Can't Wear That

Telling Muslim Women what not to wear

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Can't Wear That
by Kari Ansari
13-Apr-2011
 

France has now officially outlawed the Islamic niqab or burqa in public. French President Sarkozy said in 2009, "The issue of the burqa is not a religious issue, it is a question of freedom and of women's dignity ... The burqa is not a religious sign; it is a sign of the subjugation, of the submission of women. I want to say solemnly that it will not be welcome on our territory."

This statement by Sarkozy isn't going to save any Muslim woman's self-respect or free her from her oppressor by forcing her indoors and out of public life. If a woman is being forced to wear the burqa or niqab by a dictatorial husband or father, the French have just made it more difficult for her to break free from her oppressor. However, most Muslim women choose to wear the niqab of their own free will, and with this ban France has just pushed another segment of their Muslim population further from the mainstream. France outlawed the hijab, or the simple headscarf in public schools and institutions in 2004, and it has forced girls who want an education to either compromise their religious values, or compromise their academic and professional future. Where's the liberté in that?

A small minority of Muslim women in certain parts of the world wear what is known as the abaya (black cloak) and the niqab (face veil). It is known as a burqa in South and Central Asia and seen most often as the blue full-body veil worn by Afghan women. This form of covering is the manifestation of the strictest interpretation of modesty in Islam. Women who choose this practice consider themselves seriously observant Muslims and believe this form of dress allows them to move about the outside world while protecting their dignity.

People get nervous around these women. I have often heard the refrain, "You need to see a person's face to judge their character." I disagree based on my own experience with Muslim women who wear the niqab. I have always known them as highly disciplined, and solid in their faith convictions despite society's derision. They believe in keeping their physical attributes out of the public conversation by covering. While I don't subscribe to this strict interpretation of Islamic modesty, I respect the woman who does.

Case in point: I had been corresponding with a young woman in regard to a part-time position on the behalf of one of my clients. The job would include conducting various marketing events within her local Muslim community. Because she lives in another city, I had no chance to meet her until this weekend when I traveled there. Because I am familiar with this city's Muslim community, I was not surprised to meet her wearing a black abaya and black headscarf. She and I had coffee in a café, and as the interview progressed she proved to be everything her emails and our previous phone conversations led me to believe about her without the benefit of a face-to-face meeting. She is an extremely enthusiastic and professional young woman filled with exciting ideas for marketing my client's product. Toward the end of the conversation she mentioned that she usually wore the niqab face veil but she decided that she would not don it for our meeting in case I would be uncomfortable. I told her I wouldn't have been bothered by it in the least. I felt sorry she had come out without her veil on my account -- but to be fair, she didn't know me. While she knew that I'm also a Muslim, she couldn't be sure I wouldn't discriminate against her on behalf of my client. After I assured her that her faith practices are her own business, and that my client has great respect for Muslims, she visibly relaxed and we continued our conversation.

Her character, personality and professionalism were evident long before I saw her clothing, or her face. In her American city she happily moves about her neighborhood dressed the way the French have now outlawed. She told me the Muslims are an integral part of her city's greater community, and she is very comfortable wherever she goes in her graceful, black garments. I will recommend that my client hire this young woman; I'm completely confident that she is going to far exceed the expectations we had for this position.

As I've written before, if you strip a woman of what she feels is her dignity, you'll have a lot of indignant women. We all know American women can become pretty indignant if someone tells us what not to wear.

First published in HuffingtonPost.com.

AUTHOR
Follow Kari Ansari is Writer and Co-Founder, America's Muslim Family Magazine. Follow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KariAnsari

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Reality-Bites

What a complete load of drivel

by Reality-Bites on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:55 AM PDT

The issue of the face veil ban by France has already been discussed and debated several times on this site, but I don't think I've read such utter nonsense as exemplefied by this extract from the closing paragraph:

"...As I've written before, if you strip a woman of what she feels is her dignity, you'll have a lot of indignant women.."

So now, women covering themselves from head to toe and hiding themselves away from the world, based on some arbitrary, made up piece of sexual enslavement and entrapment dicktat (which is not even supported by their own officially recognised scared texts, for crying out loud) dreamt up by fanatical and reactionary puritans, equates to woman's dignity?

Your America's Muslim Family Magazine must be a fun read.


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ComraidsConcubine

SK, I don't know

by ComraidsConcubine on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:50 AM PDT

 Unlike cults, I don't have all the answers to everything.

 

Just another thing I noticed in this sort of called  article: when the headscarf was prohibited in schools in France, it was part of ALL religious symbols, so that e.g. Catholics can't parade their crosses in STATE schools.

Whether this law is just or not, is another question. Singling out this law by only mentioning the effect on Muslim-born school children is seriously dangerous and very pathetically biased.  

Please, be accurate and correct, do not profit from climatic hysteria. 



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jamh

My 2 cents

by jamh on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:38 AM PDT

I remember when my dad talked about the time Reza Shah forbid women from wearing hijabs and telling his own wife to let loose her hair in public.

I was quite small, but he (my dad) stressed how much of our personality derives from what we wear and what profound effects it has on the society as a whole. He had travelled everywhere and could compare.

My own take is that by uncovering we expose ourselves to the outside world and become more in contact with it, both with people and situations, and by doing so learn more about ourselves by constantly receiving feedback, something that doesn't happen as readily through the barrier of fabric or mask. We grow up. An analogy might be how someone who lives in the country is invariably less witty than a city urchin.

 


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Soosan Khanoom

CC

by Soosan Khanoom on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:29 AM PDT

Thanks for the correction ..... Sometimes i am so pissed off that i do not take my time in typing and spelling  .....   :) 

Oh ....... What should be done ?

I keep saying this but it is true .... " it is the worse of time  "

 


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ComraidsConcubine

Soosan Khanoom

by ComraidsConcubine on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:23 AM PDT

 Not to sure if you meant 'rob ' it from its truth or 'rub' it up. ;) Eloquently put about the short wall. (see my comment on the other burqah ban, as the rest of the law is not hitting the headlines. Conveniently....)

Crazy times indeed... And extremely dangerous in this current economic climate. Time to be very wary of one's affiliations....

 P.S. A note to myself: what's up with the apostrophes in the wrong places?



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Soosan Khanoom

Afsaneh and CC

by Soosan Khanoom on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:12 AM PDT

Afsaneh:

They are free to start a new religion and call it like"  Neqabee club or  something " but they cannot say this is the dignified Islam ... because it is not .....

CC:

I agree with you on HuffingtonPost.com ....... may be we are at fault to not take our time to write and have them published it for us ... In any case things are crazy these days ...... and it seems that there is no wall shorter than Islam to climb on and rub it from its truth ....... 

 

 


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ComraidsConcubine

anything on the murders

by ComraidsConcubine on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:11 AM PDT

 rape and pillaging for territorial gain yet? Or do we have to sit on our tiny laurels forever for scraps of some form of human rights indignations?

Is it really so convenient to ignore that wearing a black bin bag has nothing to do with a cult, but is a regional cultural phenomenon? 

And welcome to 21 Century Iran, in the land where you can get hanged for being an enemy of god.

Not so romantic and sexy , is it. Or was that just the Arabs again? 

 

 



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Hafez for Beginners

Cyrus The Great's Religious Tolerance

by Hafez for Beginners on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:04 AM PDT

ComraidsConcubin - "Ridiculous" is not a very civilized tone to use to bring home a point home to another person. Talk about being civilized, it is a widely held belief that Cyrus's Charter on Human Rights and Religious Tolerance, was key to him being known as a "liberator" rather than a "conqueror." The most famous act of this unheard of "Religious Tolerance" in his Era, was to not only liberate the Jews held captive in Babylon, but to have them return home and build the 2nd Temple. He could have squirmed like Monsieur Sarkozy - as he came across all the tribes and religions that he did. It's a deep part of Iranian thought and poetry - "to each their own" - and I am so proud to be part of such a heritage.  

Afsaneh


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ComraidsConcubine

Afsaneh, that really is beyond ridiculous

by ComraidsConcubine on Wed Apr 13, 2011 08:58 AM PDT

 Empires are built on territorial murder, pillaging and raping. 

Don't believe me? Read some historical facts instead of fantasy. 

Sharkozy's fascist-libertarian-free-market-fundamentalist economic's on the other hand are....

P.S. A note to Huffington Post.  The more I read, the more likely I am inclined to conclude that soon real journalists won't contribute to your paper, as mass gibberish amasses.



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Hafez for Beginners

Thanks to you and Huffington Post

by Hafez for Beginners on Wed Apr 13, 2011 08:50 AM PDT

Sarkozy's statement wanting to defend women's dignity, while his society abuses women's private parts, clad in the skimpiest of outfits on a daily basis, to sell goods, is laughable.

Will I wear a Burka? No. But I do personally believe that our own Cyrus the Great would not have been able to build the first global Empire, one of whose pillars was "Religious Tolerance" - if he had to cherry pick his way through what is I'm sure a myriad of unusual tribes and religions he came across. He went on to save the Jews and help them build their 2nd Temple in Jerusalem.  You can't cherry pick your way through "Religious Tolerance"- the hardest part of Tolerance, is stomaching something you wouldn't do yourself. Duh!

Afsaneh


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ComraidsConcubine

you totally ignore cultural conditioned coercion * and

by ComraidsConcubine on Wed Apr 13, 2011 09:01 AM PDT

 simply ludicrously primitive attachments to "dignitiy" via vagina and dress. 

My "dignity" isn't attached to either extremes nor in-betweens. 

AND for the upteenth time on this website:

ONE LAW FOR ALL, NO EXEMPTIONS AND PRIVILEGES  FOR SPECIFIC CULTS 

 

Afterall, I'd be hard-pressed to get a government grant and tax exemption to start a hindu temple worshipping rats.

AND PLEASE, the term "choice" isn't as stupid as presented almost everywhere nowadays. At this rate, I'm going to have to take the time to write a blog about this subject. For a start, there is no such thing as "free will" and "intentionality" isn't a valid premise.

 

Otherwise, yes please, do keep all smelly fuglies under some paper-bag for me. 

 

* cultural conditioned coercion is not choice 

 

P.S. Please, provide  comprehensive  details of the actual law passed and in effect, rather than perpetuating political scoring.


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Soosan Khanoom

Kari

by Soosan Khanoom on Wed Apr 13, 2011 07:37 AM PDT

I do not know what to say ... I am confused and mixed up a bit when it comes to wearing Neqab ......

For sure women should be free to choose whatever they want but they also need to be practical.  These type of covering is not practical. Furthermore , it draws too much attention and people feel uncomfortable when these woman are around ......

In my opinion, the effect of this choice is exactly the same as the effect of one that chooses to walk in the street " Topless "  ..... now do not laugh at me ........ It is exactly the same, If a woman walk down the street with her boobs all over, it also draws attention and make people around uncomfortable. Further more it is not also practical ......

You have stated that: " if you strip a woman of what she feels is her dignity, you'll have a lot of indignant women. We all know American women can become pretty indignant if someone tells us what not to wear." 

Well..... are we really free in our choices?  Then why we do not see people walk down the street topless ? Do you not think that those women who choose to be naked have rights too ? May me they have found their dignity in being naked.  Who are we to dignify one thing and not the other? 

That is where the law of land should draw the lines  ....... It should explain the boundaries and the citizens should follow that.

Now I do not see wearing a simple Hejab or not wearing it to be an issue in any society. Cause both are practical as we see in the U.S today.  I am totally against forcing woman to wear scarf or not to wear it..  But "Neqab"  as I said above is equal to a topless choice. Both are extremism at its peak and in my humble opinion both should be banned .....

Also you stated that "

This form of covering  is the manifestation of the strictest interpretation of modesty in Islam. Women who choose this practice consider themselves seriously observant Muslims and believe this form of dress allows them to move about the outside world while protecting their dignity. "

We all know that Negab is nothing but Bull shit with no Quranic back up .....

Thank you for sharing your article with us and I hope I have been able to make you see things in new prespectives.

 

 

 

 


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