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1-Page Summary of Headscarves and Hymens

Overview

There is much controversy surrounding the veiling of Arab women. Some people believe that it’s a sign of oppression, enforced by men; others argue that veiling is a tradition and part of their culture. Western liberals remind us not to interfere with other cultures, since we don’t know what they’re going through.

The problem is that the veil debate distracts from the larger issue of women’s rights in Arab countries. To be more specific, women face a dire situation in those countries.

This passage will discuss misogyny in the Arab world. It will cover how women are oppressed and punished by religion, as well as a male-dominated society that justifies their actions. The author also plans to explore why there is a feminist movement emerging in the region, which hopes to liberate women from their second-class citizenship status.

In this article, you will learn the following: what a hijab is versus a niqab; how women who don’t wear veils are treated in Saudi Arabia; and why female genital mutilation is considered part of an important ceremony in many Arab countries.

Big Idea #1: Arab women live amid hostile, misogynistic environments.

Most Westerners know that women in the Arab world don’t enjoy equal rights, but they might not be aware of the abuse and discrimination they face every day. The author believes that Islamic religion encourages discrimination against women, which is why misogyny is rampant throughout Arab nations. Many people in these regions subscribe to ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam, ideas which spawn societies obsessed with controlling women.

In general, women are not treated equally in the Islamic world. In fact, they’re often controlled by their families and other men.

In many parts of the world, family matters are handled by religious courts that enforce Islamic law. This law is supposed to protect families from atrocities such as child marriage, marital rape and domestic violence. However, it often fails to do so because it’s not effective in preventing these crimes.

In Egypt, judges may permit husbands to beat their wives. In Yemen, a girl was raped on her wedding night and died from internal bleeding, but the country’s religious leaders support child marriage by referencing examples of the prophet Mohammad.

Because of practices like child marriage, the Global Gender Gap report found that no Arab country was eligible to appear in the top 100 countries working to close the gender gap.

Morocco, which is sometimes considered a progressive country for women’s rights, was ranked 129th out of 135 countries. Yemen was at the bottom of the list. Although many women in Arabic-speaking nations have it bad, most people don’t know exactly what they go through every day. Let’s find out why.

Big Idea #2: When it comes to misogyny, Arab women and Western liberals remain largely silent.

Arab women often remain silent to avoid embarrassing their communities. The reason for this is that they’re brought up in a culture that values obedience and don’t know how to express themselves. At the same time, people living in Western countries are also wary of criticizing misogynistic behavior because it’s seen as socially unacceptable. Some reasons why silence is so prevalent among both groups include: Arab women often remain silent to avoid embarrassing their communities; they fear drawing the attention of external forces such as Islamophobes looking for any justification in their criticism of Muslim society.

As an Arab feminist, it takes a lot of courage to fight for women’s rights in the Middle East. The author believes that this is comparable to what black American feminists did when they raised their voices against sexism within the black community despite concerns about hurting people around them.