VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
We hear about endless feminist movements for equality and the right to wear anything
without being penalized and judged on appearance yet some of those same people talk
down on the veil. Why is it that in our society liberation comes from nudity? Liberation
is different for everyone; it’s about comfort and the right to present yourself as you chose
without directly linking dress to your personality and/or capabilities. Working against
the veil is a contradictory act to the mission of equality and liberation. If the hijab makes
Rona and so many other women feel powerful, why should they be made to feel as if
their choice to cover makes them inferior? The mindset towards Islam and covering
needs to change. There is a serious lack of knowledge on the issue.
“As Dalia Mogahed put it, if you say that by wearing [the veil]
you’re being oppressed, and oppression is taking away the
power of someone, then are you truly implying that a person’s
power lies in their beauty?”
Beauty isn’t what makes a person who they are, its their intellegence, their actions,
thoughts, desires, and beliefs. There is so much ignorance that comes from linking
beauty to physical appearance and the act of covering to oppression. Rone hopes to see
the day when a Muslim woman can chose to cover and walk down the street without
having preconceived notions regarding who she is directed at her. As a Canadian society
that praises itself on diversity and yet still exhibiting these issues, it goes to show that
we are not as advanced as we lead ourselves to believe. Maybe one day we will defeat
prejudice, but until then we need to work towards educating people and avoiding means
of gaining power by generating hate.
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