¶ … head coverings, including veils, hijabs, chadors, and niqabs, worn by Muslim women have come to symbolize the intersectionality between race, status, gender, and power. Discourse on the veil is often paradoxical in nature, as staunch feminists who otherwise champion the rights of the oppressed judge the head covering with a voice of colonial disdain. Unlike Western feminist discourses, which attempt to fuse anti-colonialist and anti-patriarchal sentiments, the Muslim feminist discourse can and often does distinguish between the two to champion the rights of women to choose how to express their identity. Muslim women often straddle the line between allegiance to their gender and allegiance to their ethnicity, culture, or religion. The veil itself has become an ironic symbol of both liberation and oppression, giving rise to meaningful discourse on intersectionality, accountability, and solidarity.
The tone of discourse about Muslim female head coverings has shifted considerably, as more Muslim women have entered into the conversation. As Bullock points out, by the eighteenth century, the veil had already come to represent an "oppressive custom among Muslims," (1). Interestingly, a British woman was the first to champion the notion that the head covering is liberating as opposed to oppressive (Bullock 1). Thus, anti-veil discourse seems to have been dominated by patriarchal voices presuming that (a) Islam is oppressive because it is "other," or "foreign," and (b) Muslim women do not choose to wear the veil and are, therefore, oppressed. These two assumptions continue to plague and cloud open and constructive discourse on what the veil truly does represent in terms of identity and social status. Joanmohamad goes so far as to point out that anti-veil sentiments are the crux of east-west culture clashes: "If the position you start from is that Muslims are 'other', then no wonder interaction is difficult," (Janmohamad). It therefore becomes politically expedient to understand the role the veil plays in forming Muslim female identity.
Central to the discussion of the veil is the notion of choice. Choice, freedom, and individualism are categorically Western philosophical concepts, which are being projected on non-Western societies. Al-Sarrani and Alghamdi ask why Western feminist scholars seek to "universalize values like freedom and agency," rather than to approach the veil from a more genuinely liberally minded point-of-view (1). Likewise, there is an ongoing tendency to "generalize and make unwarranted assumptions" about Muslim society (Al-Sarrani and Alghamdi 1). Linked to the tendency for ethical absolutism related to the veil is a new form of the "white man's burden," in which Western feminists seek to "rescue" their Muslim sisters from the yolk of oppression. Janmohamad refers to the way Western feminists act as if they are superheroes entrusted with the power to liberate Muslim women (as if they need liberating) and by doing so, "infantilize" them (1). Similarly, Al-Sarrani and Alghamdi protest the way Western feminists use terminology suggesting than Muslim women need to be rescued. Janmohamad reminds the Western audience of the need to distinguish between genuine oppression and a simple article of clothing.
Discourse on the veil is always related to the intersection between gender, social status, and power. Thus, protestors of the veil are the new colonialists: those who would seek to subjugate veil-wearers on the grounds of cultural and ideological superiority. Ahmed notes that the current veil discourse echoes colonialism and its use of symbols as a means to subjugate. Usually, discourse on the veil can be reframed in terms of discourse on social class status. Social status often impacts identity, and views toward Western superiority. "The lower-middle and lower classes…had a different perspective on the colonizer's culture and ways than did the upper classes and the new middle-class intellectuals trained in Western ways," (Ahmed 1). In other words, social class status is related to affiliation with Western cultural norms. The voices of ordinary, not elite, Muslim women have been systematically silenced.
The silencing of voices is also a critical component in the debate over the veil. As Ceretti points out, "Muslim women have become increasingly important symbols in struggles over war, feminism, immigration, and civil society while rarely having the space to communicate about themselves and their perspectives," (1). Giving Muslim women the microphone means facing the uncomfortable truth that many Western feminists are loathe to hear: that many Muslim women choose to veil not because they are forced to or because they are oppressed, but because they want to for reasons ranging from personal taste and piety to solidarity and ethnic allegiance. Bullock, a convert to Islam, chooses to veil because of all of these reasons and argues that a new camp of feminism...
Head Start, Social Control Theory For America's, nursery children in the ages of three years to five years and who belong to the low-income families, a complete services of progress including social services for their poor families is offered by a nationwide plan called Head Start. To meet particular requirements, about 1,400 community-based non-profit associations and school systems work out exclusive and novel programs. In 1965 the Head Start was started
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The Family and Public Policy - Harvard Edition World. Executive Summary of Secretary of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Head Start Accountability and Educational Performance Measures Final Report (2007) Sadowski, Michael (2006) the School Readiness Gap. Harvard Education Letter July/August 2006. Online available at http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/2006-ja/readinessgap.shtml. Bolson, M.; Garcia, VC; Steinhaus, KA (2006) Implementing the Pre-Kindergarten Act: Progress Report. Online available at http://www.ped.state.nm.us/prek/downloads/03036/PreK%20Progress%20Report_Jan2006final.doc. Quality Pre-Kindergarten: Summary of Research Findings (2006) Online available
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