THE VEIL

The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics

Feminist Review

October 7, 2008

http://feministreview.blogspot.com/2008/10/veil-women-writers-on-its-history-lore.html

Let’s face it. When many of us hear the word “veil,” we think of the oppression of Muslim women. Yet few of us know that the practice of veiling is found in the history of most cultural and religious traditions. The Veil: Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics is the first-ever anthology that brings together the larger picture of veiling into a single volume. The twenty-one contributors, while all women, are varied in their own backgrounds, opinions, and areas of focus. They challenge us to move beyond the generalized understanding of the “veil” to encompass a variety of coverings - such as the Hasidic Jewish tikhl, Amish prayer cap, Roman Catholic humeral veil, and ancient Greek himation. They also challenge us to complicate our understanding of Muslim veiling by becoming aware of the varieties of coverings among Muslim women and understanding the varying reasons why women choose to veil, including veiling as a form of resistance to Western domination, preservation of culture, increased power in public arenas, and as a fashion statement.

The collection, true to its intended purpose, has many wide-ranging and interesting essays. In “The Amish Veil: Symbol of Separation and Community,” Jana Hawley writes about her experience living among an Amish community for one year. She complicates the stereotyped Hollywood picture we have of Amish dress as she explains how varieties of dress among differing communities reflect levels of orthodoxy. Pamela Taylor writes about the discrimination she faces as a Muslim feminist and wearer of the hijab in “I Just Want to Be Me: Issues in Identity for One American Muslim Woman.” In “Nubo: The Wedding Veil,” Sarah Bell adopts the graphic novel form to illustrate the similarities between the Christian bridal veil and veiling in other cultures. She writes, “even the word ‘nuptial’ comes from the Latin word ‘nubo,’ meaning, I veil myself. So why is it that we ‘liberated’ Western brides still wear the veil?”

Veiling is a highly contested act, and the contributors are not all in agreement on the validity of its purposes. Yet the unified message arising from this anthology is strong: veiling predates Islam and has multiple meanings and purposes that shift throughout time as a response to changing circumstances. Editor Jennifer Heath relays a critical idea in the epilogue: “To veil or not to veil is not the burning question,” she writes. Global problems facing women are on the rise, and Heath believes that ideological battles among feminists about veiling distract us from confronting the truly serious problems at hand. In complicating our notions of veiling and relaying the importance of context, The Veil is a critical read for feminists and students of Women’s Studies in the United States.

Review by Arwa Ibrahim