Veiled Women and Religion

The issue of the veil never ceases to fascinate people from other
cultures, nor does it stop claiming centre stage in any talk show or
social gathering that aim to be tagged controversial. You may want to
think of it in this context: it’s an instant attention grabber.

Whenever I meet new people, I am instantly asked some questions
about religion or the veil. I understand why this happens, of course:
people see a veiled woman and they instantly believe that she is
religious or quite literate in religion. But isn’t this assumption
fallacious in many cases?

Many times a woman wears the veil due to social or cultural
pressure. In some families, wearing the veil is the normal consequence
of puberty or bodily maturity. In some geographical locations, wearing
a veil is simply the way women dress. In others, it is considered
improper not to wear a veil. The reasons are many and diverse, and only
a portion of them has to do with religious beliefs.

I am usually annoyed when people ask me religious questions. It
feels as though I have this preacher duty to do, and I simply hate
preaching. Asking me about religion also puts me under a lot of
pressure to give out the “correct answer” which, more often than not, I
do not have. To avoid any misunderstandings, I always start my answer
(if I decide to answer) with announcing that “I am not an authority on
religion” and then I proceed to explaining my personal beliefs about
the question asked. I always urge people to ask an expert if they are
really interested in investigating things, or to do their own research.

Even if I meet the investigative type of people, like journalists or
writers, who are interested in one activity I have, I still get the
usual questions on religion and the veil. I am usually asked why I wear
the veil, and why other Muslims don’t, and if it is wrong not to wear
it, etc.

I resent these questions because they stereotype me as being a
religious person and I am not really religious. Why I wear the veil is
a question worthy of asking, of course, but it is also private. If it’s
the charm of my contradictions that people are interested in, well
then, why don’t they ask about that?

Questions on religion and the veil also take away from the “point” I
am being met or interviewed for. It’s almost like meeting someone who
wears socks and who’s also a distinguished artist. Instead of paying
attention to the art, many people would focus on the socks and forget
that their main interest in this person is de fact, the art. Not the
socks.