DPA: Veil off - one woman's 'life-changing' decision

Middle East Features

By Pakinam Amer
Jan 29, 2007, 11:18 GMT

Cairo - Naira El-Sheikh -an Egyptian ex-fashion model - wore Hijab (Islamic headscarf) for more than five years. Her friends considered her 'an icon' for choosing 'piety' - Hijab being the symbol - over anything else.

Two weeks ago, Naira decided to take it off - the scarf that has been covering her hair from peering eyes and which completed the traditional conservative dress that Muslims generally wear in the Islamic world.

'When I made this decision there were extreme reactions from the people I know,' said Naira. 'Some people called it an overdue correction of a mistake. 'Welcome back!' they said. And others would not want to talk to me. I haven't welcomed any of these reactions.'

According to 25-year-old Naira, women from her age have been put under great pressure because of how the Egyptian society perceives Hijab and in turn veiled woman.

A veiled woman is not allowed the same 'liberties' that an unveiled woman is, and is usually held to different standards.

'I do believe Hijab is not just a dress code, it's a statement, a behavior and an attitude that you embrace,' said Naira. Nevertheless, she said that the society 'has come to expect so much from a veiled women.'

Upon donning the veil, the woman has to adopt certain conformist behavior that include maintaining a low-profile in public and abstaining from 'casual relationships' with the opposite sex.

Although this strict understanding of the veil is not outlined by the Koran, Naira explained that she tried to strictly abide by this socially-backed 'behavioral code' when she first took the veil on.

'I drastically changed my lifestyle but still it did not fit the expectations of some hardliners from both extremes - the so-called liberals and the so-called conservatives,' she observed.

Naira wore the headscarf, but juggled baggie pants, long skirts and long-sleeved shirts to preserve her individual style. Islamic scholars still disagree about the extent of how a Muslim woman should 'cover up.'

The Muslim's holiest book clearly states that a woman should cover her cleavage and dress modestly - but any other restrictions on dress remain debatable.

So the form of Hijab as many know it - one that includes headscarves and long robes - has been only common in Egypt and other neighboring countries for the past few decades, when a wave of 'piety' started to engulf some countries in the Middle East.

In the early 1990s particularly, Egypt transformed into a more conservative state where an estimated 70 per cent of Muslim women took on the Hijab.

Some women even started covering their hair with scarves while preserving their dress style that included wearing tight pants and body-hugging tops.

TV preacher Amr Khaled was one cleric who is considered to have introduced this neo-Islamic conservative trend.

Khaled, who abandoned the traditional scholarly robe for a suit and a tie, seemed to use a different tone of preaching that quickly captivated many of Egypt's younger people, many who usually left the mosque with teary eyes and a strong resolve to get closer to God.

Prayer, fasting and reading Koran became more common and Hijab for the girls was no exception.

Although scholars are divided about whether the scarf and the traditional Islamic gown is 'an obligation,' Khaled and several preachers who gradually rose to popularity, vehemently advocate it.

But as stricter forms of Hijab started to be widely adopted, another view emerged - that the veil has been used by radical scholars to 'control' and constrain women.

The rise of 'conservatism' seemed to go out of proportion, as certain apparel like the opaque face-veils and head-to-toe cloaks began to spread. This was also coupled by the 'inactivity' of some women who chose to confine themselves at home after donning the veil.

Many liberals feared that this trend may introduce to Egypt elements of 'backwardness' that are imported from Arab countries which promote a more rigid form of Islamic practice.

In a newspaper column, Islamic intellectual Mohammad Emara wrote against what he called 'Islamic transgressors' who use Hijab as a 'tool' to oppress Muslim women.

Emara said these people, who are engaged in a power struggle with women, force upon them a stringent lifestyle that is not necessarily compatible with what Islam preaches, and which is 'more political' than it is religious.

Emara advocated the headscarf but said that some scholars 'are attempting to push women back to the age of harem' with the Hijab.

Caught in the row between the contemptuous liberals and the uncompromising hardliners, some young women like Naira continue to struggle for 'a balance' between Islamic practice and living their life to the fullest 'without sin.'

Even with a veil on, Naira - a single mother - remained committed to a full-time day job as a business development manager, among other activities.

And after taking the veil off, Naira insists on 'practicing' Islam. And, she may return to covering her hair - 'when I am ready.'

But for her, the decision to take it on or to abandon it is both personal and religious - one that cannot be decided by preachers and their loyalists in the mosques.

© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
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