Women in Iran

When I began reading the assigned article for this topic my initial reaction was that Maysan Haydar was being unfair towards non-Muslim women in her descriptions of the way many of us dress and behave, especially during high school. Upon finishing the article I came to appreciate 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 remarks, I 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 aspect of the article that I found to be interesting is that she seems to approach the subject of proper attire for Muslim women from a completely Western perspective. The idea that people 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 and I wish that it had been since it seems important to me 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. I feel that 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.

Sources:
"Veiled Intentions: Don't Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering"