This got really long, so I divided it into two parts, one on hijab
and one on the Iranian government.:
Oh, and BTW, I trimmed the REALLY RIDICULOUSLY LONG Quotes.
Part one:
As far as Islam and it's application goes, I think non-Muslims, left
or otherwise, really should talk to Muslims before making statements.
Take hijab, the head covering. My first encounter with Islam was in
1979 during the Iranian Revolution, when the feminist organization I
worked with (the Feminist Women's Health Center), was invited to Iran
and had the chance to talk to Islamic feminists.
That's right. You heard me. *Islamic* feminists. The discussion on
hijab was fascinating. They thought that hijab enabled them to talk
to men and be taken seriously and not as sex objects. They not only
didn't find it oppressive, but found it liberating. On the other
hand: They thought we had overcome all this shame about our bodies
whereas, in fact, we have epidemic rates of bulimia and
anorexia. Both they and we found our misconceptions about each other
to be very amusing.
My group came to the conclusion that hijab was really not
significantly more conservative than what most of us and most
American businesswomen were wearing at the time: boots, skirts to
midcalf or loose pants, and shirts with at least elbow length sleeves
and/or sleeveless shell with long sleeved jacket. This is how I
STILL dress, since I personally have never been comfortable exposing
my body to men I don't know well.
The big difference is with covering the hair, and frankly, I wear
hats a lot because I have brillo hair and don't like to continually
mess with it. One thing hijab can mean is "no bad hair
days". (kidding...well sort of).
So AS FEMINISTS, we decided that hijab was NOT inherently oppressive
to women, that we would (and did) support women here who wore hijab
here in the U.S. if they got any flak for it (and some did, because
wearing hijab screams "ISLAM" to islamophobes. Those who were here
at the time might remember some beatings and murders of people who
looked middle eastern or Islamic including the usual Sikhs and Coptic
Christians).
I do still think hijab should be voluntary, although don't kid
yourself about women's freedom of dress here. We also have dress
laws. Women here cannot take their shirts off at a public beach,
they get arrested. I personally oppose hijab that covers the woman's
face. It seems to me that whereas so called "Iranian hijab" (which
the Taliban hated, BTW) does help women to be taken seriously,
covering the face is a way to render women completely invisible.
And anyway, the whole discussion of how hijab came to be, that it was
mandatory only for the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and
how it came to be a status symbol (among other things) is a long
conversation. I believe the Prophet himself would not like many of
the laws certain countries have.
BUT THE POINT IS THIS: if it is voted upon, and the women get to
participate in the vote, then I think we westerners have to respect
their decisions. They know their situation, and what they feel
comfortable with and we don't live there.
Camilla Cracchiolo
Los Angeles, California
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