Veils as a Matter of Choice

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Regarding the Oct. 22 Outlook articles on Muslim customs:

Veils have been and continue to be a Christian tradition for women.

Wearing a lace veil in church was standard practice when I was growing up Catholic. Young girls still wear one for First Communion, usually with much excitement. Brides put much careful thought into selecting their wedding veils. And throughout the Christian world women who have chosen to take special vows dedicating their lives to God often wear veils.

Are we really so different?

The point is not the veil. The point is choice. To mandate either way, that I must or must not wear a veil, robs a woman of her inherent freedom. I may choose to wear a swimsuit in a pageant, if it's meaningful to me. I may choose to wear a habit, a veil, a chador, a niqab. I have that freedom, as well as the freedom to respect another person's choice.

I recall liking those elegant lace veils as a child. Maybe I'll wear one Sunday.

-- Joanne Ugolini

Derwood

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Regarding Yvonne Ridley's article about Islam's virtues ["How I Came to Love the Veil," Outlook, Oct. 22]:

While I find the custom of Scottish men wearing skirts strange and Pat Robertson's 1992 remarks about feminism repugnant, I do not remember any Scots or followers of Robertson's beheading a principal because he was educating girls, as The Post reported last month ["Afghan Girls, Back in the Shadows," news story, Sept. 23].

When the Islamic radical right can behave as well as the Christian radical right, I might believe Ridley's story.

-- Brad Piepmeier

Bethesda

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Bravo to Anne Applebaum for her Oct. 24 op-ed column, "Veiled Insult."

Finally someone has had the courage to say out loud what is in many people's minds: I never understood why Westerners put up with what are to us rude and disrespectful customs. We just cowardly tiptoe around the issue.

If a woman of Western society wants to live in a Muslim country, she has to obey the laws of that country. Why can't we expect the same courtesy and respect for our customs?

-- Birgitt Wolf

Springfield

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Having taught in both Turkey, a secular Muslim state, and the United Arab Emirates, a religious one, I believe, contrary to your opinion [editorial, Oct. 16], that the veil is a barrier to Muslims getting educations and jobs. Some students in Turkey who forsake the hijab expressed to me their fear of women who wear the hijab -- not even the more extreme veil -- because both are often worn as a political statement. The statement is frequently that women should take traditional roles in the workplace and society, roles that limit their educational and economic opportunities.

In Dubai, the students who wore the veil also practiced separation of the sexes, a barrier to education and employment. Those who wore the hijab and mingled with men in classes were often not Emiratis and were subjected to rude comments from Emirati men who considered even this modest dress "provocative." A climate in which men and women do not respect each other is not conducive to equal education or employment opportunities for women.

-- Mara Alexander

Alexandria

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Anne Applebaum contrasted a Muslim woman wearing a veil in the West with herself donning a sarong while touring Indonesia. However, to a Muslim woman, going unveiled is both improper and immoral.

I agree that a Muslim woman who feels she must wear a veil should not take a job that requires a bare face -- say, modeling -- or safety equipment that her veil cannot accommodate.

But saying that a veiled woman cannot teach is wrong. Blind teachers don't make eye contact with students. Similarly, Stephen Hawking's lectures are widely attended, although he can barely speak. To say that a veil automatically devalues a teacher's work reveals a cultural bias against a different standard of modesty. I believe that a veiled teacher could instead help children learn about different cultures, what they value and why. Freedom of religious expression is more American than an unveiled face.

-- Rebecca Simmons

Hampton, Va.