Have you ever worn a hijab? Or just a tea towel covering your head. Try it. The first time I stepped out in public with my hair covered, the experience was insightful from a social experiment perspective. I was (and still am) in Iran, a country where it is illegal for women not to cover themselves in public. Wrapping the headscarf around my head, I remember the immediate feeling of having something to hide. The physical presence of an object covering a part of me normally exposed, produced a psychological reaction: I felt ashamed, ashamed of what I was covering. When we purposely hide something, it can evoke a psychological association requiring a reason. In addition, the physical presence of the headscarf was a constant reminder of my gender
…show more content…
Immediately seeing and remembering I was a woman, he pulled his hand away with embarrassment (I still had my hand out) and so it continues.
This is a trivial event, but I share it because it exemplifies how women are perceived and treated differently in different communities across the world, compared to the West. The pertinent question is: what standards and practices do we wish to promote, protect and nourish within the West?
For the advocates supporting the covering of women, I wonder if they understand how precious our freedoms are in the West. More specifically, have they spent time dominated by the ideologies they support?
In the West, it has taken decades for women to be recognised as human-beings who are more than child-bearing, sexualised objects who serve as domestic servants. Do we want to step backwards and undo the precious years of hard work that many fought for?
But what about freedom of choice? If a woman chooses to wear a burkini or hi-jab, they should be allowed. Since when have Western governments cared what fashion statements we employ. Whether we visit the beach wearing pink luminous pyjamas or a string vest and hot-pants has never been the issue. Let us be clear, the debate rests upon the ideology the clothing represents and how it demotes gender value in an open
Immediately seeing and remembering I was a woman, he pulled his hand away with embarrassment (I still had my hand out) and so it continues.
This is a trivial event, but I share it because it exemplifies how women are perceived and treated differently in different communities across the world, compared to the West. The pertinent question is: what standards and practices do we wish to promote, protect and nourish within the West?
For the advocates supporting the covering of women, I wonder if they understand how precious our freedoms are in the West. More specifically, have they spent time dominated by the ideologies they support?
In the West, it has taken decades for women to be recognised as human-beings who are more than child-bearing, sexualised objects who serve as domestic servants. Do we want to step backwards and undo the precious years of hard work that many fought for?
But what about freedom of choice? If a woman chooses to wear a burkini or hi-jab, they should be allowed. Since when have Western governments cared what fashion statements we employ. Whether we visit the beach wearing pink luminous pyjamas or a string vest and hot-pants has never been the issue. Let us be clear, the debate rests upon the ideology the clothing represents and how it demotes gender value in an open