Western Conception of the Hijab as a Symbol of Feminine Oppression

Western thought, and in particular the rise of the feminist movement in the twentieth century, has given rise to the notion that Muslim women are forced unwillingly to cover their heads. This causes much anti-Islam sentiment projected from the West to the Mideast, where Islam is one of the most prevalent religions. Many Western women feel sympathetically towards their Islamic counterparts, who cannot enjoy the same freedoms to show one’s head to all of society. I too accepted this attitude for, like those who had told me about this practice, I had never had the chance to ask a Muslim wearer of the hijab exactly why she did that. Personally, I enjoy wearing my hair down, and I thought that only an oppressive, male-dominated society would prohibit other women what I perceived to be a fundamental right. Yet upon meeting with Rasheeda, I came to realize that the wearing of the hijab is often a personal choice. While it is strongly suggested by the proponents of Islam as a manifestation of modest dress, it is not required. Indeed, “[i]n France, just before the law [prohibiting the wearing of headscarves in public schools] was passed, only 14 percent of Muslim women polled wore the hijab, although 51 percent declared they were actively practicing their religion” (Scott 3). However, the subject does remain controversial. Rasheeda was given the option to wear the hijab, and embraced her religion by choosing to do so. Yet Marjane Satrapi, the author of The Complete Persepolis, had no choice in the matter, as the Iranian government insisted that she wear it to comply with the law. Ultimately, the decision to wear the hijab is flexible in some places and mandatory in others, thereby creating an international spectrum of its status as a symbol of oppression.

"The Politics of the Veil"--Joan Wallach Scott

In Joan Wallach Scott’s book The Politics of the Veil, published in 2007, the author examines and discusses the French ban on the wearing of headscarves in public schools, enacted in 2004. Many Americans see the republic of France as a modern stronghold of Western thinking, and follow its ideologies. In fact, proponents of the law tout its benefits in protecting that sacred tenet of republican democracies, the separation of church and state. The ban on the wearing of the hijab, however, sets the French back to medieval thinking of fear and exclusion. Scott’s overarching statement is that by wearing the hijab, Muslims openly challenge the homogeneity that the Republic seeks to achieve in its society. She cites many reasons behind the ban, one of the greatest of which being fear. “[T]he veil became a screen onto which were projected images of strangeness and fantasies of danger—danger to the fabric of French society and to the future of the republican nation” (Scott 10). Moreover, she endorses the repeal of the ban and the acceptance of other cultures. “By refusing to accept and respect the difference of these others we turn them into enemies, producing that which we most feared about them in the first place” (19). Before reading The Politics of the Veil and investigating Muslim women’s sentiments on the hijab, I might have agreed with the French policymakers. While I certainly believe in the separation of church and state (especially in school systems, where members of the next generation form their personal ideologies), I do not think that the advertisement by Muslim women of their faith interferes with secular education. Unless the public-school teachers preach the teachings of Islam during their classes, no infringement is being made upon the secular ideals of the French republic.

This image is courtesy of http://muslimmatters.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/hijab-ban1.jpg .

Image of a Hijab

This is an example of a hijab worn by a Muslim woman. Not all hijabs are of this style: some are more conservative, while others leave everything visible but the hair.

Image source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/denmark/2106753/Miss-Headscarf-competition-won-by-Iraqi.html

Parallels Between Islam and Christianity

I will admit that I knew very little about the Islam religion before arriving at Wheaton College. My parents tried their best to raise me as a Catholic: I attended Sunday School for eleven years, and went to Mass weekly. While I ultimately chose not to accept Catholicism as my religion, I gained a firm understanding of its principles. Throughout my research of Islam, I found many parallels between Catholicism (and Christianity in general) and Islam, similarities that brought me to wonder about the intense strife that historically exists between these two religions. Both religions are monotheistic and indeed worship the same God (Allah in Arabic). Muslims and Christians alike are not expected to visualize God but rather worship him; they do not expect to ever comprehend God’s mysterious ways. The first of the Five Pillars of Islam states that “there is none worthy of worship except God,” just as one of the Ten Commandments mandates that “You shall have no other god before me.” Moreover, and perhaps most integral to this discussion, is the fact that both religions advocate modest dress. For Muslim women, the hijab promotes modesty and prevents men from lusting after women. (I shall discuss this topic in a further post.) The hijab is a valuable aid in promoting gender equality: by concealing their figures, women and men can work as equals without the constant reminder of their physical differences (another topic I shall discuss later). Christian women are also expected to dress modestly. As it is written in the Bible, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works” (I TIMOTHY 2:8-10). Ultimately, I have found that the modest dress promoted by both religions is intended to reduce the emphasis on differences in gender between males and females, and to prevent lustful urges. Before researching for this project, I never knew of the extensive similarities between Islam and Christianity. I had always been raised to believe that Catholicism was the “correct” religion, and while I never accepted this belief, I did not know the teachings of other religions. Now, since I have been researching the hijab, I am finding that the strong parallels between these two major religions lead to more questions. If two separate groups of people both follow the same course of social conduct, what does that tell anthropologists about the development of their societies? In some way, this connection between Christianity and Islam justifies this practice of modesty.

Response to Interview 1 with Rasheeda Abdul-Musawwir

Throughout my interview with Rasheeda Abdul-Musawwir, I was impressed with her knowledge of the Quran and with her strong sense of faith. Despite the strict requirements of practicing Islam, she maintains a firm belief in the values of that religion. Personally, I was raised Catholic, and I had to do very little, only go to church for an hour each week and complete Sunday school. I believe that in part because of this low level of commitment, I do not have strong religious sentiments. There is a theological theory about this phenomenon, known as the “costly signaling theory of ritual.” As discussed in Richard Sosis’ article “The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual”, “groups that impose the greatest demands on their members will elicit the highest levels of devotion and commitment. Only committed members will be willing to dress and behave in ways that differ from the rest of society” (Sosis 142). At one point during the interview, Rasheeda mentioned that she likes representing her religion by wearing the scarf. It is, after all, a fundamental part of her identity. Why shouldn’t she put it on display for the world to see? She is proud of this facet of her life and does not feel it should remain hidden. Indeed, I believe one should be proud of one’s religion and its values and teachings, for if one does not place value in that, what is the purpose of practicing? Therefore, I have discovered that one of the many purposes of the hijab is to announce one’s culture and religion to society, and proclaim one’s pride and conviction in their own religion.

Interview with Rasheeda Abdul: The Personal Connotations of the Hijab

It should be noted that I have had Rasheeda's permission to use her real name in this project. I have informed her of the nature of this blog, and she willingly agreed to help me with it.

Alternative Viewpoint: The Negative Connotation of the Hijab within Persepolis

In 2003, Marjane Satrapi published her graphic novel The Complete Persepolis, an autobiography about her coming-of-age during the Islamic Revolution. A key turning point in the novel is when the young Satrapi is suddenly required to wear the hijab, whereas before she went freely about the town with her hair uncovered. Satrapi hates the hijab and tries to evade it whenever possible. Although the Islamic Revolution was a return to more fundamental, conservative values, it took place during the latter half of the twentieth century, a time of progression and Westernization, thus creating tension between the fundamentalists and the modernists. One sees this tension within Persepolis: for instance, Satrapi contrasts the fundamentalist woman (who is completely covered and veiled) and the modern woman, who dresses conservatively and wears the hijab but lets a few strands of hair show to demonstrate her opposition to the revolution (Satrapi 75). Satrapi sees the hijab as a sign of feminine oppression. She also mocks the reasoning behind it in the novel. “’Women’s hair emanates rays that excite men. That’s why women should cover their hair! If in fact it is really more civilized to go without the veil, then animals are more civilized than we are.’ ‘Incredible! They think all men are perverts!’” (Satrapi 74). Because this novel was the summer reading requirement before arriving at Wheaton, and because Wheaton hosted Satrapi herself as a guest speaker, I assume that the College endorsed the negative view of the hijab. I feel that by accepting Satrapi’s vision of it, the College dismissed the hijab’s importance as a social and cultural mechanism. But Satrapi is one individual; there are millions of women content to wear the hijab, who accept what it stands for and the methods behind it. Upon researching and fieldwork (such as my interviews with Rasheeda), I am finding that I can in fact justify the wearing of the hijab, a topic I shall explore in future posts.

Unwrapping the Headscarf: What is the role of the Muslim hijab in America today?

As a white female coming from a predominantly white rural town in southern Rhode Island, I have had very little experience with cultural diversity. The racial homogeneity of my high school never really bothered me until I arrived at college, where I have met people who hail from all around the United States and the world. There are people here with last names I certainly can’t pronounce, religions I have never even heard of, and all manner of worldviews that I hope to learn from. In this Anthropology class I have elected to research the Islam religion and, in particular, the tradition within it of women wearing headscarves. From what I have already observed, the headscarf (known in Arabic as the hijab) is an integral part of the Muslim religion; it keeps women modest and prevents men from lusting after their physical attributes. Before arriving at Wheaton I had never known any Muslim people at all, and I know very little about the religion itself, as I was raised Catholic. Throughout this project, I intend to conduct research—both bibliographical and fieldwork—to attempt to explain why Muslim women in 21^st-century America still wear the headscarf. The mission of the project was to pick a cultural practice that does not make sense to me yet does to those who practice it. Hopefully, I will employ the anthropological methods of cultural relativism and participant observation to justify these women’s actions. I should briefly define these terms, as they will be integral to my studies and to my readers’ interpretations of this blog. Firstly, cultural relativism is the process by which an anthropologist assumes that another culture’s practices (while seemingly illogical to the researcher herself) make sense to them. Already I am employing cultural relativism when I think about the hijab. It makes no sense to me to cover my hair, yet these Muslim women must do it all the time. As I begin my research, I must position myself from their perspective and realized the significance of wearing the hijab. Secondly, participant observation is the main process by which anthropologists conduct their research. It is the act of spending time amongst the group one is studying to truly immerse oneself in their practices and lives, ultimately to achieve further comprehension. I have found here at Wheaton a friend, Rasheeda Abdul-Musawwir, who practices Islam and is willing to help explain to me why she wears the scarf when few of her peers do. Moreover, I realize that the subject of religious practices can be a sensitive one, especially in this age of hyper-attentiveness to political correctness. With this blog I hope not to convey bias but simply to explore a culture other than the one I was raised in. I would appreciate any civil discussion on this blog, and insight from experts or people with firsthand experience with the hijab would be greatly appreciated.