Liberal

I am the first person to say that freedom of speech is priority number one. Wearing what you want when you want falls into this category alongside freedom from censorship and religious persecution. However, when an article of clothing is as highly charged as a Hijab (simple head scarf worn by women from Islamic Middle Eastern cultures) the issue requires a closer look. Women who wear the Hijab do so based on traditions that stem from a patriarchal and highly oppressive (toward women) social system of segregation. I do not see a problem with the idea that the Hijab is an equalizer, but I cannot ignore the brutality perpetrated against many of the women in these cultures. Many Middle-Eastern women say that wearing the Hijab allows them the freedom to speak openly in the presence of men without the fear that the men will be distracted by their looks. When I hear that argument it makes me angry. If women feel that they must cover themselves with a veil to be taken seriously, this article of clothing does not deserve to be called an equalizer; it should be called what it is: a most heinous tool of oppression. A woman should not be responsible for the inability of a man to get his mind out of the gutter. Men are absolved of the responsibility to control their own behavior and therefore shift the burden onto women. Women feel the necessity to protect themselves from advances and society distorts the teachings of Islam to that effect. This does not look like equality to me. I see a separation between Islamic women and the rest of their society, in essence making the women second-class citizens. This is magnified by the continued brutality toward women in many Islamic cultures of the Middle East. I contend that the women may be taught to see the Hijab as a societal equalizer, but in reality, they are just putting up a wall.