In “I Just Want to Be Me”, by Pamela K. Taylor, she wanted to get across that a hijab is just a scrap of cloth, although usually stands for and symbolize much more than what is really is. She starts off by pointing out that although she is this accomplished woman, with a career and family, she is looked at as oppressed because she wears a hijab (218). After 9/11 some Americans viewed women who wear hijabs as uneducated, and the hijab has become associated with violence, and extremist Islam (219). The hijab has become a symbol and usually when they need a woman to speak for Muslims it is usually one wearing a hijab (221). From the Muslim community the hijab gets a good and bad reaction on one hand, some Muslims see women who wear hijabs as very
Music is an empowering and enriching form of sound that conveys nuance, meaning, and messages to its audience. The presence of music evokes certain feelings, emotions, and intuition among individuals that relates to events, memories, and moments that they have experienced throughout the course of their lives. The melodious, harmonious, and rhythmic elements of music allow people to develop different perspectives of the world, endure the different aspects of life, and experience sentiments of pleasure, enjoyment, sorrow, misery, uncertainty, anger, etc. American singer, songwriter, and musician Gavin DeGraw illustrates the significance of self and individuality in his song “I Don’t Wanna Be”. The soulful and profound lyrics of the song symbolize
Those that write are usually also able read. These two skills are tied together very closely, as one without the other can never stand long under any amount of true scrutiny. History is told by those that can write, then, directed towards those that can read. It only makes sense, following this rather obvious train of thought, that when a beaten down people wish to preserve their struggling voices for a following group to hear, they write about them so they can be heard. As the many different written voices of a trampled Asian American community can attest to, there was quite a bit of struggling going on and quite a bit of power put into written words. The multitude of poems etched into the very walls of Angel Island, the immigration detention center in the San Fransisco Bay, highlight just how powerful written words can be in the ability to capture moments in history. In addition, the optimistic and yet depressing “The Real Me” by Viet Mike Ngo also brings to the light how without these writings the memories themselves of the many struggles would
The picture uses clear racially and religiously defined people with lots of space blank in between the two women to represent the disconnect between them. This visual represents how different people can use trivial factors in defining others as weird or wrong and how people can create culture clash by being close-minded. The American woman clearly holds the opinion that Muslim women having to cover themselves up is while she is allowed to show almost all of her body without shame is oppressive and wrong. The woman is very obviously white, making it easy for the reader to assume that she is probably American. This distinction is important because the difference in race and background is what makes this difference in beliefs and customs clash so harshly. Similarly to how the American views Islamic culture as male-dominated due to women’s requirement to be covered, the Muslim woman views the American society as male-dominated because she feels that the American woman must show off her body to appeal to men. In accordance with her culture, she finds that necessity to lack modesty morally wrong. This difference between immodest and modest dressing creates a clash in between these two cultures’ views. However, at the core of each of their views was the idea that male-dominated societies are oppressive to women. If both women tried to understand the
“Perhaps the most commonly heard opposition to the niqab is that women cover up at the command of domineering men, that the veil is a sign of Muslim women’s oppression, as well as a general indicator of the “backwardness” of Islamic culture” (Natasha Bakht, p.10). These stereotypes of Muslim men dominating women confuse Islam with cultural practices and fail to recognize that Islam has empowered women throughout its history. Former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper stated that such a garment is “rooted in a culture that is anti-women,” but never once took initiative to ask the niqab-wearing women if that is in fact the
The constant smear remarks from media headlines are chiseled into the minds of Westerners and no amount of “educated [and] articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions of the hijab can do little to dispel the myths” (Stacey). She writes how even when these women are simply placing their focus on the spiritually constructed values rather than socially constructed ones they still may be labeled as oppressed. Indeed, the majority of the women in the world have the free choice to where a hijab or not. The Gallup Poll mentioned earlier actually concludes that that “most women in the Muslim world are well aware that they have the same capabilities and deserve the same fundamental rights as men”
Professor Leila Ahmed, active Islamic feminist, in her article “Reinventing the veil” published in the Financial Times assumes that there is a connection between “advancement” and veiling, which means that unveiled women are advanced and vice versa. In addition, she supports that it led to increasing rate of violence. She questions why women wear veil, that is considered as “symbol of patriarchy and women’s oppression”. However, research changed her position towards wearing veil. Firstly, she states that wearing veil was essential for women, because it could be beneficial and influence to how people treat women, in terms of job, marriage and free movement in public. Secondly, her assumption was explained while interviewing women, who stated
At first I thought that the Muslim women had to wear a hijab by choice of their men, somewhat forced. Through this event I learned that wearing a hijab is something women find sacred and special. They expressed to me that wearing a hijab allows them to be modest. They believe this helps to decrease the feeling of objectification by men. Another thing brought to my attention at this event, is that while the women cover their head they are able to express themselves with henna tattoos. They use these tattoos and intricate designs to show their personality and likes. Something that made me sad about the Muslim women wearing a hijab is that they get many looks and sometimes even rude comments regarding their coverings. I did not like hearing this because it essentially is that the women are being bullied. They explained to me that it doesn’t affect them anymore. They have such a tight and close community within their mosque that they never feel alone, and they always have someone to open up to. This was eye opening that the Muslim community comes together in times of need, men and women. They all pray that everyone stays safe and is free from objectification. I was informed that unlike most believe, Muslim women do not have to follow everything a man does. They do not have throw their life away in order to serve their men. Another important thing that was pointed out is that in
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
The novels Binti and To the Lighthouse depicts some real-world problems that students face every day. This includes finding yourself or “attempting to learn what kind of person one is and wants in life” (Dictionary.com). People are used to being disguised or act the way society tells them to but never themselves.
When picturing a Middle Eastern woman, many people automatically assume it is a woman covered from head to toe in a black cloth and usually negative thoughts are connected with this image. (Nolan)The problem with this idea is that one does not know exactly the reasons for the cover up or the head scarf covering the hair. There are different types of hijabs (veils) that women choose to wear to sustain modesty which is represented in the Koran (The Islamic holy book). There is the Niqab which covers up the entire face leaving a small slit for the eyes to see and there is the more common hijab which covers the hair and the neck leaving the face showing. The hijab actually symbolizes women’s status and freedom in Islam. (Nusrat) Freedom from the pragmatism and the objectification of a woman’s body and appearance. Hijab is not a symbol of oppression, women are oppressed because of social and economic logic in countries where women don’t even wear hijab like in the west. On the other hand,
Hijab is a choice that some women or girls make for their own security, for more privacy, or because it makes them feel comfortable and confident about themselves. It should be a choice though, and as it is not proven to us that it is obligatory, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan should remove their laws that insist every girl puts the veil on. Freedom of choice should be given in these countries. It is not required in Islam so it shouldn’t be forced on anyone anywhere. In addition to this, Islam’s beauty is it’s freedom, the choice it provides you with, let it not be ruined.
Most people feel that they have some sort of purpose in life and to be able to discover that purpose and fulfill it, gives their lives value. There are many ways that people assign value in their lives. Some do it through giving back, others serve their countries, some teach. Those were just a couple of specific examples about how people assign value to their lives. In the article “You Are Your Life, and Nothing Else” the writer says that “we have no other purpose than the one we set ourselves; no other destiny than the one we forge” (Case 2). This statement clarifies that because we humans do not really have a specific purpose such as a chair or a fork that we have to figure out our purpose. The writer also explains further and again says
299). The study consisted of having in-depth personal interviews to share their experiences of being a Muslim American woman (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 300). Veiling to these women was a way of freedom while also having a Muslim identity (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). It was also a source of behavior control, to not be sexually objectified, a way of commanding respect from others and even a source of checking their own behavior (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 301). One of the women interviewed said, veiling to her was a way to feel connected to other Muslim woman who veil (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 302). Veiling can be a way to feel connected to your religion and God as well as being connected to those who practice the same faith, it can be considered an act of membership. Many of the women interviewed noted they have been removed from planes, been treated unfairly, and have had strangers shout at them all for just being Muslim and being more visibly recognized from veiling (Anderson Droogsma, 2007, p. 303). This is an example of how media can affect the general population. When the media only shows radicals and compares all Muslims to being terrorist or dangerous they are actually putting Muslim people at risk of being assaulted in public. Muslim woman in particular are more at risk for being assaulted as they are more identifiable. So while veiling can be a source of empowerment and freedom for women it is a double-edged sword because it also puts them at further risk of being
...ted. There are many countries that frown upon standing out to the extent of the Americans. In some Middle Eastern cultures, women are required to cover their bodies from head to toe. They dress in dark clothing so that little attention is drawn to them, if any at all. Differing from the Middle Eastern culture, American people often dress to the extreme; showing them off as if the world is always watching them. Although one covers their body with a black hijab and another prances around in a rainbow dress, the one covered is not any less of an individual as the one standing out physically.
I have taken my fair share of personality test throughout my collegiate and professional career; all of the results label me as an Introvert. As I child, I grew up in a family of extroverts, naturally I felt nobody understood me; and often my cousins labeled me weird. While all of my friends would attend parties, go to movies, and engage in other activities, I found joy in reading, listening to jazz and spending time alone with my thoughts. I remember my high school basketball coach telling me that I’d be a great leader someday if I learned to be more vocal. At the time I didn’t know what an Introvert, I simply identified as being shy; it wouldn’t be until my sophomore year of college while taking a Public Speaking class that