Burqa Research Paper
The Burqa
My first paper assignment for this class is on the Islamic woman’s
clothing. I will be writing specifically on the burqa. The burqa is a
beautiful, yet mysterious garment traditionally worn by women of Islamic
faith. The burqa covers the whole body and has an opening in the eye area.
The aspects that I will elaborate on are about the history, how women feel
about it, how a society sees it, and the ban in different countries.
Before I get into the issues of the burqa, I would like to mention the
history. There are specific names for the Islamic clothing, but the burqa is
considered a veil. Veils have been around before the beginning of Islam. “ In …show more content…
the Near East, Assyrian kings first introduced both the seclusion of women in
the royal harem and the veil. Prostitutes and slaves, however, were told not to
veil, and were slashed if they disobeyed this law.” (Historical Perspectives)It is said that when Islam
first began, women were not required to cover themselves up. It was used in
many different cultures but became common as Islam began to spread. Before
Islam, the veils were primarily considered a status symbol or of higher class.
They were considered higher class because it showed that the husband had
means to support his family without the wife having to work. That may still
be a belief, but it is not the main reason for the majority of women to wear the
burqa. In the middle ages, the veil became a common rule in many places.
“One of these places was Egypt. In some periods, such as under the Mamluks
in Egypt, repeated decrees were issued, urging strictness in veiling and
arguing against the right of women to take part in activities outside their
home.” (Historical Perspectives) The rule was so strict that many of
the shopkeepers were told that they should physically turn their back on
women revealing any part of their body. In the 19th century, some people in
the Islam community started expressing the idea that woman should not have
to cover themselves. These people wanted their countries to be like the
western countries, in which woman dressed freely. Not everyone agreed with
this idea and I was surprised when I learned that many women did not agree
with it either. Presently, there is no rule that requires Islamic women to wear
a veil or burqa in the United States, but there are countries that do encourage
its women to wear one. For example, in some parts of Afghanistan and
Pakistan women are highly persuaded by warlords and society to wear
burqas. The opinion of whether women should wear burqas keeps changing
throughout time.
There is a misconception that all women who wear burqas are forced
by their husbands to do it. That is the case for some of the women that wear
it, but not for all. Some men force their wives, daughters, and sisters to wear it
because it is part of their interpretation of the Quran. The Quran mentions
that women should dress modestly, but people interpret it differently. Some
men believe that women should not be in public, in presence of another man,
or photographed without being completely covered. Not all Islamic men think
this way. Many men do not force their wives to wear a burqa yet they wear it
anyway. I watched a video on ABC News about Hebah Ahmed. She is a 32 year
Islamic woman who wears a burqa because she chooses to. An interesting
part is that she lives in Southwest region of the United States. She mentions
that she wears it because she believes it is a devotion to her religion. She also
states that wearing the burqa makes her feel that she expressing her
individuality. I have a belief that many of the women who wear the burqa are
proud and prefer to wear it. I believe that more as I learn more on the subject.
Other women wear it because they feel safe in it and are accustomed to it. Then there is the other side, women who think burqas are a sign of
oppression. Most women in the United States do not understand why Islamic
women where the burqa or they believe that they where it because they are
forced. While listening to Hebah Ahmed’s interview, she mentions that once a
woman asked her if her husband abused her. Hebah found the question
amusing because it was the concerned woman’s first thought that she was
being abused. Not all western women believe that the burqa-wearing women
are being abused but most do think negatively about it. I think that it can be
attributed to western women not knowing that much about the burqa and the
history of it. I found this article online about a journalist going to Afghanistan
for the first time. Her name is Alissa J. Rubin and she is a journalist for the
New York Times. She quickly learned that she had to adapt and try to fit in.
Afghanistan is a very dangerous place and westerners run the risk of being
attacked or kidnapped. She was persuaded by her local colleague to wear the
burqa because he did not feel that they were safe if she did not wear it. Alissa
got the burqa and felt uncomfortable as soon as she wore it. I quickly got a
sense that she did not like it much.
She felt that she was invisible and rejected
when she wore the burqa. She liked it a times because she could hide her
emotions and reactions from others. She could also eat without people seeing
her. At the end of her trip, she realized that she did not like wearing the
burqa because she did not have a choice. It was a symbol of oppression. Society has its own view on the burqa. Women who wear the burqa in
public frighten or concern most people in Europe. “This is despite a YouGov
survey which found that 67 percent of voters wanted the wearing of full-face
veils to be outlawed in Britain.”(Brit View?) I believe that this reflects how
people feel about the burqa. I have mentioned what society thinks about it in
regard to the feminine aspect of it. I mentioned why women wear it and why
other women do not like it, but I have not mentioned how others feel about it
when it comes to safety. Things have changed the last decade when it comes
to safety and protection. This is due to the fact 9/11 happened and people
have been nervous since then. It can be said that Muslims are seen in a
negative way since 9/11 and have been persecuted. Since many people
blame
Muslims for the event, society is going to be against women wearing burqas.
Why? This is because burqas are mysterious and concealing. The biggest fear
that people have is that a woman could strap on a bomb on under the burqa
and hide it easily. Since officials and people know that a burqa is a symbol of
privacy and they may be hesitant to check a woman wearing one. Some of
these reasons have led to ban of burqas in different countries. France has
recently has officially put a ban on burqas being wore in public. The law was
passed in 2010 and went into effect in April 2011. Women wearing the burqa
will get a warning the first time and a $200 fine after that.
I believe that the burqa is beautiful and women should be able to wear
it. But I do think that it should be their choice. They should wear it because it
empowers them, they feel safe, and because they want to show their devotion
to their faith. I would be lying if I said that there is no part of me, which may
become a little nervous if I saw a woman wear a burqa for the first time. I feel
a little guilty for thinking that, but it is a cause of all the terrorism that has
gone on in the last decade. Also, the Middle-Eastern countries have never
hated the United States and its allies so much. There have been attacks and it
does just take one misguided woman or a man disguised a woman to strap a
bomb and conceal it. At the end of the day, we run risk everywhere anyway.
So I would rather run the risk and allow women to wear the burqa. I feel a
woman should wear whatever she wants as long as she does it for her own
empowering reasons.
Work Cited
Rubin, Alissa J. "My First Afghan Burqa” New York Times.5 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .
"Brit View? Minister Says Burqa Empowers Women." Http://ibnlive.in.com/. 19 July 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. .
" Historical Perspectives On Islamic Dress." Historical Perspectives On Islamic Dress Essay (Women in World History Curriculum). Web. 24 Feb. 2012. . Muslim Explains Why She Wears the Veil. Perf. Hebah Ahmed. ABC News, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. .
My first paper assignment for this class is on the Islamic woman’s
clothing. I will be writing specifically on the burqa. The burqa is a
beautiful, yet mysterious garment traditionally worn by women of Islamic
faith. The burqa covers the whole body and has an opening in the eye area.
The aspects that I will elaborate on are about the history, how women feel
about it, how a society sees it, and the ban in different countries.
Before I get into the issues of the burqa, I would like to mention the
history. There are specific names for the Islamic clothing, but the burqa is
considered a veil. Veils have been around before the beginning of Islam. “ In …show more content…
the Near East, Assyrian kings first introduced both the seclusion of women in
the royal harem and the veil. Prostitutes and slaves, however, were told not to
veil, and were slashed if they disobeyed this law.” (Historical Perspectives)It is said that when Islam
first began, women were not required to cover themselves up. It was used in
many different cultures but became common as Islam began to spread. Before
Islam, the veils were primarily considered a status symbol or of higher class.
They were considered higher class because it showed that the husband had
means to support his family without the wife having to work. That may still
be a belief, but it is not the main reason for the majority of women to wear the
burqa. In the middle ages, the veil became a common rule in many places.
“One of these places was Egypt. In some periods, such as under the Mamluks
in Egypt, repeated decrees were issued, urging strictness in veiling and
arguing against the right of women to take part in activities outside their
home.” (Historical Perspectives) The rule was so strict that many of
the shopkeepers were told that they should physically turn their back on
women revealing any part of their body. In the 19th century, some people in
the Islam community started expressing the idea that woman should not have
to cover themselves. These people wanted their countries to be like the
western countries, in which woman dressed freely. Not everyone agreed with
this idea and I was surprised when I learned that many women did not agree
with it either. Presently, there is no rule that requires Islamic women to wear
a veil or burqa in the United States, but there are countries that do encourage
its women to wear one. For example, in some parts of Afghanistan and
Pakistan women are highly persuaded by warlords and society to wear
burqas. The opinion of whether women should wear burqas keeps changing
throughout time.
There is a misconception that all women who wear burqas are forced
by their husbands to do it. That is the case for some of the women that wear
it, but not for all. Some men force their wives, daughters, and sisters to wear it
because it is part of their interpretation of the Quran. The Quran mentions
that women should dress modestly, but people interpret it differently. Some
men believe that women should not be in public, in presence of another man,
or photographed without being completely covered. Not all Islamic men think
this way. Many men do not force their wives to wear a burqa yet they wear it
anyway. I watched a video on ABC News about Hebah Ahmed. She is a 32 year
Islamic woman who wears a burqa because she chooses to. An interesting
part is that she lives in Southwest region of the United States. She mentions
that she wears it because she believes it is a devotion to her religion. She also
states that wearing the burqa makes her feel that she expressing her
individuality. I have a belief that many of the women who wear the burqa are
proud and prefer to wear it. I believe that more as I learn more on the subject.
Other women wear it because they feel safe in it and are accustomed to it. Then there is the other side, women who think burqas are a sign of
oppression. Most women in the United States do not understand why Islamic
women where the burqa or they believe that they where it because they are
forced. While listening to Hebah Ahmed’s interview, she mentions that once a
woman asked her if her husband abused her. Hebah found the question
amusing because it was the concerned woman’s first thought that she was
being abused. Not all western women believe that the burqa-wearing women
are being abused but most do think negatively about it. I think that it can be
attributed to western women not knowing that much about the burqa and the
history of it. I found this article online about a journalist going to Afghanistan
for the first time. Her name is Alissa J. Rubin and she is a journalist for the
New York Times. She quickly learned that she had to adapt and try to fit in.
Afghanistan is a very dangerous place and westerners run the risk of being
attacked or kidnapped. She was persuaded by her local colleague to wear the
burqa because he did not feel that they were safe if she did not wear it. Alissa
got the burqa and felt uncomfortable as soon as she wore it. I quickly got a
sense that she did not like it much.
She felt that she was invisible and rejected
when she wore the burqa. She liked it a times because she could hide her
emotions and reactions from others. She could also eat without people seeing
her. At the end of her trip, she realized that she did not like wearing the
burqa because she did not have a choice. It was a symbol of oppression. Society has its own view on the burqa. Women who wear the burqa in
public frighten or concern most people in Europe. “This is despite a YouGov
survey which found that 67 percent of voters wanted the wearing of full-face
veils to be outlawed in Britain.”(Brit View?) I believe that this reflects how
people feel about the burqa. I have mentioned what society thinks about it in
regard to the feminine aspect of it. I mentioned why women wear it and why
other women do not like it, but I have not mentioned how others feel about it
when it comes to safety. Things have changed the last decade when it comes
to safety and protection. This is due to the fact 9/11 happened and people
have been nervous since then. It can be said that Muslims are seen in a
negative way since 9/11 and have been persecuted. Since many people
blame
Muslims for the event, society is going to be against women wearing burqas.
Why? This is because burqas are mysterious and concealing. The biggest fear
that people have is that a woman could strap on a bomb on under the burqa
and hide it easily. Since officials and people know that a burqa is a symbol of
privacy and they may be hesitant to check a woman wearing one. Some of
these reasons have led to ban of burqas in different countries. France has
recently has officially put a ban on burqas being wore in public. The law was
passed in 2010 and went into effect in April 2011. Women wearing the burqa
will get a warning the first time and a $200 fine after that.
I believe that the burqa is beautiful and women should be able to wear
it. But I do think that it should be their choice. They should wear it because it
empowers them, they feel safe, and because they want to show their devotion
to their faith. I would be lying if I said that there is no part of me, which may
become a little nervous if I saw a woman wear a burqa for the first time. I feel
a little guilty for thinking that, but it is a cause of all the terrorism that has
gone on in the last decade. Also, the Middle-Eastern countries have never
hated the United States and its allies so much. There have been attacks and it
does just take one misguided woman or a man disguised a woman to strap a
bomb and conceal it. At the end of the day, we run risk everywhere anyway.
So I would rather run the risk and allow women to wear the burqa. I feel a
woman should wear whatever she wants as long as she does it for her own
empowering reasons.
Work Cited
Rubin, Alissa J. "My First Afghan Burqa” New York Times.5 May 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .
"Brit View? Minister Says Burqa Empowers Women." Http://ibnlive.in.com/. 19 July 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. .
" Historical Perspectives On Islamic Dress." Historical Perspectives On Islamic Dress Essay (Women in World History Curriculum). Web. 24 Feb. 2012. . Muslim Explains Why She Wears the Veil. Perf. Hebah Ahmed. ABC News, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. .