Verified Document

Middle Eastern Societies Term Paper

Symbolism of the Veil In almost any modern social environment, not dictated by the standards and restrictions associated with a non-secular institution it is difficult for most people, not just women to imagine living life behind the screen of a veil. Though it may seem that this is true only of western states that is just not the case. The reality of the fundamentalist resurgence of the legalism of the Islamic religion is also a shock in locations much closer to the heat of the matter. Many Middle Eastern and North African countries have enjoyed relative freedom from non-secular rule, in some cases as long as they have been post-colonial, independent nations.

A recent resurgence of fundamentalist rule in some countries has brought women's rights to the forefront of social debate. It is for this reason that the discourse of the veil and the veil itself are recognized as the symbolic litmus as to the health of women's rights in a nation. Though this may be oversimplified and very western in view, the inability for modern American or European women to imagine life behind or even under a veil has given this idea staying power and provided sociology and politics with a lasting visual image of the wrongs being done to women all over the world in the name of faith.

Very public symbolism of the resurgence of secular rule is often seen in some of the very first mandates. The first legal changes that appear are often those related to dress, for men the social mandate of facial hair and for women often a veil be it a full gown with very limited view behind a screen or simply a complete head covering scarf. Regardless of how much or how little these things are seen as propaganda the effects become public and visible almost literally overnight and they are often just the beginning as women are forced from public office, education systems,...

The institutions of government, regardless of their theoretical nature secular or theocratic in name alone become from some views corrupt and ineffective. It is then that the fundamentalists come down from the proverbial or literal mountains and return the government and by their hopes, the culture to a more Islamic ideal. Culturally there is a close connection with the subversion of women and the establishment of more traditional and conservative governments. With the resurgence of fundamentalism and the nature of the global world the symbols of secular rule, like the veil or the burka in Afghanistan become obvious to people all over the world.
In the very unsettling short story, "Distant View of a Minaret," the symbolic nature of the veil and constraints on communication from women is played out in a very personal and private moment. The symbolic nature of the different worlds in which men and women live is culturally represented by the inability of a woman to express open communication about a fundamental aspect of marriage. The worlds of men and women are so barbed with convention that this wife spends her entire marriage sexually unfulfilled and even goes so far as to shame herself for her lack of understanding. The observance of her husband achieving climax makes her feel completely alien to him because she cannot share this joy with him and no longer seems to have the desire to try. (Rifaat 1983) In almost all cultures the ideal of the sacredness of sexual fulfillment makes this communication seem both startlingly conservative and a sad basis for the establishment of a healthy marriage and even a healthy society.

The…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Ahmed, Leila. Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992.

Cooke, Miriam. "Women in the Middle East." NWSA Journal, Spring 1999, Vol. 11 Issue 1,

Inda, J. "Behind the Veil Debate." Unte Reader, March / April 1992 Issue 50, 23-24.

Rifaat, Alifa. Distant View of a Minaret and Other Stories. New York: Quartet Books, 1983.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Middle Eastern Writers Contemporary Middle
Words: 1894 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

I take an oath of loyalty to the table / coated with white Formica, a cup full of pens, the ashtray / I dreamed that the State had passed out of existence / and with our children / we'd settled down in the three volumes of the / dictionary."(Shabtai, 39) Also, in Our Land he dramatically deplores the ugliness of his land. The poem is even more telling because

Middle Eastern Women the Middle
Words: 2395 Length: 8 Document Type: Research Proposal

Thorough reviews of the Q'uran have revealed that it actually forbids sexual oppression of women. Several and well-entrenched customary practices in the region, however, violate women's basic human rights. These practices include honor crimes, stoning, female general mutilation, and virginity tests. Women researchers and activists did not find a basis for these practices in the Q'uran (Ilkakaracan). Modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries, the foundation of nation-states and the

Middle Eastern Poetry Is Often
Words: 2274 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Ali gives the reader the impression that there must be value in letting go of hatred and acknowledging the better emotions, such as those which are present in the former work by Ali, even if such purity is not the end to our means it is infinitely valuable nonetheless. Eliaz Cohen writes of the universal historical struggles of power and control in the Middle East in Snow. (Cohen NP) Though

Middle Eastern Authors -- Celebrated
Words: 1141 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Mahfouz was the first Arab to ever win the Nobel Prize for literature, while Orhan Pamuk was the first Turkish individual to win a Nobel Prize at all. In contrast to Mahfouz who criticized his nation's government only indirectly, Pamuk's open criticism of Turkish government practices outside of his fictional universe made him something of a cause celeb for human-rights organizations and writers' unions. Rather than praise, right-win Turkish patriots

Middle Eastern Civilization the Era
Words: 1298 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Isma'ilis believe only the descendants of Ali and Fatimah can be considered the rightful caliphs. As the center of power weakened in Baghdad, Persian nobles ignored the caliph and established their own kingdoms. Toward the end the Abbasid only had Iraq under their control. In 945 the Buyids invaded Iraq and forced the caliph to recognize their prince, called a sultan, as ruler of Iraq. Another problem started much

Exclusive Title Reference Page Comparing Contrasting Middle-Eastern...
Words: 1020 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

exclusive title reference page) comparing contrasting middle-Eastern African terrorist movements. Your paper focus goals terrorist movements analyze methods involved. Terrorism is one of the most significant evolutions in the international arena that the twentieth century has brought as more and more groups are formed and act to attain their objectives by the use of terror, be it violent or less violent. Having in view the magnitude that the 2001 effects

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now