Piercing The Veil

by digby

This debate as to whether women in Britain should wear the full veil brings up some very interesting questions that I’d be interested in hearing people discuss.

In my opinion, the veil is a relic of another time (as are catholic nun’s habits) that represents archaic, repressive notions of women’s “modesty.” But who the hell am I to tell perfectly free Muslim women in the west, who choose to wear it under no cultural obligation or coercion, that they shouldn’t?

The argument is that it’s a mode of dress that sows division in society, but that’s just crap. They could have said the same thing about punks in the 70’s. In fact, they did. But what makes this one odd is that the conformists are arguing against a form of dress that in its normal melieu is a form of forced conformity. That certainly does indicate that wearing the veil in England is a matter of political rebellion as much as a religious statement. And that, of course, brings up all kinds of things that make people nervous.

What do you think?

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