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Veiling
Through Time: The Tresses of Forgetfulness
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By Hwaa Irfan
Staff Writer - IslamOnline
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30/01/2004
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A
veil from the Amish – a Christian community in the U.S.
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A time
remembered, is a period of
historical films on British history, when to see a woman veiled was
quite normal. To surf on the Internet, one could be led to believe
that the veil begins and ends with Islam, or as a wedding dress
accessory. The event of banning the veil in France has only served
to show how much is based on a gut reaction, so deep that there is a
past to it. Another misnomer is that the underlying reason President
Chirac banned all religious symbols, is because he is a desperate
man trying to quell the growing uncontrollable tide of anti-Semitism
in France. The last time one looked, Jews indigenous to the
Middle East were of the same Semite race as those they feel superior
to-the Palestinians (both Christian and Muslims)! As such, the
growing attacks against Jews spreading across Europe, in Britain,
Germany, Italy and Belgium etc. has been engineered to turn against
Muslims. This has symbolized how far humanity has to go before it
can become humane, where men women and children have taken to the
streets in the twenty-first century to march for their individual
rights. The suffragettes once fought for women's rights, which only
imprisoned women into slavery to the body beautiful, against the
dictates of a Christian Europe that incarcerated women to a life of
servitude in mind and body, when Islam had given Muslim women their
rights.
This dictate, descends from the
Christian Bible which states in 1Corinthians 11:
4
Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame
upon his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head
unveiled brings shame upon her head, for it is one and the same
thing as if she had had her head shaved. For if a woman does not
have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But
if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head
shaved, then she should wear a veil. 5
A man, on the other hand, should not cover his head, because he is
the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man
did not come from woman, but woman from man; nor was man created
for woman, but woman for man;” (NAB)
Further clarification is given in 1
Timothy II 8-9 of the Gospels:
For this I was appointed
preacher and apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying),
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.3
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument. Similarly,
(too,) women should adorn themselves with proper conduct, with
modesty and self-control, not with braided hairstyles and gold
ornaments, or pearls, or expensive clothes, but rather, as
befits women who profess reverence for God, with good deeds. A
woman must receive instruction silently and under complete
control. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority
over a man. 4
She must be quiet.” (NAB)
Hence, it is written in the early
codes of Christianity that women should veil. Far from ending in the
past, the veil was used to subjugate women in Christianity. It was
the first Latin theologian of the second and third centuries, Quinus
Septimus Florens Tertullianus, who, with fervor, wrote on the
veiling of women:
“
For
that custom which belies virgins while it exhibits them, would never
have been approved by any except by some men who must have been
similar in character to the virgins themselves. Such eyes will wish
that a virgin be seen as has the virgin who shall wish to be seen.
The same kinds of eyes reciprocally crave after each other. Seeing
and being, belong to the self-same lust…
The matter that has been left to
choice, for each virgin to veil herself with, as she might have
chosen, just as (she had equal liberty)… But when the power of
discerning began to advance, so that the license granted to either
fashion was becoming the means whereby the indication of the better
part emerged; immediately the great adversary of good things and
much more of good institutions set to his own work…
Every public exposure of an
honorable virgin is (to her) a suffering of rape: and yet the
suffering of carnal violence is the less evil, because it comes of
natural office. But when the very spirit itself is violated in a
virgin by the abstracting of her covering, she has learnt to lose
what she used to keep….”
The Western patriarchal view of
women can be embodied as Tertullianus wrote:
“It is not permitted for a woman
to speak in the church; but neither (is it permitted her), to teach,
nor to baptize, nor to office.
It remains likewise that we turn to
(the virgins) themselves, to induce them to accept these
(suggestions) the more willingly… But we admonish you too, women
of the second (degree of) modesty, who have fallen into wedlock, not
to outgrow so far the discipline of the veil, not even in a moment
of an hour, as, because you cannot refuse it, to take some other
means to nullify it, by going neither covered nor bare….Arabia’s
heathen females will be your judges, who cover not only the head,
but the face also, so entirely, that they are content, with one eye
free, to enjoy rather half the light than to prostitute the entire
face. A female would rather see than be seen”.
Enveloped in the Western perception
of women is the “Fall of Eve”, which has shaped Western societal
norms throughout the centuries. Christian scholar Leland Haines
spells it out: “It was only the wealthy that one can find explored
their sense of sexuality outside of social mores. Not to wear the
veiling implies freedom from submission to man. (Haine p.3).
Medieval Era
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In the middle ages there were increased numbers of women to become nuns
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The noblewomen covered their hair
with bonnets and veils, especially after the church issued an edict
that women should keep their hair covered.
Middle Ages
A lot of Western women’s
frustration over their gender can be attributed to the church, as
opposed to Christianity and the general view of women in society.
During this period, single, divorced and noblewomen had the right to
possess property, a right that was lost.
once they married. Women could
trade, save money and were legally liable until then. Under French
“Salic Law”, in the sixth and seventh centuries, women could
inherit land as long as there were no male relatives. It was a
combination of the theologies of Aristotle and Augustus that
culminated in Thomas Aquinas, Head of the English Church, firmly
establishing in this period the belief that a woman’s role was
solely to marry, procreate and raise children. Any intellectual
pursuit was the prerogative of men. Women were inferior and the
causes of evil. It was this that increased the flow of women to
become nuns, where they could have some degree of control over their
lives (usm p. 1, 2).
Elizabethan Period
The “snood” that arose out of
the Tudor period, became the rage with fashion trendsetter of the
day, Queen Elizabeth. Crocheted or beaded, snoods kept the hair out
of the way and clean. They are still popular today,
Victorian Period
Often deemed the most oppressive
period in Western women’s history, it was during the middle of the
nineteenth century that hair started to hang loose at the nape, with
curls, crimps and all kinds of tantalizing hairstyles. The
agricultural revolution offered more food than before, and the
industrial revolution offered new jobs, new towns, new societies,
plus more and varied commodities. Queen Victoria’s introduction of
the wedding dress gave a new life to the veil. It set a trend that
has become a dream for most girls.
19th Century
With major renovations taking place
in Paris, doctors were strongly recommending that women wore veiled
bonnets to protect themselves from dust and airborne diseases. In
fact it was fashionable to the extent that women viewed the veil as
a symbol of high-class and respectability. Art historian Dr. Marni
Kessler, as a male, held contradictory views on the subject, but
stated that the veil provided a barrier between the woman and the
city. “She was not blinded by the veil, but nevertheless held
back, protected and shielded from modern life”. (Barker p.1).
Hence, women were appendages of
men, and the property of men, with no rights of their own, as
embodied in Christian teachings. Is it embedded somewhere in their
trace memory every time they look at a veiled Muslim woman? Can it
not be seen that, unlike certain Christian teachings of old, the
veil in Islam is not about subjugation to men, but about not being
subjugated to the body. Can it not be seen that the rights of women
in Islam are written into Islam, and are not an influence from
elsewhere?
Western women were void of any sort
of rights until the nineteenth century. That past was to be broken
with the advent of industrialization, which only respects profits
not rights. Through the vehicle of the Suffragette movement, women
became free from one form of slavery and bound into the slavery of
the body. Believing to be free, Western women were no longer
appendages of men. The fast sweeping changes were too much for some.
The Free Church rose, part of which is the conservative Christian
group the Amish, who separated themselves from a world they rejected
and followed strict codes against military involvement; the older
members are even against the use of electricity. The veil was a part
of the Amish wife’s daily wear (Headcoverings p.1) and some
communities still hold onto these traditions.
Dehumanization: Hair Crazy
For many women today, the hair has
become all too important; the essence of femininity has been
associated with the hair. Yet, in the West, up until the twentieth
century hairstyling was limited to the upper classes. We never think
of how much we adulterate hair with the many harsh chemicals found
in modern day shampoos and permanent dyes. Whatever
the tradition, in general, the hair when styled was confined by
shaving, cutting, the hairstyle itself, and veiling-except for those
where every ploy was used to entice the men, as long tresses held
much provocation. Otherwise, it was considered unhygienic and
impractical to have the hair loose.
To show how obsessed with visual
appeal we have become, a poll by Yankelovich Partners in 2001 showed
that 69% of Americans felt that clothing, hair and make-up were the
most important determining factors in deciding on whether or not one
got a job, 67% said that ones appearance affects whether one gets a
new challenge, responsibility or opportunity. Can you believe that
78% of Americans felt that clothes, hair and make-up affect ones
ability to do the job? However, one should bear in mind that
Yankelovich were sponsored by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance
Association to provide this survey! (womenwork.org p.1).
It is almost as if those that seize
the opportunity to attack Islam through the issue of women, or use
Muslim women to unload what is still imbedded in their psyche from
an oppressive past, have associated the Islamic veil as a tool of
male chauvinism under the guise of “Islamic fundamentalism”. Yet
they have no working alternative to put in its place! They use the
old game of “labeling” in the church. “The technique of
labeling is used to discount a person who opposes the beliefs of a
religious addict. Labeling attempts to dehumanize persons, so that
dismissing them or their opinions is much easier. Choosing not to
address someone individually who has doubted the toxic faith, the
religious addict places a blanket negative label on all who would
disagree with his or her personal habits. Rather than state that
John Smith has made a negative statement, the addict proclaims that
there are ‘detractors’, ‘traitors’ or ‘malcontents’ who
would destroy the ministry or organization. The label becomes a
rallying point under which the other followers can be moved to
action to squelch a revolt”! (spiritualbase p.1). Therefore, as
such, the rallying cry has been made and we raise our voices, the
question is not if, but when will there be success in de-robing the
Muslim woman? This is the idea after all, to make the Muslim woman
feel as if she is old-fashioned, therefore making her react
emotionally to what is going on and unwittingly undo all that
supports the fabric and well-being of a Muslim society-the family.
The fairy-tale of Rapunzel was only enchanting to many because of
the length of her hair, which her knight in shining armor used to
climb his way into her heart. People have been made to feel inferior
because of their hair:
“We
are still enslaved in our thinking.
Society has molded us in our speaking.
I have a problem with the word nappy because it is not being
associated with our true identity as being happy.
Why do I have to have a chemical on any of my hairs?
I don’t want to conform to any standard of theirs.
They are those who impose their repressed feelings on the
impressionable youth.
Who are just learning to love themselves inside and out.
Youth who want only to fit in with a set standard of beauty, without
a doubt.
We as a people need to come together on this.
Most are living happily because ignorance is bliss.
They don't know that saying "good hair” is as degrading as
using the N-word as a term of endearment.
By changing our thinking, we can not only come out of darkness
mentally but come out of our concealment!” (nappyhair.com)
Many distance themselves from
others because of the loss of hair in illness. One teenager wrote:
Her hair. Her hair
was like an ocean with curls and curls and waves. There were red
streaks, in her long brown hair; her eyes were emeralds, her skin a
golden bronze. She is my best friend. I would do anything to have
her hair - the way it fell against her shoulder, like a golden maple
frame around a beautiful picture. "What's chemo?" I asked
as Mom pulled me aside. I hope she doesn't die. I hope she can still
have her hair. But; she can't, and it fell out. She had Hodgkins
disease and she lost her hair. Seeing her in the hospital with
clearly painful tubes tied to her chest, with massive grey machines
attached to her - without her hair. It was hard to look. To see her
hurting so badly, made me hurt too, so I cut my hair. by Ashley
Nestor, New City, NY” (Ashley,
teenink.com).
The High Cost of Sexploitation
We are in denial, I think, as to
what impact the hair has in determining who we are, not because it
actually does, but for some deeper meaning. It has an illogical
affect on human beings that can make one like, hate, resent, bully,
desire and reject a person, and for no other reason. Every physical
feature on a woman's body has to have a visual appeal that some
non-Western women try to emulate. That visual appeal has become
packaged as sex; sex as a commodity. Beautiful women have become
visually available to sell the unsellable. Sexploitation invites men
to possess with their eye what they cannot possess with their hands,
playing on the desires of men, heightening their sensibilities to a
point where many find it difficult not to take what they have been
“invited” to take. The illusion of women's rights in the West
have been at the cost of men's rights, only serving to enslave both
genders to the unalienable right “to have”. The other term for
it is “consumerism”-the same consumerism that is the bedrock of
Western industrialization, colonialism and globalization; and has
led to all forms of violence occurring in civil society.
The RAINN Organization that
provides the National Sexual Assault Hotline in the US states:
"Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually
assaulted". There were 247,730 victims of rape in 2002, 44,000
of those rape victims were under 18 years of age. Ninety three
percent of juvenile sexual assault victims knew their attackers, 34%
were family members and only 7% of the attackers were strangers
(rain.org p.1, 2). This only serves to show how even the individual
concept of family is being eroded.
Dissolving a Myth
When women choose to neglect their
rights as recognized under Islam, they also become negligent of the
possible consequences, not only to themselves, but also to their
families, and society as a whole. The veil is a protection of those
rights, which a few non-Westerners are beginning to wake-up to.
Transforming the common Western perception of veiled Muslim women,
that was shaped by their own past, Mary Walker, production
coordinator for the BBC2 series “Living in Islam”, said in
Impact Magazine:
"To me the veil symbolized the
oppression of women, making them invisible, anonymous and voiceless,
and the cause of this oppression lay in the will to perpetuate the
family and maintain a patriarchal framework-the very basis of an
Islamic Society. I thought women were entirely submerged by divine
justification of their role as wife and mother… “Living in
Islam” was filmed over two years in 19 different countries, and on
location, I was a lone female in an otherwise male team… The first
Muslim woman I met in Mali was far removed from my preconception
about the Muslim female. She was the wife of a sheikh dedicated to
converting pagan villagers to Islam. A sophisticated, well-educated
woman, previously married to a diplomat, she had renounced a Western
lifestyle for a life in purdah…
The emancipated woman in the West
faces the conflict between confirmation of her femininity and the
privileges that she associates with it, and repudiation of the
confines of her female role and all the limitations that men want
her to assume. From where I stood, this woman had transformed those
limitations into privileges… On my next trip to northern Nigeria,
I met two more women who would alter my views even further… Once
again, they had rejected the Western lifestyle, which I considered
so superior to Islam in its treatment of women… The women talked,
and in their answers, I saw seeds of my own re-evaluations. They
argued that the veil signified their rejection of an unacceptable
system of values that debased women, while Islam elevated women to a
position of honor and respect. "It is not liberation where you
say women should go naked". Just as to us the veil represents
Muslim oppression, to them miniskirts and plunging necklines
represent oppression. They said that men are cheating women in the
West. They let us believe we're liberated, but enslave us to the
male gaze….”
The tresses of
forgetfulness is what fell with an enchanting dance,
To grace her body in
the glowing sun.
Those tresses caught
not his eye, but his senses, and could not,
Would not, rise
above that trance,
His imagination
unfolded passions within from where he cared not,
For all he saw in
that moment
Was a need to
fulfill what lied within with what he saw -
Who she was
Did not matter,
neither did her honor.
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