The trend to unveil had begun in Egypt in the early 20th century, set in motion by the writer Qasim Amin. Amin had argued that "gradual and careful change in the status of women," including women's casting off their veils, was now an essential step in the advancement of Muslim societies and "not contrary to the principles of Islam." Although Amin's ideas had been met with great resistance, how they gradually gained acceptance and spread among the "more advanced Arab countries," first in Egypt and then "Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq." By the 1950s, the veil had virtually disappeared in Egypt, except among the "lower middle class, the most conservative of all classes." It was only in the Arab world's "most backward regions," and specifically Saudi Arabia and Yemen, that the "old order" and along with it such practices as veiling and polygamy "still persists unaltered." (KEATING, 2011)
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My very first interviews began to unsettle my assumptions. "I wear it for the reason as my Jewish friend wears a yarmulke," said one woman; hijab, she said, was required dress that made visible the presence a religious minority entitled to justice and equality. Another said hoped her hijab would raise other women's awareness of society's sexist messages about women's bodies and dress. For many others, wearing the hijab was a way of rejecting negative stereotypes affirming pride in Muslim identity in the face of prejudice. (KEATING,
My very first interviews began to unsettle my assumptions. "I wear it for the reason as my Jewish friend wears a yarmulke," said one woman; hijab, she said, was required dress that made visible the presence a religious minority entitled to justice and equality. Another said hoped her hijab would raise other women's awareness of society's sexist messages about women's bodies and dress. For many others, wearing the hijab was a way of rejecting negative stereotypes affirming pride in Muslim identity in the face of prejudice. (KEATING,