Women Wear Veil

2061 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How the media influence the behaviour of society

Being forced to wear the veil, taught Marjane that women are always being sexualized by men. In order to keep men in line a women needs to cover her hair so it does not distract them. This is expressed in the book in a broadcast over the television. This means that women are being sexualized without the veil which is a problem when you start forcing school girls to wear the veil for this reason because that means minors are being sexualized. Also if a women is caught not in hr veil in public she can be imprisoned. Marjane thinks the veil is oppressive and should not be mandatory to wear, but at the same time she respects the rights of any women who wishes to wear the veil. She believes its a choice and just always be a choice. The veil only …show more content…

According to Mona Eltahawy, a feminist, in Islam it is hard to come out as a survivor of sexual assault, because it comments on the men of Islam and people of different cultures already think poorly of them, there they are feeding in to Islamaphobia. The actions of a few do not define a whole culture. These women are accused of making the men of their culture look bad (Eltahawy). What these women really need is to come out and be supported and helped. This is hard in a patriarchy society. When all the men have the power to control women and the help and reaction thy will receive after coming out with this is a problem. This is another modern day example …show more content…

Before leaving she was into activism and protesting but upon return she starts following the rules. She had a rough three months in Europe and in that time freedom did not look so good. So she starts following Iran laws again, almost as a way to return to the comforts she once knew in order to find the life she left behind, but that life no longer exists. Too much has happened between now and that life. She even settles down with a man and marries him. The reason she marries him is more of a way to be able to be with him in public than because she truly loved him. A culture that you are socialized to not be able to be intimate with someone till marriage might make some settle down with the wrong people just to try to see if the relationship will work, but when it does not work out, than the man again as all the power to say whether they can get divorced or not. Another thing in Islam that can hinder women’s freedoms. In American society today many move in with their partner to test run marriage. Some people realize they can not live together and break up, that relationship was not meant to be. With many rules surrounding how you can interact with the opposite sex in Iran many couples might get married and live unhappy or the husband will be the one who demands the divorce. Marjane was secretly having relations with her first husband as an act of rebellion, but when she wanted to live with him she had to marry him. Her father knew it

Show More
Related

  • Martha Nussbaum's Essay 'Veiled Threats'

    657 Words  | 2 Pages

    For some women wearing a veil is not something that is forced on them but rather a choice of their own. Martha Nussbaum and Maysan Haydar are both authors that try to explain their reasoning that veiling isn't an oppressive tool used against women. Martha Nussbaum's article “Veiled Threats”, is a political and philosophical take on why banning the burqa is a violation of human rights. On the other hand Maysan Haydar’s article “Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering”, is a more humorous and personal take on why veiling shouldn't be as judged or stereotyped. Though Nussbaum and Haydar have equal goals this essay is being used to understand the main argument, claims and whether or not each article has any weaknesses.

    Read More

  • Veiled Intentions: Don T Judge A Muslim Girl

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a graphic novel that depicts the life of Marjane Satrapri during the Iranian Revolution. Satrapi tells her story as a child growing up during the time of the many drastic changes forced upon women and the effects of the new laws made by the Shah. During this time people in Iran were banned from reading, or listening to music that was not approved by the regime. Schools were separated by gender and women were forced to wear veils to protect themselves from being molested or raped by men. The middle class women in Persepolis are prescribed the most important roles such as rearing their children and the duties in the home. But most importantly because they are in the home they are unable to attain legal rights for women in Iran. “In no country do women have on have political status, access, or influence equal to man” (Kazemi, 2000). The divorce of a man and woman lies solely in the hands of men. Though the women in the Satrapi family were oppressed outside of the home they continued to live two separate lives, one inside the household and one on the outside. They often had gatherings and drank alcohol even though it was not allowed. The roles that were prescribed to the women were not effective because they had no opinion, and because there were no laws in favor of women who sooner or later begin to give up and inherent the man’s thoughts.

    Read More

  • Veil Controversies: France, Muslims and Colonial Shadows

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being open about sexuality is usually seen as a women’s freedom or liberation, while the veil is seen as something that rejects freedom or liberation. Though some would argue that it allows the women to control or sexuality. “With the rise of prostitution and growing interest in the harem within the colonies, colonizers were frustrated with immutable veiled women who made apparent their denial of sex.”(Scott 60). Thus, aids to the initial resentment toward these veil

    Read More

  • Persepolis Story Of A Childhood Essay

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a young girl, the power she saw in the revolution lead her to want to be powerful, as portrayed in this picture. She longed to be related to a hero, a person she believed went to jail, was tortured, and made it out. She did not understand everything she heard, and took it into the wrong context. By the time Marjane was a teenager, the war between Iran and Iraq had exposed her to immense death, destruction and violence. She was old enough to better understand such actions, and they negatively affected her actions. Marjane made fun of school rituals, skipped class, and got expelled for hitting the principal. She saw her mother as a dictator and rebelled against her my smoking a cigarette. This theme gradually changes Marjane’s personality, and by the end of the book all her fear was

    Read More

  • Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

    2679 Words  | 6 Pages

    There are many examples throughout the text that specifically focus on the overbearing treatment of women. During the country's revolution there is a shift to extremely conservative religious conviction that force women to cover themselves head to toe while in public. Ultimately, Nafisi refuses to wear a veil while teaching at the University of Tehran which leads to her expulsion. These examples presented throughout the text along with various outside sources, can be a tool to interpret and scrutinize the oppressive treatment of people in unjust societies like that of Iran's.

    Read More

  • Professor Leila Ahmed's Article Reinventing The Veil '

    186 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Debunking Ethnocentric Claims on Universalism

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    One issue that has presented itself is when cultural relativists and the adversaries of universalism fail to recognize the contingency that Nussbaum writes about. Although universalists place all humans in one category with equal rights, they recognize the difference between the upbringings of individuals. It is helpful to look at certain practices through a cultural lens in an attempt to understand that practice, but it is also crucial to step back and view that same practice in order to discern whether it is morally right and just. Universalists do not aim to restrict cultural practices or activities unless those activities violate informed consent and the harm principle set forth by John Stuart Mill. Mill believes that an individual should have the liberty to do as he pleases, except when that act intentionally harms someone outside the scope of consenting practitioners. Another issue with universalism is when countries and individuals alike misconstrue it to mean conformity and sameness as opposed to what it truly is - equal rights and concern for all humans. In The Politics of the Veil, Joan Wallach Scott argues against the French’s decision to outlaw the veil. This decision may have been surrounded by less controversy if the French government provided a right of exit for those who feel oppressed by the veil and fear the consequences from the men of their family and community, as opposed to outlawing the practice as a whole. As mentioned above, the veil has provided a zone of comfort for many women for a long time. Although the original undertone of requiring women to wear the veil was the intent of demonstrating male domination, it has recently simply become a piece of clothing and a part of some women’s identity. In outlawing the veil, the French were appealing to their own ethnocentrism, and goals of assimilation and

    Read More

  • Veiling the Truth: A Look at How the Hijab is used as a tool of Oppression and Resistance in Iran With Comparisons to Indonesia

    2582 Words  | 6 Pages

    Women have always been thought of as something that needed to be controlled in Muslim culture. Their bodies are a source of shame that must be covered during prayer and also in the public (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 3). Veiling, done by a hijab or chador, is when women either wear a headscarf to cover themselves or they wear a veil that covers their entire body, excluding her hands and eyes (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 1; Mir-Hosseini 2003: 41; Berger 1998: 93; Smith-Hefner 2007: 390-391; Brenner 1996: 674; El Guindi 1999: 6). Veiling is used as a tool for oppression. By having women veil themselves, it enforces the control by the male run and male dominated society (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 7). Also, the punishment for women appearing without a veil transitioned as the concept of veiling was addressed, transitioning from seventy-four lashes, to being arrested and held between ten days and two months for being “immodest” women and offending public morality, or fined 50,000 to 500,000 rials (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 8). The oppression of veiling is perpetuated through the thought that it is a woman’s religious duty to wear one, condemning foreigners and women in society if they refuse. Although it is a tool for oppression, there was resistance the oppression. In ...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Veil

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are many different views towards Muslim choice of clothing especially wearing the veil. “I wear it believing it is necessary, but someone else can be wearing it believing that she is doing something extra” said Hamna Ahmed. One of the many reasons a Muslim can be wearing the veil are their own personal decisions too. Hamna has been wearing it for seven years now, despite her mother and three of her four sisters staying uncovered. Socially this causes an issue with the meaning of the veil and conflict with other groups. With many different consumptions of religion, what it means, what is considered to be practicing and what is not can lead to negative misunderstandings. Ultimately the decisions are up to the individuals although; there is likely to be misinterpretation between the meaningfulness of religion to family and society. On an even bigger scale of things this could also impact society and it...

    Read More

  • Cultural Conflicts In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion, government, and social organization all played a part in Marji’s journey in Persepolis from childhood to adulthood. Religion caused many arguments between Marji and parents, friends, and teachers. The Iranian government affected Marji by making her more rebellious than she already was. Social organization was a big issue in her life, because she had a good relationship with her maid and was angry that she could not have the same opportunities. The revolution in Iran has changed Marjane Satrapi’s life, in ways good and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Persepolis

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the fact that Marjane is born and raised in Tehran, Iran, she is as much a product of Western customs as of Middle Eastern customs. The younger Marjane showed how the Iranian Revolution affected her life. The Iranian Revolution was the exiling of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and its concluding substitution with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by a mixture of leftist and Islamic organizations. The new government became more suppressive by enforcing Islamic laws into the constitution and prohibiting westerner influence of any kind. On the contrary Marjane is raised by Marxist parents, who believe in freedom and tend to adapt to a more westernized upbringing. Marjane is similar to any other teenager, she starts to grow up and rebel against her elders and her traditions. Her revolt takes the form of a better awareness of and interaction with western culture. Marjane have many items ...

    Read More

  • The Veil in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    The reformation of the country of Iran toward Islam caused turmoil among the people because the drastic changes forced on the people were not easily accepted. One of the major changes is that women were forced to wear veils as a religious requirement. A change in government toward a religion is difficult to overcome because not everyone agrees on the changes and many people want to keep things the way they are. This change to Islam is difficult for Marjane and the other children as she explains “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). Marjane’s family serves as an example that there are families in Iran who do not strictly follow the Islamic religion and do not understand why they are being forced to follow the government mandated rules. Although many people did not believe the government’s proposition that women’s hair excites men, they still had to wear the veil to live safely. Marjane claims, “I think that the reason we were so rebellious was that our generation had known secular schools” (98). Constantly struggling to make the transition to the religious schools was difficult for the children of Iran because they had already be...

    Read More

  • Gender Roles In The Persepolis

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marjane Satrapi in her memoir, “The Complete Persepolis” enlightens readers with the reality of living in Iran, as she tells her journey through her life of becoming a woman during the Islamic Revolution. Iran similar to other countries has made different prescribed roles for their women and men based on their cultures religious and traditional set of laws. Society to them was a depiction of what their people were expected to look, and act like when in public. When trying to understand the importance of gender along with their roles in society, it’s crucial to acknowledge outside factors, for instance things like culture and social class. The characters throughout her memoir illustrate how their

    Read More

  • The Refugee Experience In Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though Marjane returns to Iran because of the events that destroyed her state of mind, she ends up carrying over the emotional effects like depression, over dependence and Isolation/loneliness back home.

    Read More

More about Women Wear Veil

Open Document