It was August 15, 2013. Today marked the first day of her junior year in high school after two years of being homeschooled. For many, high school itself is an experiment but walking in with a veil and a garb refined her worries building infinite layers of challenges. For those who do not know she has a confession to make because as many of us believe “secret secrets are no fun unless you share them with everyone.” Well, here is hers! She is swollen with pride to reveal the “irrelevant” secret of hers. She is a proud and a free veiled woman. Huh? Oh! Those women who look like ninjas or demons? Yes, she is one of those. And she is proud of it. As she entered the building the sound of the warning bell stung her ears. All natures of emotions …show more content…
However, she says otherwise. Being surrounded by other women who serve as her role-models she has learned to find the veil liberating and dignifying; it gives her a sense of strength and empowers her. She may be the only one in the building garbed the way she does but that does not stir any feelings of being worthless or low statured. In fact, this piece of cloth has taken a place in her heart such that she feels unique being the only one cloaking the way she does. She hears that she is not free because apparently a woman’s freedom is only granted when her hair shows and her body is flaunted. She asks since when did freedom inherently require her to show parts of her body that she does not want others to see? Never! In her eyes, the difference illuminates uniqueness to its …show more content…
This shell hides the pearl within. This is her crown and her definition. This has become a part of her. Her face is veiled. Duh! However, her mind and her heart are not veiled. As many may be persuaded into discerning that this slice of fabric is nothing but anti-social, backward, oppressive and even inhumane something to keep in mind is that there is a commonsensical view and a logical analogy behind this. It is not all about religion. In addition to all the misconceptions and questions there still remains room for contrast. As mentioned in The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne the minister veils himself to express the idea that every individual that ever set or will set foot on this planet has something they would prefer be kept in confidence. But, in this case she has nothing to hide. It is rather a symbol to express self-respect and
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
In the article, Chesler uses several persuasive appeals in an attempt to convince readers to support France’s ban on head coverings. While some may argue that banning religious clothing infringes on Islamic law, Chesler points out that “many eloquent, equally educated Muslim religious… women insist that the Koran does not mandate that women cover their faces… Leading Islamic scholars agree with them.” In an appeal to logos, Chesler uses facts, gathered from educated Muslim women and Islamic scholars, to show that this argument is illogical because the burqa is not required. Chesler continues logos appeals by citing the Sheikh of al-Azhat University as saying “The niqab is tradition. It has no connection to religion.” This passage demonstrates ethos as well, but carries on the idea that burqas and niqabs are not required by Islamic law, making the ban perfectly logical. The idea is that, since these garments are not mandatory in the Koran’s broad requisite of “modest dress,” the ban does not infringe on religious rights, making the ban a logical choice. Chesler takes the argument one step further by insisting that the burqa is not only optional, it is detrimental to wearers. The argument that “it is a human rights violation and constitutes both a health hazard and is a form of torture” to women who wear burqa exhibits both logos and pathos. By pointing out that burqas are a possible “health hazard,” Chesler uses unappealing syntax to make readers believe that burqas are unhealthy and i...
She loved the thought of her veil preventing certain situations to happen. Though, she also hated it because it didn’t allow her to do the things she wanted to do. The following quotation from page 3 paragraph 5, demonstrates her mixed emotions towards what she had done with her veil. “She knew what she was doing amounted to an unpardonable crime, but drew comfort from one thing-the knowledge that boy had seen her before and did not know her. She was having an adventure, nothing more, and she was drawn into her youth and by the warm blood which coursed her veins.”
Mr. Hooper in “The Minister’s Black Veil” puts on a veil to symbolize “those sad mysteries which we hid[e] from our nearest and dearest, and would fain conceal from our own consciousness, even forgetting that the Omniscient can detect them” (Hawthorne 310). From the moment the townsfolk see the black veil they become very frightened and intimidated by Mr. Hooper, the citizens felt that “the black veil seemed to hang down before his heart” (Hawthorne 308). People became very frightened even the “most innocent girl, and the man of hardened breast” (Hawthorne 312) Mr. Hooper puts this crape on as a “symbol of a fearful secret between him and them” and because of this society chastises him and makes him out to be a...
is masked by something, whether it be by a material object or one of her personality traits. The
Martha Nussbaum main argument tries to convince her audience on The Stone, a philosophical blog that includes mostly educated and philosophical people like herself, by presenting evidence that introduces topics about religion and the first amendment. Nussbaum opposition says that by being covered there is a risk that people might see it as threat. Nussbaum disapproves this by talking about how “...many beloved and trusted professionals cover their faces all year round: surgeon, football players, dentists,skiers, and skaters…”(Nussbaum). Nussbaum uses this to make people understand that others discover their face and don’t face the same discrimination as other people do just because they are Muslim. Nussbaum also tries to defend the burqa from the criticism that it is oppressive, harmful, and used to try to put down women. Nussbaum explains in her article “...society is suffused with symbols of male supremacy that treat women as objects. Sex magazines, nude photos, tight jeans- all of these products arguably, treat women as objects…”(Nussbaum). Nussbaum explores the hypocrisy of the argument made against her by showing that women are still oppressed with or without the
Furthermore, Haydar expresses that she has been able to embrace the modesty in veiling and that it allows her to be seen as a whole person. She addresses the fact that “many Americans see veiling as an oppressive tool forced on Muslim women by the men in our culture” (414). Yet, Haydar informs the readers that veiling isn’t specific to the Islam culture and is also a choice for many women. She even points out that many other religions promote and advocate for modesty in
She then explains how hard it is to see through the mesh screen (Shanahan). There have been accounts of women being run over by tanks because they couldn’t see through their burqa (Shanahan). Not only are women not allowed in public without the burqa, they must also be accompanied by a mahram, a male relative, when outside their homes (Women). When they are inside their homes, women must have the blinds pulled or the windows painted black so others can’t see them from the street (Women). A Taliban representative explains the logic behind these laws: “The face of a woman is a source of corruption for men who are not related to them.”
The black veil signifies sin. The minister’s veil acts as a reminder to individuals that everyone commits sin, has sins, and need to accept it. The black veil acted as a reminder that people cannot hide from the corruption of their
The Minister’s Black Veil, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1836, is a parable about a minister, Mr. Hooper, who constantly wears a mysterious black veil over his face. The people in the town of Milford, are perplexed by the minister’s veil and cannot figure out why he insists on wearing it all of the time. The veil tends to create a dark atmosphere where ever the minister goes, and the minister cannot even stand to look at his own reflection. In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's literary work, The Minister 's Black Veil, the ambiance of the veil, separation from happiness that it creates, and the permanency of the black veil symbolize sin in people’s lives.
Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving by Lila Abu-Lughod describes Western feminist beliefs on Muslim women and their burqa/veil and how focusing on these misconceptions are doing far more harm than good. This causes Western feminists reduce the culture and beliefs of Muslim women down to a single piece of clothing. The burqa is a type of veil worn by Muslim women for a number of reasons such as proprietary and signaling their relationship with God. The burqa is often seen a symbol of suppression amongst the Western world and it was expected for women to throw it off in a show of independence once liberated from the Taliban. The saving of Muslim women is often used to justify the “War on Terrorism” as exemplified in Laura Bush 's 2001 speech. The belief that Muslim women needed saving existed before the “War on Terrorism” as seen when Marnia Lazreg wrote about a skit where two Afghan girls talked about the beauty of the free Christian France.
...a visit with Aziza, Laila saw a middle-aged woman, with her burqa pushed back…Laila recognized the sharp face… Laila remembered this woman once forbidding the female students from covering, saying women and men were equal, that there was no reason for women should cover if men didn’t” (322). To see a woman who was as close to a feminist as a woman in Afghanistan could get, to see her fall to level that the government wanted her at was crucial point in the novel that allowed us to really see the affect that the government had on the women in controlling every aspect of their lives.
Next, the minister’s black veil symbolizes darkness around his face and neighbors. His frame shuddered; his lips grew white, and rushed forth into the darkness. He said, “Know, then, this veil is a type and a symbol, and I am bound to wear it ever, both in light and darkness, in solitude and before the gaze of multitudes, and as with strangers, so with my familiar friends” In this light and darkness black veil, he is bound to wear it ever.
In this excerpt, the burqa is described as “tight”, “heavy”, and “suffocating”, making it seem like an unpleasant garment to be ensconced in. The burqa can cause an “unnerving” feeling, which can make daily tasks hard to complete. When interviewing a girl in Afghanistan, Daniel Pipes, American historian, writer, and commentator, got her opinion on the burqa, “When I wear a burqa it gives me a really bad feeling. I don't like to wear it. I don't like it, it upsets me, I can't breathe properly.”
While Marjane and her family is watching the news, the news anchor brings up how wearing the veil is mandatory to protect women against rapists. Example Marjane exemplifies her opinion by saying: If women faced prison when they refused to wear the veil, it was also forbidden for men to wear neckties (that dreaded symbol of the west). And if women’s hair got men excited, the same thing could be said of men’s bare arms. And so, wearing short-sleeved shirts was also forbidden.