My own
personal opinion is that the esteem of a lady is unquestionably raised by
the proper wearing of an Islamic Veil. Decency is observed, modesty is promoted, identity (instead
of being obliterated as incorrectly believed by western society) is, in fact, enhanced and well promoted by the removal of
insultingly distracting factors. The primordial appeal to sexuality is removed allowing a
woman to at last compete one-for-one in what was once 'a man's world.'
The all concealing black
orthodox Islaamic Veil is far more effective in raising a woman's status among men in the
work place. More than any business suit the veil, by virtue of its austerity, completely
removes the sexual element. It in no way decreases the effectiveness of the wearer. Rather it forces
those interacting in a business fashion with the veiled person to concentrate entirely on
the business being presented. The woman, thereby, becomes far more powerful with her
male compatriots. Nothing is taken away from her personality. In fact, her beauty
and aura of allure are no longer a hindrance in her business activities. She is able to
present herself, her skills and ideas fully for what they are without being diminished
into some sort of a desirable sex object in the process. No one listening to her present her
views will in any way become distracted by anything about her.
Instead of being a
shameful hindrance, this veil is a complement to exactly that which the western woman feels
threatened she is losing. The veil by hiding, accentuates the reality of
feminine allure, but instead of exploiting it, it puts it in its proper place. Is the western
woman afraid of losing her influence by those very sexual qualities by which she feels
insulted when they are noticed by her male co-workers? Why not try the veil approach? I think women would
find that instead of taking away, it restores their sense of dignity and allows them to
highlight those very qualities which they claim, men are ignoring due to their base
animalistic instinctual drives; intellect, resourcefulness, creativity and direct power.
In a recent employment
survey it was reported that physical attractiveness has a great deal to do with
the hire ability, or promot ability, of a female in the western work force. Not only is this
unfair, the practice is outright insulting to everyone involved. It is pure and simple exploitation of
every woman's physical characteristics. The veil would do away with this
sort of discrimination. Never again would a woman be subjected to the indignity of
being gauged according to her physical attributes. The practice is barbaric and
preposterous, again pointing out the power employers have over women due to something
other than their professional qualities. By removing this element to gauge,
a woman retains her distinction by virtue of her education, skills, and talents alone.
Not only would the veil
save the wearer costly expenses on office apparel, which not only must be in
first-class condition, but must be kept up rotated by season,
and replenished
regularly, the woman can now use this capital to enhance her appearance for her personal
enjoyment in a way which may appeal to her far more:
she can now afford
those items of after work /
leisure / special wear she could
not, previously, because of the necessity of maintaining an extensive business wardrobe.
Besides, who would she
shed her veil for? Who but her husband, of course. What better way to appeal to him by
permitting him, and him alone, the privilege of her unveiled self.
In a tiff, she can resort
to denying removing the veil forcing the gentleman to confront her on territory more equal
intellectually and far more beneficial to herself: a business only identity. He is at this
point denied the privilege of addressing her in any but the formal voice. Of course,
violence can always be resorted to (a male option to frustration since the beginning of
time).
But then who loses
dignity, the one transgressed against, or the one forced by lack of control into a
pathetic state of helplessness before potency exuded by the dignified figure? The veil will
afford a woman a level of dominion and honourable sanctuary heretofore unknown in the
civilized world.
A woman is a thing of
many talents, some obvious, some obscure. The veil would give a woman a sense of dignity by not
allowing men to exploit her (as a sexual object), while allowing her to retain every
ounce of her talents and strengths and to use those talents and strengths to their fullest
extent without any effect being diverted due to unnecessary distraction.
A woman refusing to wear
a veil involuntarily admits to using her sexuality to advantage, degrades herself by this admission, and
allows men to continue to manipulate her by allowing them to regard her in a less than
objective fashion. She gives them power over herself by allowing them to
judge her by visual qualities deliberately submitting herself to this low form of
exploitation. This kind of woman refuses to part with her visual advantage perhaps due to an
unfortunate lack of confidence in her inner resources, or perhaps an ailing sense of
self-esteem.
Neither reason speaks
well for the flagrant indiscretion of an unveiled lady, neither reason is one to take
pride in.