Mirvat is the secretary at the Jordan anti-tobacco Society and is just about the sweetest girl! She doesn't speak English very well and half the time we can't understand eachother but she hasn't let that stop her from becoming our friend. One of the boys on the trip, Kevin (the boy in in the picture with Jon) knows Arabic and he translates for us-- it is a fun triangle! Last week Mirvat invited Meredith (one of the girls in the tobacco project with us) me, Jon and Kevin to go shopping for Hijabs (the muslim head scarves) and it was really so much fun.
I was suprised to find that the hijab really isn't that hot to wear nor is it as confining as I thought. It does make it a little harder to hear but you get over that pretty fast. I've come to gain a new perspective on the hijab. I used to see it as a symbol of women's oppression and submission but it is quite the opposite. For alot of the women (not all-- but alot ) they have made a choice to wear it as a statement of thier faith. Wearing the hijab is a declaration of thier faith, it tells the world that they are holy women and that they are different from other women. Mirvat was telling us that it is a way in which you tell men that they can't treat you like an object. That you won't use your body to manipulate or be degraded. The hijab draws attention to your head instead of your body and tells men that the mind is the most important part of a woman.
The hijab represents a whole way of being. To wear it is to say that you beleive in modesty- in dress, in action, in the way you speak, think and look at the world. I've really gained a new appreciation for President Hinckley's call to modesty after seeing how these women understand it. They have internalized it and it is a DEEP religious commitment. 
I admit that not all women see it this way, for some it is just culture (like alot of the women who are totally veiled and gloved) but I'd say the majority of women I've met love wearing the hijab and it is a religous choice. I was really suprised by the reactions I got when I wore it. Girls are pretty good at telling when men think that they look beautiful and when Jon and I walked in with me in the hijab the guys at the front desk of the hotel (who are both muslim) thought I looked more beautiful. They kept saying that it made me more beautiful and that I should wear it all the time. It was interesting for me to see that to them, the hijab was more beautiful.
I wore it to the anti-tobacco class last night and it went over really well. It was a new feeling to "blend in". I didn't get the special treatment that I normally feel I get as an American. No one really recognized me at first but once they did they thought it was beautiful that I was wearing it. I am still not sure how I feel about it-- but I think I'll try wearing it a few more times out in public-- just for the experience.
6 years ago
2 comments:
Heather--Nathan sent us the link to your blog. It's great to read your posts! I was really interestedin your experience with the hijab. In Cairo, it was very rare to see women without a hijab, but here in Khartoum many fewer women wear them. They do, however, almost always have a scarf with them that they can toss over their heads. I had thought they were hijabs, but my Arabic teacher was dismayed that I would think so--she is apparently one of those who see the hijab as repressive. I, like you, have come to appreciate the way the hijab expresses the commitment to modesty.
It has been a startling thing here to be the most exposed woman on the street even when I am wearing a T-shirt and long pants. Both Ruth and I sometimes feel awkward swimming at the pool as all the other (non-Western, at least) women sit around the edge of the pool in their long sleeves, long pants, and head scarves.
Annette,
It is really interesting to hear that you and your daughters are having a similar experience (well sort of). It is really hard to explain how it feels to be Totally modest by our LDS standards and to feel like you are running around in hot pants and a tube top!
And then there is swimming! I've never felt so uncomfortable to be in a swim suit as I do when we go swimming at the pool. Most of the men that work at the pool are Muslim and I feel really self- conscious even though my bathing suit is super modest.
I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about the veils and about how women treat modesty here.
The only thing I can't understand is why it is only the women? When we went to the Dead Sea all the Muslim men and children were swimming while the women sat fully clothed and veiled on the beach. I respect thier choice to veil but I don't understand why the requirements are so different for me and women!
I'd love to know more about your expereince and what you think about it. I'm sure you have some insights that I don't! How does it affect your teenagers?
Post a Comment