What’s in a Headscarf?
Alarming news out of Iraq this morning: the nation America hopes is a bastion of democracy in the Middle East may have just taken a step back in their constitutional process.
Despite the horrors of the war, the miscalculations and misleads by the Bush administration, and the insurgent attacks, I still hope good things can come out of the whole ordeal. I do hope democracy and freedom for all Iraqis can be granted, liberating them from the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein. I hope this democracy could be contagious, spreading to places like Iran and Saudi Arabia. I hope the sacrifices being made by the American military and the forces of other nations will be forever honored upon their return home. I hope Iraq can become like Jordan – a place of prosperity and peace, open to commerce, new ideas, and dissenting opinions, giving voices to all citizens. This would never have happened were Saddam still at the helm, and unfortunately, it still may not occur.
A proposed provision in the still-being-written Iraqi constitution drastically curbs the rights of women. The authors of the proposed articles, citing Koranic law, suggest that females not be allowed to marry without family permission, and can be divorced by their husband’s saying so three times. Article 14 (which contains the restrictions on women’s rights) is mainly supported by Shiites, and is intended to apply to this specific Islamic sect.
Ironically enough, Article 14 actually appeals a law granting widespread freedoms women had during the Hussein regime, during which women could marry whomever they chose and divorce cases were heard by a judge. Also, sadly, some want to repeal the provision that 25% of the initial parliamentary seats be earmarked for women.
While these are only proposals right now, final language will have to be agreed upon by the August 15 deadline. And while some want the strict law to pertain only to Shiite women, the ball has begun rolling. There are protesters (which would not have been tolerated five years ago), and much can still be done to reform the proposals.
I am currently reading the memoir, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” in which the author describes her time in Iran, before and after the overthrow of the government by Ayatollah Khomeini. She feels that one of the worst things that happened (along with the kidnappings and assassinations) was the mandate for all women to wear the headscarf, 1) to not tempt the men sexually, and 2) to not be like the promiscuous American women. Doing so took a symbol of her religious devotion to Allah and made it mandatory, in a sense, secularizing it (comparable to compulsory church attendance or Bible study – the best and purest religious expression is always voluntary).
While the constitution has no language yet as to the imperative of wearing headscarves, curtailing any freedom of choice dehumanizes persons, making them machines of a regime and not citizens of a democracy. I, for one, still hold out hope that the Iraq situation does have a silver lining on several fronts. However, this latest news is definitely a very dark thunderhead.
Despite the horrors of the war, the miscalculations and misleads by the Bush administration, and the insurgent attacks, I still hope good things can come out of the whole ordeal. I do hope democracy and freedom for all Iraqis can be granted, liberating them from the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein. I hope this democracy could be contagious, spreading to places like Iran and Saudi Arabia. I hope the sacrifices being made by the American military and the forces of other nations will be forever honored upon their return home. I hope Iraq can become like Jordan – a place of prosperity and peace, open to commerce, new ideas, and dissenting opinions, giving voices to all citizens. This would never have happened were Saddam still at the helm, and unfortunately, it still may not occur.
A proposed provision in the still-being-written Iraqi constitution drastically curbs the rights of women. The authors of the proposed articles, citing Koranic law, suggest that females not be allowed to marry without family permission, and can be divorced by their husband’s saying so three times. Article 14 (which contains the restrictions on women’s rights) is mainly supported by Shiites, and is intended to apply to this specific Islamic sect.
Ironically enough, Article 14 actually appeals a law granting widespread freedoms women had during the Hussein regime, during which women could marry whomever they chose and divorce cases were heard by a judge. Also, sadly, some want to repeal the provision that 25% of the initial parliamentary seats be earmarked for women.
While these are only proposals right now, final language will have to be agreed upon by the August 15 deadline. And while some want the strict law to pertain only to Shiite women, the ball has begun rolling. There are protesters (which would not have been tolerated five years ago), and much can still be done to reform the proposals.
I am currently reading the memoir, “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” in which the author describes her time in Iran, before and after the overthrow of the government by Ayatollah Khomeini. She feels that one of the worst things that happened (along with the kidnappings and assassinations) was the mandate for all women to wear the headscarf, 1) to not tempt the men sexually, and 2) to not be like the promiscuous American women. Doing so took a symbol of her religious devotion to Allah and made it mandatory, in a sense, secularizing it (comparable to compulsory church attendance or Bible study – the best and purest religious expression is always voluntary).While the constitution has no language yet as to the imperative of wearing headscarves, curtailing any freedom of choice dehumanizes persons, making them machines of a regime and not citizens of a democracy. I, for one, still hold out hope that the Iraq situation does have a silver lining on several fronts. However, this latest news is definitely a very dark thunderhead.
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