Wearing a Veil
26 October 2006, lunch time
Wearing a veil in the west really has the opposite effect it is supposed to have: It draws more attention to a women, not less. This is the argument Zaiba Malik tries to make in her op-ed, The veil: too obviously hidden . I don’t think she makes a good case though. All she seems to discuss is how much more racist British people were towards her while she was wandering around covered up. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to not wear such restrictive clothing. Personally, I don’t consider trying to appease ignorant people one of them. “Avoid Racism: Blend in!” That’s a slogan they should print on posters and hang up in East London. I am left wondering what exactly her article is supposed to be a comment on.
“There are plenty of legitimate reasons to not wear such restrictive clothing. Personally, I don’t consider trying to appease ignorant people one of them. “
I don’t agree. I think that’s a good enough reason.
My mom still wore a veil for 2-3 years after we moved to Canada. All the Persian people that saw her on the street, who didn’t wear a veil, would think she was one of those people who supported the current government.. and all the Persians who wore a veil thought she also supported the government. There was no winning for her. I know it has to do with a very specific population, and doesn’t really have anything to do with racism… but still, I think that my mom got fed up with all the ignorant Persians and decided it was less of a hassle to just not to wear it.
And trust me, it was very hard for her to stop wearing her veil. She’d have one for 25 odd years, and the majority of that was out of will.
by sh!ma on October 27 2006, 2:45 am #