How Western Women and Muslim Women Perceive Each Other

     Upon reading Maysan Haydar's article regarding her Muslim upbringing my initial reaction was that she was being unfair towards non-Muslim women in her descriptions of the way many of them dress and behave. Her main point is that wearing various styles of traditional Muslim clothing for women made her less vulnerable to being viewed as a sex object. Upon finishing the article I gained some appreciation for the way in which she, on several occasions, clarified herself by essentially stating that no woman deserves to be treated improperly due to the way she dresses. Despite these clarifying remarks, it is still easy to continue to view her opinion as being slightly condescending towards the women and girls in this country that appear to be more typical in their physical manifestation of femininity. Another observation is that she seems to approach the subject of proper attire for Muslim women from a mostly Western perspective. The idea that Western women generally have of Muslim women in the Middle East (whether it is true of all regions or not) is that these women are forced to dress and behave a certain way. This is not discussed in the article at all. This is peculiar since it seems necessary to make a distinction between what is expected of a Muslim American woman and what is expected or perhaps even mandatory in many instances for a Muslim woman in Iran or other areas of the Middle East. It seems as if she is ignoring what should be a large part of the story of Muslim women by not acknowledging what life may be like in a place that has a much stronger Muslim influence as well as a higher population of practicing Muslims.

     Another Muslim woman who resides in America has a similar opinion to that of Haydar's and delves deeper into the subject of cultural relativism regarding the veil. She argues that following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, Americans (especially women) focused heavily upon the veiling of Muslim women no matter what region of the Middle East they resided in. Based on conversations that I was either involved in or overheard during and after this period of time I would say that her argument does indeed hold merit. The perceived plight of veiled Muslim women did seem to be an obsession that many Americans had and still have to this day, regardless of what region a veiled woman resided in.

     What can be gained from hearing the perspectives of Muslim women and Western women is that what may seem degrading to some may be a form of personal expression for another. It would be just as unwise to assume that every woman who dons the veil is being oppressed as it would be to assume that every American woman wearing a miniskirt is being forced to do so by her male peers.That being sad, while the style of dress for Muslim women may not be mandatory in every instance it is still important to keep in mind that women are certainly mistreated in certain communities or regions, just as they are in other parts of the world. It is uplifting to note that in Iran specifically, according to Rezaian, that "although the laws regarding proper cover haven’t changed, some women have grown bolder in interpreting the limits of what they can wear"(The Washington Post). Although many women in Iran still cover themselves, the fact that they are choosing different, and often times fashionable ways of doing so is indicative of progress.


Works Cited List:


Haydar, Maysan. "Veiled Intentions: Don't Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering." Body 
           Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty and Body Image. By Ophira Edut.
           Emeryville, CA: Seal, 2003. N. pag. Print.


Abu-Lughod, Lila. "Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological
           Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others." American Anthropologist
           104.3 (2002): 783-90. Print.


Rezaian, Jason. "Struggle Over What to Wear in Iran." The Washington Post July-Aug.
           2012, World sec.: n. pag. Print.


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