Polemics on Veiling Egyptian Women in the Twentieth Century
".. so much energy has been expended by Muslim men and then Muslim women to remove the veil and by others to affirm or restore it .." (Ahmed 167). This paper explores these efforts in two specific stages: the first and the lastthirds of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of some of the variousarguments on the veil, I will try to induce some general characteristics of thedebate on the issue and on women during these two specific periods of time.The starting point will be Kasim Amin's "Tahrir el Mara'a" (Liberation ofWoman) and the counter argument of Talat Harb's "Tarbiet el Mara'a walHijab", (Educating Women and the Veil). The debate between those twoprotagonists which has become a "prototype" of the debate on the veilthroughout the century (Ahmed P. 164). Malak Hefni Nassif's and HodaSha'arawi's attitudes towards the veil represent an interesting insight to twodifferent interpretations of the hijab issue by feminist activists that prevailthroughout the century. The whole synthesis of this early debate is then putin juxtaposition to the debate later in the century as represented by theavalanche of literature on the topic in the seventies, the v
Then he moves on saying thatHijab is the best assurance for these wonderful qualities, defying Amin'sreligious argument with a different interpretation of the same text the formerhad used (same text used by Ashmawi and Tantawi later in the century). iews of somefamous sheikhs like Mohammed Metwally el Shaarawi and others, and theheated debate initiated by the Minister of Education's decree of 1994 toprevent school administrations from imposing the hijab on girls as part of theuniform. In 1996, Al Saadawi published a shortstory in Al-Ahram newspaper, allegedly a true story of one of the cases whocame to her as a psychiatrist, the story implies that the veil and the rigidpatriarchal family authority lead to psychological distortion and sexualrepression. He dedicates the biggest part of his book to denouncing women'swork and mixing with men. She writes: "I am a sinner deserving this punishment and more, forthe mouth which God has disciplined with illness and pain wore lipstick anddid not command the good and forbid the evil. He starts (a bit on thedefensive) by saying that he was a graduate of Al-Azhar, is indebted to thiseducational institution and has nothing against it whatsoever. He starts his argument against unveiling with a compelling statement on theimportance of morality, fidelity and modesty. These twopapers formed a channel for the EFU agenda which mainly included familylaws and education for girls. In 1920, Sh'arawi was elected president of the Wafdist Women's CentralCommittee (WWCC) and in 1923, she and other WWCC members createdan independent feminist group called The Egyptian Feminist Union (EFU)after receiving an invitation from the International Alliance of Women forSuffrage and Equal rights (IAW) to attend its conference in Rome where theymade their first public declaration of their program. " Rose-al-Youssif 6/13/94 1994:22-25. Some of the reasons given for that include: thedefeat of 1967, the collapse of Nasser's Arab nationalist dream, the waste ofthe Yemeni War (1962-67), the failure of Nasser's socialist contract, Sadat'sinsecurity vis-a-vis the leftists and encouragement of the Islamic currentdeclaring the new label of "Dawlet el Ilm wal Iman" (The State of Scienceand Faith), the petro-dollar coming with its agenda, the economic crisis andthe rising inflation rate, and the sense of corruption caused by the open doorpolicy "Infitah" which enlarged the gap between the rich and the poor. Yet at the very end of the introduction, Harb implicitly accusesAmin of plagiarism saying that the ideas of his book were published earlier inTurkey and India. He further argues that, if women are imprisoned in the hareem (partof the house where women are secluded), then even if they did not commitany shameful act, it would not be due to any virtue in them, but to the factthat they did not have the freedom to do otherwise.
Common topics in this essay:
Hijab Shara'ei,
Talat Harb,
Veiled Woman,
Ramadan Minister's,
Turkey India,
Al Saadawi,
Aradaha Allah,
Awratena God,
Late Century,
Europeby German,
argument veil,
ayet el,
talat harb,
amin's tahrir,
conservative ideas,
social practical,
el mara'a,
women veil,
women's veil,
educating women,
covering hair body,
school administrations imposing,
hair body hands,
kasim amin's tahrir,
malak hefni nassif's,
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Acceptance Essays
