Arabian woman (1880) ~ photograph attributed to Nuredin & Levin, from William A Ewing, 'The Body', Thames & Hudson, 1994, p.249
I live in an area in which there is a conspicuous number of Muslim women who wear Islamic dress in its various forms ~ hijab, burqa, chandor. Very few wear the full black burqa and opt instead for colored scarves and outer robe. Many are intelligent women attending one of the local Universities. Often subject to offending looks and sometimes offensive behavior, these women have chosen to wear Islamic dress for deeply religious reasons, to mark their solidarity with other Muslim women and to assert agency in a country that is threatened (post 9/11) with their very presence. For many westerners, Islamic dress represents a sign of political Islam and this is what alienates them against accepting that people have a right to express themselves through clothing choices. I've returned to this image (above) from a book that I've owned since the early nineties, since there has been some controversy of late surrounding Belgium's ban on the burqa and the French, Italian and Australian government's call for a ban. I'm wondering whether this image, taken in 1880 exemplifies the lust and fear that surrounds what William Ewing described as "exotic" peoples, since '...black African women were primarily objects of desire, deeply carnal creatures, amoral and yielding to the superior power of the white, like the Dark Continent itself. Arab women, too, were objectified in erotic terms and the veil seems to have been a particularly exciting piece of clothing...' (1994:249). What I find particularly powerful about this image is not that part of the woman's body has been unveiled, but that her eyes gaze out at us ~ fix us in her stare like the camera pointing at her. Her gaze challenges and confronts our voyerurism. She is revealed in her nakedness as flesh and blood, vulnerable but powerfull. So, whilst the veil may incite estrangement, the familiar is what unites us. It seems to me that these woman, like all women who are associated historically with the abject are forced to carry the heavy burdon of morality and so for me their attire is associated with a struggle to assert their human right to be who they choose to be.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletehello.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Diane and I live in an area in what is best described as a 'hotspot', an area which in the past 20yrs has had a transformation and more so in the last decade which has resulted in the area being unrecognizable. I grew up in a decent household and have strong values and morals and was not brought up to have these feelings of resentment, frustration and anger. That anger is held inside me just like the frustration and resentment and it is not healthy, I feel any differing view on the burqa is met with the usual labeling and name calling. I personally am fed up with the appeasement of the muslim minority and the complete denial by most quarters that the burqa is not a security risk or a cause of division.
I am also fed up with the feminists of the country who seem to have some sort of selective preference on which country the burqa is oppressive.
thank you for taking time to read my post.
Dear Dianne, I read your blog post and have found so many inconsistencies and illogical arguments that I really do not know where to begin. I could argue with you, but simply don't have the time at the moment. I may return here where I do have time to address some of your points. Your fear of the other is certainly obvious!
ReplyDelete