Veiling; the Icon of Muslim Women

Saudi Arabia: what comes to mind when thinking of the women in this country?

Probably a person will think of Black veils and dresses and no faces to identify. A culture that does not allow one to see it's women's faces. Veiling is not foreign to Western society. Veiling was practiced in Ancient Greece and throughout the Mediterranean before Islam was founded, and is still practiced today in Western societies. For example, brides wear veils, nuns wear veils, and widows often wear veils. Why are Western women who wear veils not considered oppressed? Perhaps because Western women are familiar with their traditions and unfamiliar with Muslim traditions, they view Muslim veiling as completely different. When something is different people choose to see it the way they want to. Westerners have chosen to understand the veil as an oppressive tradition, when in fact, the veil is only oppressive when it is enforced.

A common misconception is that Muslim women are the only ones who cover their hair. It may be true that Islam is the only religion in which most women follow its directives to cover the hair, but it is not the only religion to have such directives. As quoted in A Study of First Corinthians 11:1-16, “Paul specifically mentions

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In these cases, though, it is mostly a custom for entering a temple, or church. The question that followed was: "which women are more oppressed?” The answer is that both women are oppressed in a different ways in a patriarchal society. It's a benefit to me, so why not?” (Abid). All women across the world are oppressed in a different way in a patriarchal society. Similarly, in other religions such as Judaism and in some Christian denominations it is not uncommon at all for women to wear a head covering. that a woman is not to have her head uncovered. Vogel discusses, “even the Catholics, with all their abuses back in the dark ages, were obedient enough to practice the head covering. The veil is not the only problem for Middle Eastern women in terms of sex discrimination. Why is it that when a Nun dresses modestly she is devoting herself to God but when a Muslim woman is doing it she is considered oppressed? Once again, the media attempts to downplay Muslim women with their propaganda.

Approximate Word count = 1055
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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