is to keep women out of the veil, try changing the actual conditions that send women running to the veil. It would be far more beneficial to ban the pornography that has been shown to harm the entire society. R. Barri Flowers, a criminologist and social scientist argued that the nature of pornography is to victimize, humiliate and reduce women to an object to be used for men’s pleasure. Studies have in fact found a definite correlation between pornography and sexual violence towards women. (Flowers, 1994) Since the influx of pornography in the 70’s there has been a documented increase in rape and violent crimes against women. Forced assimilation into a society such this, is a punishment worse than death for the Muslim Woman. It would be an “honor killing” in a sense. The veil is her honor, and indeed it is under attack. The following questions were asked of Muslim Women all over the world, and here is how they answered: Do you cover? An overwhelming amount answered that in fact they covered, and the majority being that they covered completely. Do you feel oppressed as a result of covering? Every single woman denied feeling oppressed, or forced to cover. In one word, describe how you feel as a Muslim Woman? Umm Anisah a mother of 5 children-“GUIDED’ Umm Yayha in the UAE-“HONORED” Umm Abdullah married mother of 5-“UNIQUE” Umm Safiyah recently married-“BLESSED” Umm Dhaakirah mother of 6- “HONORED” Umm Maryam married mother of 4 and 1 on the way-“RESPECTED” Jene married mother of 7-“EUPHORIC” Other Muslim woman used words such as, beautiful, free, liberated, safe, protected and wonderful. In their own voices…