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Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Women in Islam

Three women discuss the hijab and the veil. As an introduction to the topic Women in Islam, please watch this and comment on the discussion - especially in the light of the UKIP leader Nigel Farage's call for the veil to banned in public places.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with each point that the three women have made.
If the women say they do this for spirtual reasons, then it is down to there choice and to what they feel comfortable doing. I think it would be wrong for women to wear the hijab or niaqb for the reason of men.
The women that wears nothing says she feels it could be a communication barrier between the women wearing the niqab and other cultures. I can see her point through this, as a person from another culture or religion that does not understand about the veil may find it difficult to approach the women as a cause of lack of knowledge and understanding.
It would be wrong to ban the veils as anybody should feel free to dress in the way they want and to there own comfort.

Georgina Goldsbrough 13RC.

Unknown said...

I believe that it is no one persons right to tell another what to wear. I think that the issue of a Muslim woman wearing the hijab or niqab is being primarily judged by our own societal values. However, I do think that every person has the duty of trying to integrate with the community around them but this doesn't necessarily mean changing the clothes you wear. I understand the point that people find it hard to approach a Muslim woman wearing the hijab or niqab but I think more understanding is needed of why they wear this to ease peoples worries. I think that Nigel Farage is wrong is calling for a ban on these veils as the idea of free will and democracy comes into question. If a woman can wear a short skirt and a low cut top, why can't a Muslim woman choose to cover her head or whole body?

Krishan Mistry 13SD

Unknown said...

I believe that it is no one persons right to tell another what to wear. I think that the issue of a Muslim woman wearing the hijab or niqab is being primarily judged by our own societal values. However, I do think that every person has the duty of trying to integrate with the community around them but this doesn't necessarily mean changing the clothes you wear. I understand the point that people find it hard to approach a Muslim woman wearing the hijab or niqab but I think more understanding is needed of why they wear this to ease peoples worries. I think that Nigel Farage is wrong is calling for a ban on these veils as the idea of free will and democracy comes into question. If a woman can wear a short skirt and a low cut top, why can't a Muslim woman choose to cover her head or whole body?

Krishan Mistry 13SD

Anonymous said...

I can understand if a woman wears a Hijab because they have been brought up to believe in this way and think that it will respect all that their creator (Allah) has given to them is right because it shows that they are respecting god, completing their faith and acting in the right way, as his vice-regents t be judged in the right way on judgement day.

Some people that think wearing a Hijab is a barrier to a person because they are hiding away their personality and beauty but others believe that it is a way of life, something that has been given from god to be appreciated.

Some Muslims today do no wear a Hijab because they believe that there is no clear understanding in the Quran that they should wear a Hijab and this has therefore led them to believe that it is the idea of scholar and Muslim philosopher’s ideas to wear the Hijab. It would be wrong to ban the Hijab because some Muslims believe that it is one of the ways that they can show god that they are behaving in the correct way in accordance to what they have been told to so do in order to be judged correctly.

Kieran Rana
13 RAS

Anonymous said...

Each of three women have reasonable points in which I understand for each of the women.

However, as the hijab is one of the righteous deeds and is a sign of honor and equality with men and stands as a shield of protection against evil man I can see why some women do this in order to give them confidence.

The woman that decided to wear the hijab from the age of 19 decided it shows she is honouring her world and also going through a path of spiritual discovery. I think this is reasonable reason as she feels good and feels she is showing she is wanting to be judged on who she is and the way she is rather than the way she looks.

I believe that it is their personal choice as there is no clear understanding of the dress code in Islam.

I don't believe it is a valid reason for women to wear the Hijab not out of choice for instance if it for the reason of men. Some muslim women wear the hijab due to being controlled by their husband. I feel this is wrong and women should only wear this out of spiritual choice.

The women that doesn't wear a hijab mentions she feels it could be a communication barrier for her between women wearing the niqab and other cultures. This is her own opionion however I feel this good point as other people that do not understand this religion and culture could find it difficult to approach women wearing the hijab.

However this would be due to lack of knowledge and understanding of this faith and I believe this shouldn't be a reason the women should not wear one. I think the better approach would be that the religion and culture should be educated to more people in order for them to understand.

I agree that it would be wrong to ban veils as it is down to free choice of how people want dress and act.

Sophie Mills.

Anonymous said...

I think the second women makes a very good point when she says the hijab can cause problems when communicating with non-muslims, as it is true that stereotypes these days mean that people have a pre-conceived idea of what the hijab means, seeing it as a means of oppressing women and this means they want it to be banned without knowing the full reasons why someone may chose to wear it.
In reality, like the other women say, it is a way of protecting women so they can be judged for who they are instead of what they look like.
Ashanti Bolloten
13SRA

Anonymous said...

Firstly the woman that wears the niqab says she is presenting herself as the sum of her character and that it shows she has her own character. I don't understand this as she is only showing her eyes so it would be hard for other people to see she has her own character and therefore acts as a barrier to community intergration and cohesion. Ipsos MORI conducted a nationwide survey and found that 61 percent agreed that "Muslim women are segregating themselves" by wearing a veil.

The fact there is significant controversy between the three women as to whether the instruction to wear a certain garment appears in the quran adds to the confusion about why it is wore by some but not others.

The woman that wears neither makes a good point in saying that a person covering their face is less likely to bring a community together because they are being stereotyped by others which begs the question if a covered woman really did want to bring a community together would she forego the wearing of the hijab or niqab in order to facilitate the intergration.

The comments Jack Straw made about not being able to trust someone without seeing their face is solidily backed up by many papers on the role of the face in communication. This is also somewhat supported by the fact many european countries have various bans on covering the face in public, in some cases only by public officials. But this is not prejudice as the wearing of any religious symbols openly in public is also banned in such societies.

Josh Freeman 13SRA

Anonymous said...

I think that all three of the women have made really good points about their own beliefs and why they feel that it is right to cover up, particularly the extent to which they cover up.
The woman who does not cover herself seems to apply western values and unfortunately people are prejudice against women who wear the hijab and niqab because of predetermined stereotypes that people have and so it might be easier to go without either. It is all down to interpretation of the Qur’an and what is written as to how women cover themselves. It seems important to all the women how they are perceived by others and society, particularly how others understand their reasons for their beliefs.
It would be completely wrong to ban the woman’s right to cover herself in public if she wishes -- it is her right to dress as she wishes just as it is a non-religious persons right to dress as they wish.

Rosie Barton 13EJ

Anonymous said...

I think people in the western world, especially women place too much emphasise on the way they look therefore when they see a Muslim woman wearing the Niqab they immediately judge them based on the way they look and they don’t like what they see. They fail to see that there is a fully functioning human being under the veil who is perfectly capable of communicating verbally.

There is a lot of misconception about what a burka is. I think many people thinks think a burka is a veil with eye slits when really a burka doesn’t allow any part of the face to show through. I think the number of women in Britain that actually wear the burka or niqab is vey low and no where near the 200,000 that UKIP. Using such a figure scares people and make them think the number could grow even more.

How many people in Britain actually wear a Burqa. It is very likely to be a minute percentage. I have never seen a Muslim women in Britain wearing a Burqa and I live in Bradford where there are a lot of Muslims.

Where security is the issue, Muslim women who where the Nijab or Burka are prepared to unveil and show their face. Therefore I think women should be allowed to wear a Niqab and that is is justifyable to ask her to uncover to identify herself whether that be in an airport or another public building.

“The UK Independence Party believes that different religious and cultural customs should be practised and enjoyed privately”. Why? Islam is a way of life. Why can’t people respect other people beliefs?

If the ban was to be imposed then we are heading to the negative ideals of a communist state. A communist state prefers its people to worship the state like God. Britain is a democratic sociey and banning the burka/niqab is very undemocratic.

More education is needed so that people understand why some Muslim women choose to cover their face. Muslims women should not have to chnage because some people hold prejudice against them because opf the way they look.

Sarah Harris 13RAS

Jendayi Stapleton 13ALQ said...

I agree mostly with the the woman in the middle that doesn't wear anything.
I mean, fair enough that the other two women wear the Hijab and the Niqab for spiritual reasons, mainly being to please Allah, but living in a Westernised world, it can come across as a huge barrier to those with a lack of understanding.

With the Niqab, the sheer fact that you can't see any facial expressions, one of the key features in the way we understand and communicate, will make it difficult for people to feel as though they can have a regular conversation with that woman.

Another point is with the male vs female dress code. Apparently it says you should wear a Hijab in the Qur'an, but if men and women are eqaul, then why is it that men don't have to wear a Hijab to cover their beauty?

All in all, the ultimate decision is down the woman in question, but it is my opinion that the Niqab does tend to intimidate those who are not in the know and can tend to act as a repellent in terms people feeling they can approach the woman in general.

Anonymous said...

The three women on the video made some valid points. Some women say wearing of the veil is for a spiritual reason and not so they can cover up from men. However on the other hand women who do not wear the veil say that it decreases the chances of communication with other cultures. This is a good point because a person will not feel comfortable approaching the woman if she is wearing the Veil or Niqab, he reason for this m ay be because that ‘person’ might not understand the concept of the ‘veil’. However the point which was made about banning the veils I disagree with, this is because I feel that if a women wants to wear a veil/niqab she should be able to without anyone discriminating against it. :D

Faizan Moughal 13 RAS

Anonymous said...

All three women do make strong points on the wearing of the hijab or niqab. The two who are covered say that they cover for themselves, for their own spirituality and also as a part of their religion.
One women wearing the hijab states that wearing it doesnt make any difference to how a man would approach her.
The one who does not wear anything believes that wearing the hijab creates barriers where muslim women would cut themselevs away from people of other comunities.
I believe that if a muslim women wishes to wear a veil, this is left to her own choice, other people are wrong to judge from what a person covers or shows as they should be free to wear what they want for their own reasons.

Serina Devi 13SRA

Anonymous said...

I feel that the points given by the three different Muslim women are all in their own way correct. It is down to personal feelings and interpretations of the religion and how strict people want to follow the religion. However it could be a barrier for people who don't wear veils to have the confidence to communicate to them because of the many social differences.

Jonathan Cumberworth 13EJ

Anonymous said...

As a westerner my obvious initial reaction is to agree with the woman, who joins the discussion last, wearing neither the Hijab nor the Niqab as this view seems to encourage freedom and equality for the women and it also shows a willingness to integrate and be open towards others.
However, looking beyond this initial reaction, the other women in the video clearly show that in many cases they want to wear the veil as it represents positive spiritual meaning for them and also it helps people to accept them for their personality and achievements as appose to the way they look.
All of this considered, I would say that it should be left down to personal choice without imposition from either the government or Muslims on whether an individual wear the Hijab or Niqab or neither. Also, interestingly there seems to be a clash demonstrated in the video which has been evident in other elements of the course such as traditionalists against modernists and western values against eastern values.
Sam Cumberworth 13SD

Anonymous said...

I think that the point made by the muslim woman not wearing a hijab or niaqb is a very valid one, she points out that it is barrier between people. I strongly agree with this point even though it should be down to individual choice as to whether they do or do not want to wear the hijab it does make communication more difficult if you cannot see the face of the person you are talking to, it makes it harder to build relationships and understand people if you cannot see their facial expressions. However, I feel it would be morally wrong to ban the veils altogether as they have deep spiritual meaning for many muslim women and if they help women to feel more secure then they are doing more good than harm. I think it is down to each muslims personal interpretation of the Quran for how they look upon this subject.

Heather Sutcliffe

Anonymous said...

I think that the wearing of the Hijab or Niqab should be a right of women in Islam, from the video we can see that the women who wear this item, so so, for spirtual reasons, they see it as a way of simply following their faith.

It's important to remember that these women wear this item with choice, it has not been imposed on them and this is the way it should be, however in this world there will be those people who impose this item on women in islam this is wrong.

Its been suggested that the veil could act could act as a communication barrier between those who decide to wear the niqab and those who are not familiar to it i.e. those persons from different cultures.

i dont think communication is the issue here, the issue is that people dont understand why a person would decide to wear the niqab, on the most part this is just a lack of understanding a person may have about the faith in question, in this case islam.

It would be wrong to ban veils as everybody has a right to dress how they feel, if some people feel that the veil is part of their religious 'make up' then they should be respected for the decsions they make.

Sean Butt 13ALQ

Anonymous said...

I think that the main point that the women are trying to convey is about 'modesty'. Each woman agree's that in her opinion, she is dressed modestly and appropraitley in accordance with the rules of her faith.
Although, the modernist muslim woman believes that wearing a niqab is a 'barrier for communication', she does not seem to totally disagree with wearing the hijab.
I can understand the 'niqab' wearing woman's point of view, in the sense that, by wearing the niqab she is forcing those around her to see her as an individual with intelligence and a a personality; essentially a Muslim within her own righ who is judged so, not simply by how she looks or what she wears.
Nonetheless, it can not be denied that wearing the niqb or the hijab requires inner strength and confidence, and thus it should be a decision made by the individual woman, only when she is ready to take on such a responsibility and lead a spiritual and religious life. This 'spiritual realisation' differs greatly from person to person and therfore should not be forced on anyone.
There should be a level of freedom in what people chose to wear, and it would result in very negative consequences if ever these rights were taken away from people of any faith.

Aysha 13EJ