What Not To Wear?: Muslim Women Teach Us About American Values Amy ...
Source: www.iwpr.org
Topic: What Not To Wear
Sort Desciption: What Not To Wear?: Muslim Women Teach Us About American Values. Amy Caiazza Ph.D. Director of Democracy Programs. Institute for Womens Policy Research ...
Content Inside: What Not To Wear?: Muslim Women Teach Us About American Values Amy Caiazza Ph.D. Director of Democracy Programs Institute for Womens Policy Research caiazza@iwpr.org American Muslim women rarely have a spotlight in the media and popular culture with one exception: when non-Muslims are debating their roles. But if we listen to their real voices we will hear about something quite different: patriotism civic responsibility and the need to speak for ourselves. Last month British politician Jack Straw stated publicly that he does not want to meet with veiled Muslim women. He argues that the veil is distracting to the human connection needed for real conversation. His comments have sparked local and international controversy about Muslim womens dress roles and assimilation into British society. U.S. coverage of the Straw incident echoes other stories about Muslim women from the past five years. We only hear about Muslim women when we can talk about their oppression. After September 11 we read about the treatment of Afghan women under the Taliban. Coverage of the Middle East including Iraq follows the same script: women in Muslim countries are far more disadvantaged than they are in the United States. While certainly women under the Taliban experienced extreme forms of oppression it is not true that all Muslim women live the lives suggested by this stereotype. Exhibit A: American Muslim women. We rarely hear about them but we certainly apply the same stereotypes to their lives. In a set of interviews with Muslim women activists from all over the U.S. I heard repeatedly that non-Muslims assume that they are silent oppressed and docileespecially if they wear a veil or scarf. But American Muslim women are far from silent. In fact since the period since 9/11 many have taken on newly public and visible roles in their communities. They are working as activists for social justice and religious understanding. They are building new connections across lines ...
amy caiazza,
values of muslim