VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
“Regardless of whether or not someone is Muslim, I expect people to treat
me with respect and interact with me as a person, not an object. The
essence of lowering the gaze is exactly this. If you can refrain from the
sexualization of others through your actions and mannerisms, you are
able to fulfill the purpose behind lowering of the gaze.”
What a lot of people don’t realize is a lot of the shifts in terms of how women are treated in Muslim
countries is historically relavent and at different in terms of place and time. Throughout history cultures
have changed and this includes the treatment of women. A lot of Muslim countries were colonized and
with colonialism came a lot of European influences. Often what happens is the people in the most elite
positions would be the ones who are westernized. These higher powers adopt European mindsets and
lifestyles and because of their upper standing within society, these people also have authority within
their community. Historically and even today the Western world regards itself as the superior and looks
at the ‘other’ side of the world as backwards and under developed. However, if history was referenced,
we would be able to see that Afghanistan initially proposed the women’s right to vot