IYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — It liberates. It represses. It is a prayer. It is a prison. It protects. It obliterates. Rarely in human history has a piece of cloth been assigned so many roles. Been embroiled in so much controversy. Been so misjudged, misunderstood, and manipulated. This bit, or in some cases bolt, of fabric [...]
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s ruling UMP party plans to present a bill to parliament in January on banning full Islamic veils in all public places and not just in certain buildings, a senior party official said on Tuesday. The bill would be accompanied by a resolution related to respect for women, Jean-Francois Cope, the parliamentary [...]
‘The way a woman wears a dupatta tells you a lot about her,’ a friend once said. That statement aptly reflects the fact that Pakistani women – throughout this nation’s history – have been judged by this single piece of fabric. Regarded as an integral part of a woman’s costume in Pakistani culture, the dupatta [...]
A group of Kazakh parliament members is urging Education Minister Zhanseit Tuymebaev to reverse a ban on Islamic head scarves among high-school and university students, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports. Lawmaker Rozakul Khalmuradov, told a session of parliament that the Education and Science Ministry had ordered all schools and universities to ban hijabs and other religious [...]
by HERA HASHMI* Whenever the headscarf ban is mentioned, it quickly spirals into a debate about secularism, which is another major justification for the ban. But what makes headscarf-wearing women in Turkey such an obstacle to a secular government when women in many Western countries and democracies wear headscarves and are able to participate easily [...]
The Muslim Veil Is Spreading: Who Wears It — and Why By CARYLE MURPHY RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 20, 2009 It liberates. It represses. It is a prayer. It is a prison. It protects. It obliterates. Rarely in human history has a piece of cloth been assigned so many roles. Been embroiled in so much [...]
A Chicago woman says she was hassled by a security guard when she walked into a bank, because of something she was wearing. CBS 2′s Anne State reports that the Council on American-Islamic Relations says it’s considering a lawsuit. The group says the woman deserves an apology. Shani Smith says she is a recent convert to Islam. [...]
A high school geography teacher in the southeastern Kazakh city of Taldy-Qorghan has turned to the Prosecutor’s Office for permission to wear an Islamic head scarf (hijab) while teaching, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reports. Aida Dekebaeva says school principal Gulnara Muratbekova “recommended” that she not wear the hijab while teaching. Dekebaeva said the school recently adopted [...]
Modesty is the new sexy. A hijab is a head-covering worn in public by some Muslim women. It is a cultural practice with religious roots that stems back to the days of Muhammad. There are all kinds of hijabs in different styles, colors and designs. Except in Saudi Arabia, women in the Middle East are [...]
A SUPERMARKET has apologised after a pensioner was told to remove her hijab. A security guard at the new Morrisons store at Illingworth, Halifax, told the 65-year-old Muslim she couldn’t go inside unless she took off the headwear, which covers the hair for religious reasons. The woman said she was left “humiliated and embarrassed” but [...]
