Lastly, this essay also covers the views of marriage in Islam and its importance to the mankind. This issue cannot be left out when discussing Love in a Headscarf as other important issues come to exist during her journey in searching for a life companion who is ready to be her partner in seeking the pleasure of Allah. The Islamic perspectives in this memoir are relatable to Muslim women especially to those who live in the European countries as they are highly exposed to the West’s Islamophobic behaviours. Thus, as an Islamic Feminist text, this memoir successfully discusses the struggles faced by Muslim women and how to deal with the issues in an intellectual and Islamic
Aren 't they human too?‘Why should we tell women what to wear? What it boils down to is choice. If women don’t have a choice over what to wear then they are oppressed. It has now become the point where the term ‘ Human rights violation’ would be a good term to describe the current situation. This rule should come to an end as Women are human too snd should also be given the same about of rights as men.
In my opinion, Loy is attempting to be the voice of all women who want to embrace their privileges of womanhood but at the same time want to live a respectful life leading a successful career. Likewise, she is also willing to change the thinking perspective of the stereotypical society where women are only looked down upon and are exploited in various ways. Correspondingly, Loy discusses about the society that talks about the gender equality and feminism but lacks a genuine intention to provide actual social freedom to the women. She recommends women to refuse such illogical efforts of the society and start working on their own with strong
Soraya, for example, defies the general’s wish of her becoming an attorney, and she insists that “teaching may not pay much, but it’s what I want to do! It’s what I love, and it’s a whole lot better than collecting welfare” (Hosseini 182). She is not silent and obedient like Afghan women in Afghanistan. In addition, Amir’s comments on the clothing of a woman he sees in the American Embassy make it clear that the burqa is part of the norm in Afghanistan, while women in America wear different clothes. He comments, “she wore a beige blouse and black slacks- the first woman I’d seen in weeks dressed in something other than a burqa or shalwar-kameez” (327).
While Shala is indeed embracing her own womanhood by wearing a hijab, the mother thinks otherwise. 2. The Hijab Shala’s mother’s speech only adds to the fact that intolerance and discrimination towards Muslims was common in the United States in that time period. “…..how do you represent yourself now as a Muslim woman in this country where Muslims are not like you, Shala” implies that the image of a Muslim (and the hijab itself) in the US is not only inaccurate but comes with negative depictions.
Despite the claim that the world has made progress towards gender equality, women are expected to depict feminine characteristics and mannerisms deemed suitable by society. Sandra Cisneros challenges these societal expectations in her poem “Loose Woman” by embracing the negative connotations of a masculine woman. Cisneros faces the pressures of conforming to the American and Latin American status quo of being a woman. Because Cisneros chooses to defy many womanly ideals, she is labeled with “undesirable” identities heavily influenced by religious beliefs. These religious views impact the social expectations of a woman’s sexual orientation as well as her social behavior.
The women are protesting for freedom of choice, they want to be able to make their own decisions on what they can do and wear without being scolded for their actions by the men. The author uses symbolism, stereotypes, exposition, irony, and conflict in the short story to develop a well-rounded approach to the issue. The two works of literature are connected by the common theme of freedom and the want for all creatures to have it. Freedom should not be a privilege, freedom should be a right.
It is evident that the Middle East is quite patriarchal and this of course contributes to why women are seen as or believed to be inferior. Furthermore in the Middle East, women’s challenges have been “intensified by the rise of a political Islam that too often condemns women’s empowerment as Western cultural imperialism or, worse, anti-Islamic.” In Paradise Beneath Her Feet, however, Isobel Coleman demonstrates how both Muslim women as well as men are trying to combat the belief that women should be oppressed, an the do so using “progressive interpretations of Islam to support women’s rights in a growing movement of Islamic
A freelance Muslim writer named Hanna Yusuf says, “There’s nothing inherently liberating in covering up, just as there’s nothing inherently liberating in wearing next to nothing. But the liberation lies in the choice.” And she also states that when people assume that veiled women are oppressed it belittles the choice of those who decide to wear it. For her and so many other Muslim women, wearing the hijab is an act of feminism by rejecting "the message that women must be sexy but not slutty, stick-thin but still curvy, youthful but all natural." Yusuf says.
Gender Lens CSE: While looking at Persepolis through a gender lens, we can see how the women are objectified in their society, through the fundamentalist regime. The forcing of the veils causes the Iranian women to be seen as the lesser gender, with pleasing men as their sole purpose in society. It says that “To protect women from potential rapists they decreed that wearing the veil was obligatory. ‘Women’s hair emanate rays that excite men. That’s why women should cover their hair!’”
By FedEx firing Mr. Polk, they are in direct violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A similar example of a potential violation can be seen in the Muslim community. Many Muslim women choose to wear headscarves or veils to cover themselves as they see that is pleasing to God (Arabs in
Additionally, the author practices Islam and states that because of her experiences, she can not accept that she is seen as a second-class human because she is a female. The introduction to and interpretations of Islam which she had was one of justice, truth, beauty, and grace, and religion which is one of justice and equality, and therefore, the injustice which women have been subjected to cannot be rationalized as the will of a God of justice. The author points to men’s incorrect interpretation of the Qur’an and hadith as the reason for anti-women interpretations, which have, according to the author, created later misogynist
She does this through Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran instead of Satrapi’s Persepolis, but the subject of her essay applies to both memoirs. In Zalipour’s words, “the diversity of semantics of the veil for Muslim women can be traced not in the religion per se, but in the dominant cultural and social values, beliefs, regimes, or the effect of modernity and westernization” (2). The veil means something different for everyone who wears it. It doesn’t always define the religion of the woman wearing it, but instead reveals her social beliefs and values. In Persepolis, however; when women were forced to wear the veil, how it was worn was more of an indicator of a woman’s values.
Lila Abu-Lughod thinks the idea of “saving” Muslim women and more specifically saving Muslim women from the veil is problematic in the sense that it puts Afghan women in a position where they are in need of saving from an outside source; that they can only be saved by the others. This is continued by detailing many women’s groups as well as Laura Bush during a radio speech she had given that continuously has an air of Western and European sources of having a superiority complex. As if Muslim women need to be save from brown men; “white men saving brown women from brown men” (784), she continues on by pointing out that this is really arrogant to take this position that puts a Western view of freedom, agency, and equality over what Muslim women
The assumption of the hijabs as a symbol of oppression as is assumed by the media is false. It does not take into account that the hijab has been a status symbol in history far before Islam and by a large variety of cultures. As well as the fact that many women choose in modern society choose the hijab and are proud to wear it as a symbol of personal freedom and religious identity. Yet, even if Muslim women choose to wear the Hijab it should not be assumed it is all they are, it is one small part of these women’s personal identities. Muslim women wear the veil, the veil does not wear them.