MANY non-Muslims who have adapted to western ways continue to wonder why
Islamic culture is so obsessed with covering the body. To understand such mentality,
it is important to discuss the dress code as it is written in the Qur'an (Koran),
the so-called "holy" book for Muslims. The Qur'an instructs that Muslim women should
"lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty
and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw
veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands,
their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons..." (Al Qur'an 24:31).
The Qur'an instructs both believing men and women to observe the 'hijab rules'.
In the light of reasoning, I propose to analyze each rule to grasp a better
understanding and to show how each rule may seem unjust to the female sex in
general:
1. The clothes worn by a man must cover the body at least from the navel to the knees.
Those worn by a woman must cover the complete body except the face and hands. Head-to-toe
garments worn by women include the Burqa,Chador and Hijab.
Analysis: A Muslim man may expose his upper body as long as the portion "from the navel to
the knees" is completely covered. There is nothing wrong with a Muslim man taking off his
shirt whenever he wants to (working and sweating in the hot sun, lying on a beach, or
engaging in oil-wrestling with another man). However, Muslim women are not even allowed
to expose even one strand of hair. A Muslim woman who wears the hijab feels that she does
not have to worry about being beautiful - an idea which is glorified in the West and in
most cultures. Of course, there are non-Muslim women who do not put much importance
on their appearance either, but this does not mean that they can wear whatever they
want in a formal setting.
2. The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.
Analysis: This rule is obviously not followed by all Muslims, as we see many of them
wearing Westernized clothes such as t-shirts, shirts, trousers and dresses. Does
this mean that these Muslims are not real Muslims at all? Sometimes, these clothes
are tight-fitting and reveal the wearer's figure. Isn't it strange that Islamic
fanatics who hate the West also rely on state-of-the-art technology that was
invented and developed in the West? But that's another topic. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with loose clothing; it is quite popular with many Westernized young
people who have been influenced by baggy-wearing and bejeweled hip-hop celebrities.
However, the level of comfortability becomes a subjective issue. Are you wearing
loose clothing because you don't feel comfortable wearing clothes that fit properly,
or are you trying to hide something? The fact that this rule forbids revealing
one's figure indicates that Islam abhors the human body. How else are you going
to attract someone if not with your physical charm? Likewise, loose clothing
may not be practical in professions that require a lot of physical work and
movement. I cannot imagine a Muslim woman doctor wearing a burqa and performing
brain surgery on a patient, or a Muslim man firefighter (I say 'man' because
I have never heard of a female Muslim firefighter) wearing a loose robe and
trying to rescue a fire victim. And what do you with sports that require the
athlete to wear tight-fitting clothes, such as gymnastics, swimming, diving,
track and field and the like? Now you wonder why there are no great female
Muslim athletes. And have you ever thought about wearing a burqa on hot summer
days? Honestly, how many Afghan women truly enjoy wearing the burqa under the
Taliban regime?
3. The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.
Analysis: A transparent clothing may be deemed as erotic or sexy, depending on
the person who is wearing it. Some people who wear transparent clothing intend
to be seen as naked or to flirt with someone. The key word is intend. Many female
belly-dancers wear transparent clothing because it is their intention to entertain
and entice their male audience. Are we to say that Muslim female belly-dancers
are not true Muslims because they do not observe the "no transparent clothing" law?
4. The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.
Analysis: Glamour, like style or class, is not easy to define because it is so
subjective. Merriam-Webster dictionary gives two definitions: "a magic spell"
and "an exciting and often illusory and romantic attractiveness." In a
fundamentalist Islamic culture, there is no place for magic or romance, thus
clothing should be as trite and plain as possible. However, there are progressive
Islamic societies that encourage fashion designers and fashion shows. What
kind of clothes do these designers make? Loose, of course, but trendier with a
little bit of color and pattern perhaps.
5. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.
Analysis: Supposedly, the prophet Mohammed cursed women who tried
to resemble men and men who resemble women, and prohibited women from wearing men's
clothing and vice-versa. If Mohammed were alive today, he would be cursing drag queens,
performance artists, Shakespearian actors, the entire cast of "Monty Python's Flying
Circus", effeminate eunuchs, butch lesbians, effeminate gay men, career women who
wear shirts and trousers, shamans (who possess bigender qualities), and every
transvestite in the world. The only female general in the Afghan army, Khatol
Mohammad Zai, wears military fatigues and a beret. In spite of her prestigious position,
conservative Afghans, especially men, either deride her or tell her that a woman's
place is at home. It is interesting
to note that in some Middle Eastern countries, there are young males who belly dance
"in long, unrevealing robes with a scarf tied around the hips" and who dance for
the entertainment of other men.
What would Mohammad think of the idea of men wearing robes and entertaining other men?
I raised the Islamic dress code above because it is important to understand why many
Muslims are reluctant to reveal their bodies. The dress code was written - presumably
by Mohammad - to maintain modesty, to discourage sexual transgressions, and to make
women pay less attention on their physical appearance. After all, if you pay too
much attention on your physical appearance, you may fall into the trappings of
vanity which is hardly a virtue. Consider how much money you can save by not
buying beauty or grooming products. You do not have to worry about looking good
or what other people think of your looks because no one really cares. You do not
have to buy fashion magazines to find out the latest trends or which celebrities
made it on the best-dressed or worst-dressed list. Essentially, if everyone looks
like you and dresses like you, then everyone can focus on things far more important
than material things. Such is the practicality of school uniforms; statistics will
show that students in schools - where uniforms are worn - learn better and behave
kinder to one another than students in schools where civilian clothing is the norm.
In a working environment, a fully-clothed woman can easily avoid being ogled at
by her male co-workers.
A true feminist would argue that the Koranic dress code was written specifically
to restrict clothing choices for women and does not always guarantee that a woman
will have her modesty intact. Muslim women are sexually harassed and raped even
when they are completely covered. In non-Islamic societies where there is a
significant population of Muslims and where animosity towards Muslims is rampant,
it has become quite common to hear reports of Muslim women being taunted for wearing
the hijab. In France, there is a growing movement to ban the wearing of hijab in
public places or gatherings because it is viewed by secularists as a religious
imposition. Not all chadors or burqas are visually attractive or pleasant either.
One time, when I was shopping in a supermarket in Quincy (a suburb of Boston),
I stumbled upon a Muslim woman who was covered from head to toe; even her face
was covered except for a generous slit so she could see. But her black, loose
robe was the most appalling clothing I have ever seen. I said to myself, "Honey,
if you're going to wear a robe, you might as well make it more attractive.
There's no sense in scaring little American children with that ugly piece of sack!"
(1)http://www.girlswithguns.org/news/news0003.htm
(2)http://www.bauchtanz-total.ch/englisch/bellydance2.htm
BACK TO FEATURES | Next page : VIDA SAMADZAI & THE QUESTION OF CHOICE
DECEMBER 2003
