Veils

Veils are the muse for a day today. Recently, I saw an exhibit of works by Bellini, from his time in Sultan Mehmet's court in Istanbul, and saw this painting of a Queen with an interestingly shaped and fabricked (new word) veil. They have been on my mind since then.

The other day, I was draping my head in one of my scarves in a sleet-rain storm, and someone asked me to tell them a bit about Islam, which I did, bc I have read a bit about it, but they were surprised when A) I took off my scarf and B) I told them I was not Muslim, a funny moment indeed.

I have always loved scarves and veils of sorts, my friends and students and co-workers sometimes call me the scarf lady. I have always thought of it as an extended security blanket of sorts.

My introduction to feminism had a lot to do with veils. Fatima Mernissi writes on Islamic Feminism, and the empowerment experienced by veil-wearers. It is a compelling argument. http://www.mernissi.net/

Of course, there is much hoopla in the news these days about veils. Personally, I can understand it. After years of accepting that sometimes a pretty face or a selected miniskirt could do wonders for my clients in a courtroom where the judge responded to a pretty lady, a veil could be welcome, but perhaps not to those clients...

A friend who lived in the United Arab Emirates for a year or two told me of a time when she was in the supermarket, mixed men and women, and when a fully veiled woman who was flirting, verbally, with a man in public, lifted her veil to him, and was completely naked. Leaves me bewildered, but not surprised, in some strange way.

While in Turkiye 2 years ago, I was astonished to see a spectrum of veil-wearers - from the Saudi-style burkas in black covering all, all, all to women covered from head to toe including veils, but in skin-tight lycra and Manholo Blahniks...and lots in between. They all got along fine, even saw two sisters at a market stall in the Spice Bazaar who were each on one end of the spectrum, which says a lot for secularism in that country, I suppose...

Here is what wikipedia has to say about veils of different sorts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veil

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chador

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burka