Jane Vinocur

Chapter four, “Veiled Intentions” can best be summed up by the definition of “veil” that it offers: “according to the fourth entry of the Oxford English Dictionary's definition: "to conceal from apprehension, knowledge, or perception; to deal with, treat, etc. so as to disguise or obscure; to hide the real nature or meaning of something, frequently with implication of bad motives.”” Americans view the veil as something that oppresses women in Muslim and Arab nations, not realizing that women are oppressed everywhere. They take the physical sign of oppression – the veil – and give more weight to it as evidence that that is backwards. The story of the National Geographic 1985 and 2002 covers really surprised me. I had grown up thinking that National Geographic magazine and the National Geographic television channel was as objective as you could get, but this chapter changed my opinion. Starting with the fact that the “Afghan Girl” was anonymously named because the photographer, Steve McCurry, never bothered to get her name, to the fact that “any hesitation on her part to speak with McCurry and his colleagues is ascribed to her absolute submission to the patriarchal codes of her culture, rather than to the suspicious project McCurry has taken on to find her”. Sharbat Gula had her photograph taken, and, as the author notes, the photograph has become worldlier than her. It has traveled the world, while she has stayed pretty much in the same place. However, this does not mean that she is naïve or uneducated. Although National Geographic implies that the patriarchal norms of her culture subdue her very will to even exist, she “requests financial support from National Geographic, the U.S. government, and US. Citizens to enable members of her community to be educated, thereby demonstrating her under­ standing of who holds responsibility for her current circumstances”.

In the article “The Other Side of the Veil: North African Women in France Respond to the Headscarf Affair”, issue of Muslim girls in France was brought up. The article states that “In 1989, three teenage girls of North African origin arrived at school in Creil, France, wearing veils that covered their hair.’ Despite warnings to remove them, they refused and were eventually expelled”. The article goes on to talk about how North Africans are attempting to integrate into France. When I was a junior in high school, my French class watched a video on this exact issue. It juxtaposed the struggle of Muslim girls to assimilate in the U.S. with the assimilation of Muslim girls in France. Although not entirely socially accepted here, a Muslim girl cannot be told she is not allowed to wear her veil to school or anywhere else – it is a decision entirely up to her. As one girl mentioned, she was raised in a Muslim household and when she was 12, she decided that she wanted to consider wearing a veil. Her mom forced her to do a lot of research on it and understand why it was important to her. She told her daughter that it is a big decision to make because once you decide to start wearing it you can’t just decide to stop. This is the same as in France. These girls make personal decisions that are important to them and their religion to start wearing a veil, so the French government shouldn’t be allowed to tell them that they’re not allowed to wear something. It is their religious freedom. As stated in both readings, the veil is seen as evidence that it is a backwards religion from what we are used to in the West. I believe that religion is a private matter, and that the French version of separation between church and state should protect these girls and women who choose to wear their veils. The only reason that people have a problem with a woman wearing a veil and not a woman wearing a cross is that Islam is a religion that many people are not familiar with, and they fear the unknown. Rather than just learn about it, they believe biased things that they have heard. If more people sought to learn about what the veil means and why it is important, then there would probably be more acceptance towards it.

Veiling

By: Zeina Jabali

Amira Jarmakani’s Veiled Intentions focuses on the mythology of the veil- how it is perceived as a way for the patriarchal structure of Islam to oppress and victimize its women- and how such a bias was born and manipulated by the US to benefit their own “National Security” and National Agenda. She uses the Afghan girl case study to bring this point home. Here, a girl is photographed and is instantly labeled as a woman who is victimized by the men in her society, which is directly seen through her veiling. Gula’s picture was first taken in 1985 when McCurry visited Afghanistan and then in 2002 where National Geographic funded a documentary in search of the Afghan Girl. Instead of this documentary focusing on the “changing geopolitical dynamics that had impacted this young woman’s life” they focused on her plight “reinforce[ing] dominant US notions about the passivity and victimization of all Muslim woman at the hands of Muslim men…” (Jarmakani 141). This, coincidentally, took place soon after 9/11 and was used as a tool by the bush administration to convince congress and the American public that intervention in Afghanistan was necessary because it was the US’s duty to liberate and emancipate the oppressed Afghani women.

Annie Lebovitz’s picture of Lamis Srour features Srour wearing a Burka standing in front of a grey backdrop. While Annie Lebovitz book aims to end stereotypes of woman around the world, this specific picture tries to defy the stereotype by showing how she’s a teacher, but in order for the audience to understand that they must understand the biases of Arabs to begin with: meaning that this picture has perverse effects. Also, the fact that Srour is pictured in front of a grey backdrop while all the other women in the book are photographed in their natural environment expresses how she sees Srour’s culture as one that is “trapped within the shadows of an old tradition, especially when it comes to the treatment of women” (Jarmakani 153). With this picture she decides that the Veil is a direct result of the failure to modernize and so there lies a direct connection with visibility of the body to liberation and emancipation. Jarmakani then goes on to analyze advertisements such as the Reebok commercial and Benetton as evidence for her argument.

Hannah Wilkes’ case study proves that there exists a “virgin/whore dichotomy” in perceiving veiled women. While Wilkes is concerned with the feminist reclamation of power which is directly associated with the act of unveiling. “However, in attempting to dismantle one form of oppression, Wilke succeeds in reinscribing another by appropriating an orientalist narrative about Arab and Muslim womanhood” (Jarmakani 164). This transitions us into the perceptions of the Harem and its sexualized and eroticized stereotype that is seen in a “Dessert Odyssey” where the characters such as the greedy oil Sheik also exist. The character of the oil Sheik is perceived as greedy where his “appetite for indulgence was voracious and unquenchable” (Jarmakani 171). Around the same time as this archetype was born, the oil embargo was organized by OPEC. Again the US is using the media to birth mythologies of the Arab and Muslim world to benefit their national security and agenda.

I really enjoyed reading Jarmakanis article; I think it was the most interesting article/chapter we read this semester. It reinforced a lot of previous beliefs; for example, I was aware of the way the US was manipulating perceptions on the Middle East for their own benefit. I still get asked if I go to school riding a camel, or if we live in tents or even if we celebrate the forth of July. Ignorance about the Middle East and other Islamic countries is very much alive and this article proves that. I do wish that Jarmakani took more time to explain the reason behind some of the acts of veiling and how it is not always used to oppress women.

France is a separatist state, one that advocates freedom of speech and tolerance for all religions and belief systems, yet they expelled three girls for wearing the headscarf to school. Here lays the problem: France is conflicted about when and how to intervene with the oppression of women they think universally exists. As Caitlin Killan states, “Muslim religious writings are not entirely clear on the question of women veiling” (Killan). Islam does call for women to dress modestly and here in lies the problem because it creates an opportunity for different interpretations to come into play. Veiling is a practice that predates Islam and was used as an indicator of economic status, where the wealthy were able to cover themselves and the poor were not. We see how the act of veiling does not inherently imply a negative situation because veiling is essentially meant to protect the woman. Over time, however, the meaning has been socially constructed- as seen through Jarmakanis article- to emit a situation of victimization and oppression.

            While the Islamic population now has rules to regulate its behavior and dress, Jewish and Christian groups were able to come to a compromise with the government and now schools serve fish on Fridays for Catholics and do not give exams on Saturday to respect the Jewish Sabbath. Francois Bayrou said that the school must ban “ostentatious religious symbols”, but why are yarmulkes not considered to be ostentations while veiling is? Warda, a 58-year- old Algerian woman made a very powerful point when she said that society should care more about a woman receiving her baccalaureate at the end of her schooling rather than what she wears. This reminded me of the video Miss Representation where society was more focused with how Hilary Clinton appeared rather than on her ideas and her intellect.

            It is important to be respectful of people’s religions and cultures, especially in school because it is an environment of education and understanding. Respecting people different from you is a life trait that should be embedded into everyone’s mind from a very young age. It shocked me to read that 75% of the French were opposed to wearing the veil in school. France is facing a very complicated issue because there are so many shades of grey. Even I cannot form a completely set opinion about it; both sides have valid opinions. For example I do understand that the goal of school is to educate but there is more than one way to educate. I understand that to be Muslim does not mean you must wear the veil, but there is more than one way of expression. I do believe that girls should be allowed to do as they please, but at that age are they really the ones who are deciding whether or not to wear the veil. After reading this article I am as conflicted as ever. 

Bobby Bleistein

In imagining Arab womanhood by Amira Jarmakani; VEILED INTENTIONS: THE CULTURAL MYTHOLOGY OF VEILS, HAREMS, AND BELLY DANCERS IN THE SERVICE OF EMPIRE, SECURITY, AND GLOBALIZATION, the image of an Arab woman is first stated. This is a woman who is veiled and a woman who is a belly dancer. This is the common assumption of what Arab woman do and wear. This assumption is not only used to describe Arab women around the world but especially in the United States. Another things stated in this article were the threat of Arab women due to race. “I trace the shifting function of orientalist images of Arab and Muslim womanhood in relation to the configuration of Arabs and Muslims as foreign threat and enemy other in the contemporary context.” This is a very common misconception in America today. Because of the international relations and the problem that have occurred many people have this misconception that everyone of that skin tone/race is against the country in someway or another. In the section labeled, THE AFGHAN GIRL AS CASE STUDY, Amira, describes a situation in which an “Afghan girl”, was photographed for a magazine and was to not be seen again until 2002. This story was very big in the media; national geographic did a documentary called, ”In search for the afghan girl”.  This was important because it helped to view afghan women in a new light. Also brought up in this chapter was the fact that afghan woman, during the time of the Taliban attacks on America, especially 9/11, were seemingly trapped behind their veils. This is a very interesting statement made, woman of the cultures who wear veils have a reason whether it is due to religious purposes, or because everyone else has one, but for them to be trapped I feel that it means that these women are more trapped within the stereotypes of being terrorist and being different. These stereotypes still exist today and this chapter helps to show why this occurs.

In the other side of the veil, by Killan, head scarf affairs and issues are assessed. In the case of the 3 North African women, who were expelled due to their wearing of headscarfs, were wearing headscarfs and would not take them off. This caused a huge surge in political and social affair controversy.  “Meaning is not inherent in objects but, rather, is socially constructed around them (Best 1998)” this quote is in reference to the veils of these women. In many cases especially with differing age groups, eras, generations the veil has a different representation and significance to the individual wearing it. Also within this chapter, an experiment/ survey was done that analyzed 11 people. This survey shows that head scarfs/ veils are acceptable. Also in this chapter the overall question of should women be able to wear a veil. In another survey, 16 people were for allowing veils and 12 people were against veils. For those who allowed the veil, many reasoned that it was more important for those students to go to class no matter what they wear. For those who said no, they argued that it causes a reason for racism and intolerance. Also it would be against the religious views of the schools, schools should not incorporate religion. I feel that it shouldn’t matter what one wears to school as long as it is proper and not implying any form of racism or indifference towards another race. And as one person stated, once these females grown and go to higher levels of educating, they have a choice to either keep or rid the veil.

Annie Husted

The Arab woman--someone who is notably defined by their culture and appearance, and identified by the ubiquitous images that attempt to depict their lives. In the United States, many people view an Arab woman to be noticeably different, especially due to their clothing and veils. But what many people fail to realize is that the light in which these women are cast do not always reveal the reality of their Arab womanhood. In “The Other Side of the Veil” by Caitlin Killian and in Amira Jarmakani’s chapter “The Cultural Mythology of Veils, Harems, and Belly Dancers in the U.S.” in her book Imagining Arab Womanhood, both authors focus on the difficulties Arab women face in trying to express their cultural and personal identity accurately in society. Whether it is rooted in the confusion people feel towards the wearing of Muslim veils or the depictions of Arab women through the media, the lives of these women are suppressed by societal ignorance. 

In Caitlin Killian’s article “The Other Side of the Veil,” Killian explores the reactions that are attached to young, arab women wearing traditional veils--something that she calls the “headscarf affair.” She specifically focuses on the ridicule that many young women have faced and the controversy of wearing these veils regions where this article of clothing is not typically worn--in her article, she focuses on young Arab women wearing veils to school in France. Killian conducted a study in which she interviewed 45 women to receive their opinions on whether or not veils should be permitted to wear to school. For Muslim women, wearing the traditional headscarf serves as a “vehicle for distinguishing between women and men and a means of controlling male sexual desire” (Killian 570). Killian also discusses how in Algeria, “the veil became a symbol of national identity and opposition to the West during the independence and nationalist movements” (570). The “headscarf affair” became a controversial issue because of the belief of the importance of the separation of church and state. This ultimately led to the differences in whether or not veils should be allowed to be worn in schools to become such a heated issue. François Bayrou, the minister of education in in 1994, even issued a “circular to regulate the use of religious symbols in school, banning ‘ostentatious religious symbols,’ including the veil, that were deemed indiscreet and inflammatory” (Le  Nouvel Observateur, 3 September 1994). Yet, in looking at the other perspective, “The majority of adolescents and preadolescents who veiled did so because of family pressure” (572). Thus, although many people viewed the veil to be an icon of religious pretentiousness, the young girls wearing them were merely obeying the rules of their families traditions. In Killians study, she noted the separation in opinions regarding whether or not these scarves should be worn. The people who believed that they should be allowed to be worn saw them as a symbol of personal and cultural identity, while the people who did not believe they should be allowed to be worn viewed them as an interference with the secularity of the school systems in today’s society. For an issue that seemed somewhat foreign to me as a White, European-American teenage girl, I feel strongly that young Arab women should be allowed to wear their scarves to school. Although the veils do serve as an brazen religious declaration, women who are brought up in cultures that define their femininity through the veil should be allowed to adhere to their Islamic fundamentalism without feeling ridiculed. I feel that in forbidding young Arab women to wear the traditional garments of their culture, that the cultures against this are subconsciously being both xenophobic and intolerant of ideological diversity. 

In second reading, Amira Jarmakani’s chapter out of her book Imagining Arab Womanhood, Jarmakani explores the way in which, “narratives of national security, globalization, and the war on terror manifest in the mythologies of the veil, the harem, and the belly dancer” (Jarmakani 141). She drives deeper in honing in on how Arab and Muslim womanhood is subsequently defined by images of nostalgic and non-progressive outlets. In her discussion of the veil, Jarmakani states, “The cultural mythology of the veil is compelling because of its citational quality--the U.S. association of the veil with barbaric, backward, regimes and, more recently, Islamic fundamentalism, has been sedimented through media coverage...” (144). In the U.S., the veil is denoted by the connotation of concealing an Arab women’s life of distress, whereas really, the veil is a strong cultural symbol of womanhood--a concept that, for example, was failed to be made clear in the National Geographic magazine cover of the “Afghan girl.” Similarly, Jarmakani discusses how the representation of the harem “operate[s] as signifiers that engage with popular perceptions of femininity, masculinity, and sexuality in relation to the Arab and Muslim worlds” (146). She explores how the ever-present fear of terrorism (specifically post 9/11) has made people view the garments worn by Arab individuals in a negative light. Jarmakani also argues that “the shifts and changes in contemporary representations of Arab and Muslim womanhood demonstrate a shifting U.S. relationship to empire and capitalism, while the citational quality of the images keeps them tied to the legacy of orientalism and colonialism” (149). In the media, movies like James Bond portray images of the harem to be associated with exotic sexuality of Arab women, and this sexuality is also seen in the rise in the belly dancing profession in the U.S. I think that reading this chapter really opened my eyes to the way the media has portrayed the lives of Arab women. Upon reflecting on this chapter, I definitely can see how Arab womanhood has been exploited through the media, and I think that the author makes an interesting point about how there is an evident “parallel between the way that figures of Arab and Muslim womanhood operate simultaneously as nostalgic emblems in both modernist and postmodernist frameworks” (178). 

Zael

This article, while in some ways hard to decipher, does make some good points. The reason for this is because the article is written from a point of reason.  The beginning talks about belly dancers and harem girls in advertisements, especially for tobacco. This is a good example of consumers views on arab womanhood, where it is seen as exotic and sexualized instead of covered and hidden. The article then talks about orientalist imagery in the united states. It has “encouraged the breakdown of traditional borders.” 

The afghan girl is a very interesting part of this article, talking about the documentary. September 11^th was a huge factor in the interest. She was a representation of what was going on at the time, and the amount of prejudice that there was against the arabs around 9/11 and for years afterwards.

When mythology comes into play, the Afghan girl comes into place too. Her eyes are interesting  because of how piercing they are, and this is personalizing. It is not necessarily enticing, but people see the eyes as a window to the soul, and even if they dont actually see the emotions that they think they see in them, it does show what kind of emotions they think that she would be having. This is a reinforcement of a stereotype, because it encourages people to fill in the blanks, which is something that usually reveals prejudice.

I thought that the most interesting thing in the article was the Reebok ad. You can barely tell that it is a robe, it is pretty much just black with eyes. The way that she blends into the backround makes her intimidating, but because she is so reserved and covering so much of her body, she seems secretive and is therefore enticing. Humans are fascinated by difference and secrets, and that makes this ad that much more enticing. You are wondering what she looks like behind that veil, and that makes you think more about the ad, which makes you think more about the shoes. It is however, provocative to use something as private as a fully hidden and obviously arab person to sell sneakers.

The fact that girls were expelled for wearing veils over their hair is absolutely ridiculous. My favorite part of this article was the discussion of how meaning is not inherent in objects, but is socially constructed around them instead. A veil means nothing, but because of meaning that is placed on it, it does mean something. Objects are interesting that way, because they literally mean nothing until meaning is placed upon them. Because the veil is so present in a culture that is so oppressed and so stereotyped, the veil is therefore oppressed and stereotyped, hence why there would be such a strong reaction to the girls wearing them. Also, France is generally a xenophobic culture, with only 7 percent of the French population being made up of immigrants.

One of the main things that needs to be brought up here is the sense of culture that goes along with a veil or any means of covering yourself up. If it is a cultural norm, then it makes sense that everybody would do it, but that does not necessarily mean that it has religious meaning. Some may wear it because it had religious meaning to them, but others may wear it because everybody else wears it, and that is when it loses its meaning entirely.

ALINE ANDREOLLA FEIJO

IMAGINING ARAB WOMANHOOD

Chapter four in Imagining Arab Womanhood has as its main topic the analysis of the representation of Arab and Muslim women in the era of globalization, where the author mainly investigates the principal in terms of their “disavowal of the neocolonial and imperialist projects in which they are embedded” (139). Throughout the chapter she charts the ways in which particular narratives of globalization have continued to universalize tendencies of the modern representations of the Arab womanhood. As her first topic, she uses the case study of the Afghan Girl – which is the story of finding the woman McCurry had photographed for National Geographic seventeen years earlier. In the article of the Search of the Afghan Girl, the magazine presented a narrative that reinforced the dominant US notions about the passivity and victimization of all Muslim women – it created a strong focus and an image of women as helpless victims and reinforced the dominant trope of saving Muslim women through the US military action. This image became so eye opening for thousands of people that the search brought a great media and worldwide attention. This picture helped expand the mythology of the veil, and the US association of the veil with barbaric, backward regimes, that the US tried for years to fight against.  It helped expand through the United States the “white man’s burden” to civilize purportedly natives through the process of colonialism.

Later on, the author brings attention to the American view of the veil, and what it presents in the English-speaking context. She looks at the English term veil and points out the meaning the word carries: “to conceal from apprehension, knowledge, or perception. The meaning of the word itself helps explain why such sandal was created by seeing all these women being so victimized by covering themselves up, and how the picture cited earlier would rise into such a big argument worldwide on women’s rights, such as NOW’s cause of liberating Afghan women from the brutal oppression.

This creation of self-awareness of the victimization of women later on brings out the impact it had in art and social movements. As one of the most interesting parts the author brings out is Wilke’s statues. She decided to use gum as the material of her sculptures because she believed it would be the perfect metaphor for the American women – “ chew her up, get what you want out of her, throw her out and pop a new piece”. Wilke clearly advances a feminist argument by stating the notion that women are objects, and not just in the Middle East, but all throughout the globe.

The image of the veil, and how it victimizes women in the Middle East also plays a big role on how the United States hopes it people will portrait the lands they have been in war with. It is important to point out the significance of oil in those territories and how it sparked a war. The United States wants its citizens to agree with the government and its decision making, so creating an idea of how those countries victimize their female population is a way to get the American people to stand against them as well because of the creation of social issues and unfairness, rather than just showing a more economical problem. Just like the United States has negatively portrait the UK and France before, they are now doing the same with the Arabic and Muslim world. In other words, the United States quest for oil plays an enormous role on the people’s portrait on the women behind the veil. Thus, the notion the American government creates in whichever country it has any interested on, will play a big role on how the society will view such country. The United States this time is creating now the image that it is fighting a “war on terror”, a war in a world that portrays women as inferior. This imagery of the veil leads thousands of people to turn against a culture and make their assumption on so called, unjustified treatment that views women as objects, while, according the some statements in the chapter, the US is doing it for its own economical benefit and oil dominance.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE VEIL

The article The Other Side of the Veil deals with France’s views on the wearing of veil’s at school. Killian initially talks about the “headscarf affair”, when three teenage north African girls wore headscarf’s to school, and after being asked by authorities to take it off, and not doing so, they were expelled from the school.

It is important to point out what the author initially indicates about the history behind veils, and how women in many cultures wear them because the veil is a “vehicle for distinguishing between women and men and a means of controlling male sexual desire.

Also, there is the matter of the belief in France that the church should be separate from the state, which indicates why it would be view as a problem to be so open about religion at a school setting since the state is trying to avoid such relationship. Although there is an understanding of a large immigrant population in France, the French still want them to fit in, not such get along, thus, following the French belief that religious practices should not be involved in governmental, or school matters. It is interesting to point out that according to a poll in 1989 in Le Monde, 75% of French were opposed to wearing veils at school, but only 32% were against it when wearing it in the street. Showing that the problem really is when it comes to a matter of an educational environment that is controlled by the government, rather than individual choices of the outside world and the streets.

The author then later on deals with her exploring of different women’s views on the wearing of veils both at school and in public through personal interviews and research.  The interviews pointed out an idea that the problem isn’t necessarily with religion, but with the veil itself. Some of the women interviewed mentioned that there was no prejudice against wearing a cross, but there was against a veil. Others pointed out the open celebration of holidays like Easter, and how that wasn’t seen as a problem while the veil was. Thus, the two main topics of the argument are either the loss of identity and freedom of speech with the lack of wearing the veil, vs. the belief that the purpose of school is integration and adaptation to the French culture, rather than just being familiarized with it.