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From: bes@tybalt.caltech.edu
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: Re: Hijab (Dress code)
Message-ID: <1991May5.132107.16955@nntp-server.caltech.edu>
Date: 5 May 91 13:21:07 GMT
Sender: bes@nntp-server.caltech.edu (Behnam Sadeghi)
Organization: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Lines: 46
Approved: bes@tybalt.caltech.edu

>As a native citizen of the US, I cannot say that true Islamic society is
>better than US culture. I can say that there is a common attitude among
>American males to objectify women as sex objects. This attitude was less
>common in the era when there were prevalent values regarding proper sexual
>conduct within the institution of marriage. Women, in this era, were
>expected to wear clothing that covered the majority of their bodies, much like
>the Hijab. Women in this era also had less freedom and had rigidly defined
>roles defined by society.
>
>Since the turn of the century, women have gained more freedom, and society
>has expanded its definition of the woman's role in society. Unfortunately,
>there has been a trend during this time where the old values are no longer
>commonly held by Americans. Thus women became objectified because the
>destruction of these values, and not because women's clothing in the US
>became more revealing.
>
>I believe that the Hijab restricts the freedom of Islamic women. Islamic
>men, if they truly hold Islamic values, will treat a woman the same
>regardless of her clothing. 

In general, hijab does not restrict women's freedom.  Some forms of hijab
do, some don't.  The only differences between proper hijab
for women and the clothes men customarily wear is that women must cover 
their hair (for example, with a scarf).

Being from Iran, I know that many Muslim women face no problem in their 
public activities and jobs.  Some women even contributed in the military fields
during the Iran-Iraq war.  In Iran, women wear several different 
forms of hijab.  One consists of a scarf, a loose dress going down 
to beneath the knees, and trousers (or non-see-thru stockings).  This doesn't 
restrict women's activities in any way.  Another form of hijab is called 
"chador" and consists of a large cloth that the woman wraps around herself.  
This makes movement somewhat restricted. And then there are various regional 
forms of hijab. 

In some Arab countries where both men and women wear loose clothes that cover
most of the body, the only difference between men's and women's clothes would
be that women would have to cover their hair  (which many men do anyway, with
their traditional headdress).

I don't think there is any relationship between freedom and wearing modest
dress.  

>-Jeff Fields

Behnam Sadeghi