Giving Head Coverings a Bad Name [Chile]

Click to read:
"BBC News - Unmasking Chile's hooded protest movement"   By Gideon Long BBC News, Santiago

photo from BBC article

 "They turn up to almost every demonstration in the Chilean capital Santiago and hurl stones, petrol bombs and even acid at the police.

"They spray the walls of the city with graffiti and attack journalists who try to film or photograph them.

"They are the "encapuchados" or "hooded ones", and they have become a regular feature of the protests that have convulsed Chilean society over the past two years."

They infiltrate normal student protests and other demonstrations, taking the significance of the protests away from whatever point may have been made and refocusing all policy making back toward crime control. Many are anarchists, and many are disgruntled (bored and rich) young people. They don't only appear in Santiago, but in cities all over the world. I personally am thinking of the filth and destruction left by hooded and face-covered brats in Toronto a couple of years ago during a summit of world leaders.

"The aims of these violent protesters are difficult to assess. Some seem to be fighting for revolution, while others are fighting just for fun." 

In free societies, one cannot simply tell people what they can and cannot wear. So ignorant thugs like these hide their identities and hijack otherwise peaceful demonstrations for their own selfish desire to destroy other people's stuff, whether physical or intellectual property. If you've ever been stared down by an adolescent child standing on your driveway telling you that you can't tell them what to do, you know the helplessness that their form of empty terrorism inspires.

I just want to walk up to them and rip those stupid rags off of their heads and faces. They have given up their right to cover their heads. It is not from modesty or humbleness, or even a desire to protect themselves from poisonous gases. They cover out of fear of getting caught and punished. They are childish cowards.

A woman who covers her head simply believes in a higher being who created the world and left her rules to live by, such as respecting the men and women who are her neighbours in life. If she does something stupid like these hoodlums, using her head covering to hide criminal behaviour, well, we'll cross that bridge if we get to it.

______________________
EDITED to add:

For more information on the "encapuchados" or "hooded ones", see:


"The Art of Change," by Titus Levy in "Occupied Stories", February 2012.
"Encapuchados in the National University," Columbia, from "Mike's Bogota Blog", April 2013.
"Protests offer lessons for UC student organizers," from a project by the University of California: "Chilean Winter", by Suzy Strutner and Jenna Belhumeur, 2013.
"Performing the Political: Encapuchados in Venezuela," a paper in "Project Muse", by Fernando Calzadill, January 1998.

Can Turkey Be Secular and Allow Head Coverings?

For those who follow these kinds of things in the news [click to view articles I've done with the label "Turkey"], you'll have heard about how things are better for women who want to wear a head covering than they were under the last secular leader of the country of Turkey. Wanting to join the European Union and appear as secular as possible, head scarves were banned in public places in Turkey, such as universities and court rooms, leaving many women scratching their heads about how truly open minded the country was. A friend of mine whose husband has visited Turkey on business has reported how friendly and helpful a country he encountered, and that if their Muslim family ever moved anywhere, it might be Turkey. When I mentioned what I'd heard so long about the head scarf ban, she assured me that things are very different there now, and head covered women are not shunned from the public as they once were. It is true that things have changed, but as all changes are, they come slowly.

headscarved lawyer Zübeyde Kamalak, Timeturk.com

"Judge obeys State Council's "headscarf" decision", in the World Bulletin, is an article sharing how at least one judge had very recently postponed a trial because a lawyer was wearing a headscarf, "saying that lawyers cannot attend hearings with their headscarves on while actively practicing law, which he said is a public service." This article concludes with this summary on the state of things in Turkey: "The headscarf ban in universities was eased after the Higher Education Board (YÖK) sent a circular to universities in 2010 asking them to allow headscarved students. Yet there are still some universities and professors who insist on implementing the ban."

DHA photo: "Against women the greatest violence is the headscarf ban"

"Charter panel talks headscarf freedom", in the Hurriyet Daily News, by Göksel Bozkurt, and dated 11 May 2013, includes discussion on the constitutional draft clause: “Nobody can be prohibited from fulfilling the requirements of their religious belief.” Does the clause actually mean that wearing head scarves in the public sector will be allowed across the board? Apparently that is still up for debate. Some believe that the allowance for head coverings was not intended, or if seen that way, was a mistake that should be fixed, while other hint at troubles within this new government. One comment below the article, signed "Rorschach," states: "Let's be absolutely clear about this. There is nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING in the koran that "requires" a Muslim woman to cover her head."

It looks like this discussion is far from closed in Turkey, as well as many other places in our world. I hope that the open hand of friendship which Turkey is holding out to the world includes being open to its own lady citizens who would choose to cover.

_________________________

EDIT: I wanted to add this article:  "Egypt, Turkey, and Tunisia Are All Slowly Islamizing", from The Atlantic, by Steven A. Cook, dated 13 May 2013. It includes some interesting history about these countries and specifically brings up the topic of head coverings in Turkey about half way through the article.

"Orthodox Christian Women Vs. Muslim Women"

photo from Sodahead.com comment

photo from the article linked below

Read the article:
Orthodox Christian Women Vs. Muslim Women | People - Opposing Views
by Allison Troy, Demand Media

A new friend and I were talking yesterday while watching our children playing and exercising in their Aikido class, and she remarked how pretty one of the young girl's scarf was (a made for girls hijabi style with lace trim), and I agreed, adding that I really like the way that head scarves can be made for exercise and movement so that they stay in place. I shared with her about the problem of trying to keep a head scarf in place while trying to worship with a small child in your lap, and she laughed with me. We were having one of those, "You too?!" moments that sometimes occurs between new friends, however to some people it may have seemed odd to see the two of us huddled in conversation, me in my jeans and modest read and white printed top, with ponytail, and she in her Palestinian patterned abaya-dress, with pink head covering. The more we talked, the more we touched on "issues of commonality", such as head covering, modesty, distinction between males and females, and having people say hurtful things to you because they just don't get it. We also discussed a few general differences between the "big three" faiths, including the fact that Jewish women can appear to be uncovered because there is that allowance for wigs as a hair covering.

photo from Life in the Married Lane blog (check it out for more on Jewish head covering!)

I found this article when I came home, and of course, thought "what a coincidence". The author points out just a few general similarities between the Muslima and the typical Orthodox Christian woman, including the origins of our modest dress and head coverings, and women in the public sphere. She writes:

Protocol for clothing, particularly in Islam, has become a symbol for what many outside these traditions see as a repression of women’s rights. At the same time, many women in both Islam and Orthodox Christianity would claim that the hijab (for Muslims) and the veil (for Orthodox women) are, in fact, representative of their spiritual freedom.

Isn't that what we headcovering women have been saying? That for us all, it is a spiritual freedom, and an individual choice.

It is a short article, and one worth considering by those who don't have a nice friend to sit with and talk about religious traditions while our children are learning a kind of Eastern martial art. The author, or at least this publication, "Opposing Views" seems to have other similar short articles to explain things that outsiders only guess at (and many times, guess at wrongly).

I believe that it is good to understand, or at least to try to, because I know that I want to be understood. As my friend and I also discussed, one of the things that we have in common is that many of our own friends and acquaintances are not even knowledgeable about their own faith, let alone that of others. It is good to understand what you are doing; and sometimes, understanding why others do what they do helps you to clarify your own position for yourself.

Happy in Head Covering: Photo Review

Click to read:
Secular Lens, Religious Vision | The Jewish Week
"Italian photographer’s view of religious women upended by project", by Chavie Lieber.

A member of the Breslov sect dances at sunset near her home in Beit Meir, Israel. photo by F.  Valabrega

"Italian photographer Federica Valabrega always believed religious women were oppressed and unhappy," the article opens. But the Italian photographer decided to document her discoveries about oppressed religious women, in various places, in print, and wound up presenting a diverse collage of women, head covered and all, who were living free and happy lives. This short article relates her story, and a couple of pictures. From the story:

"Valabrega noted that she’s made great strides in understanding the way the different communities within religious Judaism interact. When she first started her project, she was not able to distinguish the different sects, and many of them looked the same to her. Now, she said, she’s able to distinguish members of different communities by their dress and their conduct, by their head coverings and their accents. She’s also come to learn that while the rest of the world believes these women are unhappy and subjugated, she finds them powerful, capable, and complacent — and often the pillars of their home."

See the artist's home page, http://www.federicavalabrega.com, for more. Click to view her "portfolio" and choose the section "Daughters of the King". After reading her brief summary, click the photo to open the slide show and view her other photos added here at this time. I hope that Federica will return to the project to add more dialogue along with the photos in the slideshow, so that viewers can find the happiness of the women along with her.

Just Cover Up

Summer time in the northern hemisphere means longer days and more sunshine, and warmer weather that has folks wanting to strip down and go nearly nude. But uncovering your body and your head in the summer are not just rules for Arabic-background cultures, and they never were. We bicker and argue over whether or not we should cover out of modesty, or religious duty, or as a symbol of our faith, or from government law, or out of a sense of fashion, or embarrassment at hair loss. But here's the thing: everyone should cover up.

How to protect yourself - Canadian Living: • Cover up. “Keep your T-shirt on" says Rivers. Wear loose-fitting pants and long-sleeved shirts made from closely woven material for the best protection. Wear a wide-brimmed hat. And continue to use sunscreen.

Further rules for covering and protecting your head and face include:

• Head for the shade whenever possible and cover up with clothing and a wide-brimmed hat. (Look for a brim with a dark underside to prevent sun from reflecting back up onto your face.)
• Protect lips with lip balm that has at least SPF 15, and reapply every hour.
• Protect your eyes; wear sunglasses with a UV rating of 100 per cent.

The number one choice to protect your skin from sun damage is:

1: Cover Up

About one million Americans were diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in 2005. In fact, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, the disease makes up one in three cancers diagnosed in this country. Fortunately, there is plenty you can do to protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun.

One of the best things you can do is cover up. The sun's rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Stay indoors during this time, or if you must be outdoors, cover up and wear sunscreen. The Skin Cancer Foundation says that hats and clothing made of dark, tightly woven materials absorb ultraviolet light better than cotton fabrics in lighter shades. Dry fabrics offer more protection than wet ones.

 Check web stores like Sun Protection Zone,
 the Village Hat Shop,
Solartex Sun Gear,
and the sun hat guide at Sun Protection Hats.

For articles on how-to wear a floppy hat, see this at Fashion Spot or this at FairWindSarongs.

"I Am Not Oppressed" - The Huffington Post Live Discussion

Click to view:
"I Am Not Oppressed"

"The recent FEMEN protests have raised many questions. One of which is how headscarves are viewed by the group. For Muslims, veils or headscarves symbolize religious devotion, but for FEMEN they are a symbol of oppression. Is there a middle ground?"

Originally aired on April 16, 2013

Hosted by:
Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani

Guests:
Laila Alawa @lulainlife Muslim-American Activist,
Blogger Rev. Paul Raushenbush @raushenbush (New York, NY) HuffPost Senior Religion Editor
Inna Shevchenko @femeninna Leader Of Women's Movement FEMEN


Video to watch/listen to; scroll down to find links to articles surrounding this discussion.

Clothes and Headcoverings of First Century Jewish People

The article, "The Clothing of Jews in the Time of Jesus," by Alice Pfeifer, of Demand Media, describes the clothing that is commonly believed to be worn by the modest Jew at the time of the early Roman Empire. Based on readings rather than illustrations of life from that time, since there have been none found, we remember the teachings found in the Law of Moses, which found nudity shameful, and considered partial dress to be nakedness. The author refers to Biblical scholars John L. McKenzie and Michael Marlowe when outlining the dress of women of the day:

photo found in Michael Marlowe's "The Woman's Headcovering"

 McKenzie says that differences of style and cut must have existed between men's and women's clothing, or else the prohibition against cross-dressing in Deuteronomy 22:5 would make little sense. One difference was that a Jewish woman wore a longer, ankle-length tunic. Also, her head was wrapped in a veil that had ends extending to the floor. * According to Marlowe, she added a face veil whenever outside her home. The only time she let her hair show in public was on her wedding day.

* from Dictionary of the Bible, page 145, by John L. McKenzie

A difference in dress exists between the Jews of the time and the Greek and Roman traditions pictured of that time as well.

Although Jews living in a city like Corinth may have adopted a few minor details of local style, they still maintained uniquely Jewish habits of dress. They did not imitate Greco-Roman working men, for example, who wore short tunics that extended only to mid-thigh. Although Greco-Roman women maintained modest floor-length tunics, they did not always cover their heads. Scholars debate the circumstances that determined their choices. Greek women could choose among a variety of head coverings, including veils, scarves, headbands and other items. Roman women sometimes wore veils.

Why is this distinction important to the head covering Christian or Jew, or to those who seek to understand why some Christians and Jews cover their heads? Because it is during the ancient times and teachings that traditions began, and where we find purpose for headcoverings.

Under the Law of Moses, the women of God dressed modestly, and we can draw from necessary inference that it was natural to find good women covered in public, to draw their veils over their heads or faces in the presence of men outside the family, especially at their wedding.

In the days of Christ, the Jewish women would have covered their heads still, regardless of how the nations around them lived. How many times had they been warned of the prophets of God to come out from the other nations and be holy? So when they became Christians and devoted their lives to the teachings of Jesus, would they have thrown off their modest ways, or continued in them, knowing that they were a part of a holy nation still?

Paul addresses this tradition in the letter 1 Corinthians, and encourages women to continue to cover their heads, whether they are Jewish or Greek or whatever. He appeals to headship of God over Christ over man over woman, and the order of creation, that women were created for men - pointing out, of course, that this doesn't mean that man is whole without a woman, since men come through women in the births. Paul appeals to nature, asking them to notice how women were even given a mantle of hair to cover themselves, so should they not want to keep their heads covered? But he doesn't stop with this hair comparison; he specifically compares a woman not covering her head in worship with a man covering his head in worship, pointing out that both of these examples are not appropriate. If a woman's hair is the covering he's writing about here, then we would have to assume that men are to all shave and go bald when worshiping, so that they are not covered.

Many people believe that Paul is merely talking about local or Jewish culture, but neither of these things is mentioned in this letter. Some will point out that this is Paul's opinion and not Jesus' teaching, but this would mean that we can trust none of the teachings passed on by Paul. What we draw from this is that Paul took it for granted that a modest, God-fearing woman would want to cover her self and her "glory" (her hair, in this passage) during worship (prayer and prophecy). It was so taken for granted that for centuries before and after the First Century, holy women are pictured with a head covering, even in cultures without strong Jewish or Christian presence.

Sometimes, the elders in a culture have to insist on women covering, because the young "don't get it," and fail to keep the traditions of respect and honour, and modesty, whether sexual modesty or just plain modesty, to keep them from showing themselves off. I think the elders are just keeping up ancient traditions that have been taken for granted. Who would have thought that their culture would come to a time where head coverings which were good and humble and pure would be forgotten, sneered at, and traded for either men's short hair or hair styles and colours, hair sprays, braids and curls? But, here we are.

Formal Hijab

I've been writing some articles for my other blog, Old Fashioned Lady, about the concept of modesty in formal dress occasions. Since I haven't posted here lately, I thought I'd see what I could find for formal head coverings. There aren't many for most of us, but the Muslim ladies have this formal head covering done to an art.

Check the videos "Hijab style for a formal occasion" and "Hijab tutorial for formal occasions" on YouTube, and scan through the suggested videos on the right of the screen.

Try a Google image search for "formal wear hijab" or "formal wear headscarf." Or come up with your own Google search; I even found a few cute dress ideas by searching for prom hijab.

Many hijab bloggers have posted pretty styles, including: StylishMuslimah, The Hijablog, and "How to Hijabify Your Prom Outfit" from iHijabi. Comb through their blog pages, and try their links, as well as the hijab bloggers I have listed in the right column.

Also, look through the Modest Clothes directory, for modest formal wear that could be paired up with a stylish head scarf. I'd like to hear from others who have ideas for dressing up a headcovering, when it's necessary.

A Head Covering Poem

photo from Designs by Sheryl Ann

The Head Covering
“Must I wear it?” some ask with dread,
“This covering of cloth upon my head?”
As if the command were stern to obey-
But I ask the question a different way:
If by this simple act I honor the Lord,
And model obedience to His precious Word;
If the Church may thus learn, as the Scripture hath said,
Her own sweet submission to her glorious Head;
If thus may the brothers be challenged to lead;
If in this small sign the daughters may read;
A woman’s true beauty; if angles discern,
And pause from their praises to wonder and learn;
Then I ask, not “Must I?” but “May I?”

- by M.A. Frees, dedicated as "Inspired by my wife’s sweet spirit"

Found in "A Word in Season," at Designs by Sheryl Ann (Head Coverings, Christian Music, Books & Scripture Texts)

Note from ThoseHeadcoverings: This is "free advertising" for Designs by Sheryl Ann; I have not received compensation for sharing this website store with you. Please drop by and view their page at "A Word in Season" (linked above) for more links to thoughts on head covering, modesty and other topics.