Laura Bush and that Pope guyAll patriarchical religions denigrate women by demanding they cover their heads to the eyes of their G*D.
The first lady wore a black suit and black lace mantilla, or head covering. Barbara, 24, wore a black skirt and black top and high-heeled black boots. (Related: Why the first lady wore black)
babushka - a woman's headscarf folded into a triangle and tied under the chine; worn by Russian peasant women
hijab - a headscarf worn by Muslim women; conceals the hair and neck and usually has a face veil that covers the face
kerchief - a square scarf that is folded into a triangle and worn over the head or about the neck
If Al Qaeda had its way, every woman would have to wear head scarves or hajib. The Islamic reasoning behind the scarves is that women should cover their hair as to not inflame the passions of any man except their husbands.
It wasn’t until the 1950s Vatican II that Catholic women were no longer required to cover their heads in church as a show of respect, and some Catholics continue the practice. I even saw that it has carried over to Protestants in Haiti, so much so that missionaries on my trip covered their heads as a sign of respect to the culture.
Religious Topic Women Covering Heads in Church - The Veil One venerable tradition with much metaphysical significance that has faded in the horizons of the post-Vatican II era is the practice of women covering their heads in Church.
The veil is a beautiful symbol of the natural order affirmed by Scripture: “Man was not created for woman, but the woman for the man” (1 Cor. 11:9). The man was not to cover his head “because he is the image and glory of God.” But “the woman is the glory of the man because she came from the man… Thus, the woman is under the power of her husband.” That women should remain veiled in church while men do not is one symbol of this harmonious natural order establishing the husband’s authority over the wife.
The veil represents the natural hierarchy established by God in which the woman is subject to the male: “Let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord; because a husband is head of the wife, just as Christ is head of the Church (Eph. 5:22:23).
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The veil: the sign of purity of the bride. |
Religion in America -- Artifact Analysis
"She Maketh Herself Coverings is a home based ministry-business. It is run by the four daughters of our family (ages ranging from 19 to 30) as a cottage industry. Our purpose is to make Jesus Christ known and to provide a support and inspiration to Christian women and their daughters. We pray that you will be blessed and encouraged as well.
"In 1983, the Lord directed the ladies in our family (all five of us!) to wear the head veiling in obedience to an ordinance in I Corinthians 11. We spent many years searching for an appropriate style veiling. We have worn bandannas and scarves in the past but found them uncomfortable for consistent, daily wear. We wanted a headveiling style that was attractive as well as comfortable and brought glory to the Lord rather than queries about denominations.
"In 1983, the Lord directed the ladies in our family (all five of us!) to wear the head veiling in obedience to an ordinance in I Corinthians 11. We spent many years searching for an appropriate style veiling. We have worn bandannas and scarves in the past but found them uncomfortable for consistent, daily wear. We wanted a headveiling style that was attractive as well as comfortable and brought glory to the Lord rather than queries about denominations.
| Monday, September 26, 2005 | |
| When Religious Belief Becomes 'Child Abuse' |
It seems we are quite happy to force kids to ‘cover up’ for their own good but reluctant to force them to ‘uncover’ for their own good. And there are reasons why headscarves and ‘cover-up’ clothing are not necessarily good for young girls. Studies show higher rates of Vitamin D deficiency in women and girls who are kept covered and that’s before we get into the area of emotional and psychological health.
The fact that it is only girls who are treated this way makes it quite clear that it has more to do with misogyny than any real spirituality. Muslim boys can have bare heads and bare arms and bare legs; boys can feel the sun on their skin; boys can run free with uncovered legs …. But not girls. This is hardly fair in the land of the ‘fair go.’ I can accept an adult woman may choose to dress in this way but I believe that society has an obligation to protect young children from being forced into anything that may be detrimental to their physical, emotional or psychological health.
Little girls are being forced to dress in a way that can only serve to prevent them from feeling free and a part of the society around them. How much fun do you think it is to be covered up like this in the middle of a hot Australian summer? Not much I suspect, and yet we are prepared to go along with it completely ignoring the fact that schools have rules about uniforms that we demand everyone else follows.
The tradition of women covering their heads can be found in all patriarchal religions. In Corinthians I 11:3-10,16, St. Paul's views on the veil come across strongly: “Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonours her head - it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil... That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels... If anyone is disposed to be contentious, we recognize no other practice, nor do the churches of God.”
So, women have been wearing the veil to show submission to authority, to God and men! The veil was supposed to be a sign of modesty and chastity. Even in the Old Testament, removing the veil was seen as a way to humiliate a woman, punish adulteresses etc. (Numbers 5:12-18, Isaiah 3:16-17, Song of Solomon 5:7). Some Christian sects such as the Amish and Mennonites insist on females being veiled to this day, as a way of being modest and chaste and as a symbol of the woman's subjection to man and to God.
In times past, times that we would consider less enlightened, a woman could not enter a Christian church without covering her head; she would have to be ‘purified’ after giving birth, that miraculous and precious state considered to be unclean by a patriarchal society that feared, if not hated the feminine; she would not be allowed to enter a church while menstruating and would have to undergo a ‘cleansing’ ritual before she could return.
A woman’s hair was thought to represent passion, abandonment, sexuality …. all of the things that patriarchy and its religions sought to control if not punish and we can only be grateful that the modern, developed world, has moved on and left, in the main, such unpleasant beliefs and habits behind. Although, in many Catholic countries, women will still cover their heads before entering a church.
Still today, in some Jewish sects, women are forced to shave their heads and wear wigs. In ancient times, Jewish women would go out in public in a full veil as well, as a bare head was considered “nudity” and the woman could be fined a serious amount (Numbers 5:18, Isaiah 3:17, II Maccabees 4:6, Sus. 32). A man could even divorce his wife if she was found bareheaded in public.
In India the veil still holds sway, but then Hinduism teaches that women are inferior to men. Sanskrit literature is replete with instances where women have to wear veils. It is not surprising, as the laws of Manu clearly state that the status of women is completely dependent on the man. Hindu women are still prevented from entering a temple while menstruating and in orthodox Hindu and Buddhist religion, the presence of a woman is still seen as ‘polluting’ to a priest.
It’s all very unpleasant really and smells of patriarchal prejudice however it manifests; even in something so seemingly simple as girls wearing headscarves. Put on a headscarf for a week and make sure you buy synthetic, because that’s what most of them are made of, and make sure you wear it in the middle of summer, oh, and make sure you have your arms and legs covered and then go out and play sport and then make up your mind as to whether or not this amounts to a form of abuse.
Because the fact is, it is not just about little girls wearing a headscarf, it is about discrimination and prejudice inflicted on children who have no way of defending themselves. We discriminate when it suits us as to what ‘religious’ beliefs we will allow in our society so there are precedents well and truly set upon which we can make a decision to ban headscarves in the best interests of the children involved.
And that’s because it is not just about a simple headscarf; it is about an attitude, a belief in the inferiority of women; a belief in the evil of the feminine; a belief that women (and girls) must be controlled. In places like Pakistan and Bangladesh unveiled women are likely to have acid thrown into their faces. What does that say about the beliefs behind the habit of veiling?
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