Modern Day Prisioners

The Outrageous Girl in the Shop

I was in a North Raleigh restaurant, the kind with the store connected.  "Hello. Help you?" She asked. "Yes, I was just wondering where the baklava is." I replied. "Oh Yes! Over here." The young dark Middle-Eastern woman led me to a semi-dusty shelf filled with boxes with sweet pistachio and honey goodness. "Your hair is beautiful." I said, noticing her silky black mane. She was the only female working  in the shop without a burqa on. "So, I have to ask....why? Why aren't you wearing a burqa?" I whispered. She peered deeply at me with her black shy eyes, and finally her perched mouth cracked a half grin. Then in her broken English, the young clerk explained to me it was because she didn't want to. "You mean, you just don't want to, so you don't have to? So, you mean you never wear one?" I asked. I was way too outgoing for this quiet little place. She laughed, "No, no. I wear outside. Just not here." "Wow!" I whispered loudly, "Good for you! Your hair is too beautiful to be hidden anyway." I walked out the door thanking her for the help. It was then I realized that though I did not know her at all, I knew I had met a woman I had deep respect for. She was one of the most quiet people I had ever met, yet she was one of the most outrageous.

What was she risking? What did her husband think? How come she was somehow not required to hide most of herself and the other women in the store were? What if all Muslim women banished burqas? A part of me wishes I could wave my magic wand and make them all disappear. Seriously, what would happen if all the Muslim women in the world were to banish the wearing of burqas? There would probably be an uproar.

Surprisingly, not all women hate wearing them, like the girl in the shop.  Due to traditional customs and religious beliefs, most Muslim women seem to not mind them. When I was in Malaysia, I asked a few of the girls with head coverings about it, and they seemed to think it wasn't an option to not wear them. It just simply wasn't an option, so they don't think about it. That is the problem I have with burqas. It is not about the religion or the tradition. It is the control. The lack of options and the lack of an ability for these women to be free to think for themselves.

Malaysian Insight

Some of the girls and women in Malaysia told me that they wear really trendy clothing underneath. They wear beautiful lingerie and all the latest fashions. They paint their nails and invest in the best clothing, but it is only for their husbands. They told me how they only need to be beautiful for him, and at home they can show their face, hair, and clothing. These women also told me that it does get really hot under there, especially for the extreme traditionalists who wear all black in 100 plus degree weather. But even with the heat, and the constrained nature of burqas, those women seemed to brush my question off. When I asked them if they ever wanted to not wear their burqas, it was as if I were asking if all the grass in the world could magically turn blue. It seemed completely ridiculous to them and simply not fathomable. After all, it has been ingrained into these women from such a young age, and all their friends are doing it.

Clothing or Identity?

It is as if the burqa is a part of them and they have accepted it as a part of who they are. Which brings me to another question. Is a burqa then, something that is just worn, or is it truly a part of their identity as women? Or is there any identity at all, in terms of differentiation, when you cannot tell one's beautiful face from the next? Oh, if I could wave my magic wand and change the grass to blue....

Current Events: A Matter Of Law

In September 2010, the wearing of burqas was officially outlawed in France.

Here is a link to an article from CNN World:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-14/world/france.burqa.ban_1_burqa-overt-religious-symbols-ban-last-year?_s=PM:WORLD

"He has sent me...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Is. 61:3