Are Muslim Women Oppressed? Part 1- Hijab

I am writing this in hopes it will reach just one person.  I know that most of the time, no matter what I say, I will never be able to convince the world that Muslim women are not oppressed by Islam.  The moment someone sees my hijab (head-scarf) they automatically think I am oppressed. "What woman would put religion before material pursuits?" "Only an oppressed woman would be forced to cover herself." 

But sadly enough, I know this isn't the thought for all religions. Western society readily accepts head-coverings in many different religions.  In Christianity, when a nun covers herself and devotes herself to God she is respected.  No one questions this as her choice.  She has the right to be a nun and no once considers her oppressed.  

Actually, in Christianity, the sight of a veiled woman is no unfamiliar sight.  For Catholics; images, statues, and depictions of the Virgin Mary (known as Maryam in Islam) show her wearing hijab.  Can you honestly say you have ever seen a picture of herwithout hijab? Do they believe she was oppressed wearing hijab? 

What does Christianity exactly say regarding women wearing veils/head-coverings?  

 

“In obedience to Sacred Scripture, many Catholic women wear some kind of veil or head-covering. Some wear a head-covering only at Mass. Others feel called to wear a head-covering at other times during the day, as well as at Mass. Many non-Catholic Christian women also wear a head-covering.

These women are following the call of the Holy Spirit. Society discourages women from wearing a head-covering and from doing anything else which shows submissiveness and obedience. Yet these women have found the light of truth in the midst of dark times.

The moral law requires all women to wear the veil on their hearts. A woman should not wear the veil on her head, until she is wearing it first on her heart. A woman who wears the veil on her heart accepts the place that God gives to women in the Church, the family, and society. Women who wear the veil on their hearts are imitating the Virgin Mary in her humility, submissiveness, and obedience to Christ. The veil should cover her head, but not her face. It is first and foremost symbolic of humility, submissiveness and obedience.” (Conte Jr. 2011)

Modern Day Catholic women wearing mantilla at Mass.

I Corinthians 11:5-6

     " But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head; it is the same as having her head shaved.  For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head."

Up until the American revolt against religion in the 1980's Christian head-coverings were very common among Catholics, Protestants, and several other Christian groups.

In Judaism, many women believe in wearing veils.  There are many reasons Jewish women cover their hair.  Jewish women cover their hair for the same reasons as Muslim women-modesty (or tzniut). According to the Torah, the priest uncovers or unbraids the accused woman's hair as part of the humiliation that precedes the ceremony (Numbers 5:18).

Jewish Veil

Elsewhere in the Talmud (Berakhot 24a), the rabbis define hair as sexually erotic (ervah), and prohibit men from praying in sight of a woman's hair. The rabbis base this estimation on a biblical verse: "Your hair is like a flock of goats" (Song of Songs 4:1), suggesting that this praise reflects the sensual nature of hair.  Thus it is believed that the hair should be covered and saved especially for the husbands.

Around the world women today still practice wearing veils, or head-coverings for religious reasons.  Why is it that only the Muslim women are considered to be oppressed?  How is it that Western society feels that we have no choice in the matter.  God has commanded us to modesty just as other religions feel they have been commanded to do so.

Here in Egypt there are many women wearing different levels of hijab, and many women who chose not to.  This is ultimately their choice.  This choice is between them and God.  No one is going to force them to wear it if they chose not to.  It is a woman's devotion to God that brings her toward wearing hijab.

If we are to speak about women's rights.  Western feminists will argue that by covering your body you are submitting to the orders of men and we should be proud of our body.  They believe that Islam is suppressing our sexuality.

This is simply not true.  It is just channeling our sexuality through appropriate paths.  Family, marriage, stability.  This secures a woman's mental and physical health.  It build a bond between husband and wife, a bond that hasn't been shared by millions of men across a country.

Western women, including said feminists, are still objectified by the primal sexual needs of men.  By uncovering themselves they are making themselves an object of man's sexual desire, not a woman of character with a brain and emotions.

Women in Islam are regarded to be more precious than and gold, metal, or gem.  Their beauty is protected.  And they themselves protect their beauty from the outside world.

Understand that wearing a veil is a choice, whether you're Christian, Jewish, or Muslim.  Every day when I dress to walk outside I chose to cover my beauty for God.  And, more importantly, when you choose to dress in your own miniskirt and low cut top realize how you are going to feel as you age, when your beauty is not what it used to be.  When gravity takes hold of your skin and places you once showed off to the world.  How will you feel dressed in these clothes?  How will your society look at you?  And how is God looking at you as you put worldly desires before him. You will struggle to look younger, struggle with self esteem, and struggle for male attention-now who is oppressed?