Ideas of morality

‘Women ‘s rights are at the Centre of moral and theological conflicts for power, non simply in societies that are spiritual, but in societies that identify as layman ‘ . Discourse this statement doing elaborate mention to recent political, journalistic and academic treatments about spiritual patriarchate.

Question Two:

“ O you Children of Adam! We have bestowed on you raiment to cover your shame every bit good as to be an adornment to you. But the array of righteousness, that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah, that they may have warning. ” ( Qu’ran 7:26 )

The issue of adult females ‘s rights is a tight web of issues that finally come into contact with thoughts of morality. However, morality is tied up with power. Whomever is the most moral is the most righteous, so whoever gives adult females the greatest rights and liberty must the most right and enlightened society. The head covering is used as symbol of subjugation in the West and as an illustration of the retardation and immorality of Islam. Yet, the other liberating issue of the head covering are ignored in this conflict of power, and both sides ignore their patriarchal systems of domination.

The Western women’s rightist rhetoric which discusses Muslim adult females ‘s rights echoes the discourse of Orientalism. Edward Said in his critical work Orientalism brought to the head the discourse known as Oriental studies, in which he deeply criticises the rhetoric of the manner in which the Western universe has characterised the Orient. Said believed that our alleged cognition of the East is non produced from facts, but from preconceived originals in which project all ‘Eastern ‘ societies are seen as similar to one another and dissimilar to ‘Western ‘ societies. This Oriental cognition is collected by Western ‘experts ‘ of whom reflect small apprehension of the Middle East. Often attributed to Michel Foucault, Said emphasised the relationship between power and cognition in scholarly and popular thought, in peculiar sing European positions of the Islamic Arab universe. Oriental studies works as “ a Western manner for dominations, restructuring, and holding authorization over the Orient. ” ( p.3 Orientalism ) Said contended that the Orient and the Occident worked as oppositional footings, and that the Orient was constructed as a negative inversion of Western civilization. This inversion of Orientalism serves a intent of enforcing a structural power over the Orient “ this [ is a ] flexible positional high quality, which puts the Westerner in a whole series of possible relationships [ over ] the East without of all time losing him the comparative upper manus. ” ( p. 7 Orientalism ) Hence, the Orient is constructed in analogues to the Occident ; the Orient is female and flaccid and the West is male and penetrating, the Orient is irrational whereas the West is rational. Much in the manner that adult females have been othered the Orient has been othered. The East is where the analogue of the West lies, and the Orient serves the West as a hegemonic tool ; this excessively can be said for the Western position of Muslim adult females. It seems as though modern secular reading of the place of Muslim adult females replicates the discourse of Orientalism but in a really different manner. Muslim adult females are seen as in demand of being ‘saved ‘ by the West ; they are in demand of being saved by civilized Western adult females in order to go more broad and thence better. The discourse of the head covering comes into drama ; the head covering represents a cardinal statement of the intervention of adult females in Islam and work forces ‘s positional high quality over them. However, in the West the head covering is seen as holding a remarkable significance, but to Muslim adult females the head covering has a assortment of significances and these personal and cultural significances are normally overlooked in mainstream Western secular media. These significances are submerged and drowned by media crazes and our misgiving of the ‘other ‘ . The head covering is demonised, justly or wrongly, as a barbaric pattern which oppresses Muslim adult females, although the erosion of the head covering is a far more complicated pattern so it is normally given recognition.

“ significances attributed to the head coverings are non endemic to the head covering itself ; instead, they are produced through cultural discourse and huge webs of societal relationships. Social patterns that imbue the head covering with cultural significance include the rhetoric of spiritual elites who equate veiling with spiritual devotedness. ” ( p 397, V or NV )

Certain cultural symbols frequently come under onslaught. The head covering has been positioned, by those with certain Western dockets, as the most obvious cultural symbol of adult females ‘s subjugation. Certain Islamic women’s rightists, such as Fatima Mernissi, see the head covering as both the physical and spiritual separation of work forces and adult females.

“ Reducing or absorbing this construct to a bit of fabric that work forces have imposed on adult females to veil them when they go into the street is genuinely to impoverish this term, non merely to run out it of its significance. ” Mernissi goes on to state that the hijab descended from Heaven to divide the infinite in between two work forces. In the Qu’ran there is a poetry which states that after the Prophet Muhammad married his married woman Zaynab Bint Jahsh some invitees outstayed their welcome while the Prophet wished to be entirely with his new married woman. This annoyed the Prophet greatly, one time the invitees had left he drew a drape or a ‘hijab ‘ between himself and another male comrade. Mernissi sees this poetry of the hijab as non the separation between adult male and adult female, but alternatively the hijab descended “ between two work forces ” ( p. 85 Mernissi ) Mernissi believes that the poetry has been misinterpreted as the word ‘hijab ‘ can non merely be described as ‘to fell ‘ but besides every bit simply ‘curtain ‘ . She feels that Muslim adult females have been forced and influenced to wear the head covering in a obscure reading of the poetry. It has been interpreted particularly as a ground to implement the physical separation of adult females from society, as an unseeable, neuter entity devoid of all power, every bit good as devoid of a human face. The head covering can be seen as dividing adult females from their humanity, and their humanity is based on their gender. The head covering is seen as holding several oppressive significances ; the head covering fells and ‘smothers ‘ muliebrity ( thirty-two Bullock ) , it is besides seen as rising a impression of the male-female duality to which work forces are superior and adult females are inferior. It can propose that a adult female ‘s topographic point is in the place as exterior of the place they are forced to cover their face. The head covering is besides seen as stand foring an oppressive and dogmatic position of morality associating in with adult females ‘s pureness. The head covering is seen as “ linked in to a bundle of subjugations adult females in Islam face, such as privacy, polygyny, easy male divorce, unequal heritage rights, and so on. ” ( Bullock, xxxii ) and this bundle of subjugations include the exclusion of adult females from work forces, which is finally expressed in the donning of the head covering. In the West the head covering is a symbol of atrocity and retardation, it is believed to be morally incorrect to cover adult females because it is seen as a misdemeanor of their rights and as a tool to implement their dehumanization. Religion is normally associated with dogmatic spiritual patriarchate and the more oppressive the faith treats its adult females it can be seen as the more backwards and ignorant the faith is portrayed. In the West adult females are equal and are allowed to make as they please and are treated as work forces ‘s opposite numbers, instead than as their retainers ; but is this a simplistic and deceptive position of adult females ‘s place both in the ideological East and in the ideological West.

The head covering is seen as this oppressive symbol and as portion of a broad strategy of power control and subjugation, nevertheless, this is a really simplistic position of the head covering. Womans in the Islamic word wear head coverings for a assortment of different grounds the head covering is non remarkable it represents a whole manner of life and there are different ways of believing about the head covering. Yes, the head covering can be forced upon adult females and I do non debate the inappropriateness of forceful coercion but more and more immature, liberal-minded Muslim adult females are taking up the head covering once more in the West where their female parents would non hold done so. This phenomenon is non entirely based on force and/or ignorance. The head covering is a mark of piety, as a guard against work forces, as concealing oneself, and as a manner to link with their Islamic individuality ; many Muslim adult females find the head covering as liberating: “ I feel more free. Particularly work forces, they do n’t look at your visual aspect – they appreciate your rational abilities. They respect you. ” ( p.405 V or NV )

Islam has a essentialist position of work forces and adult females and although it can be viewed that Islam portrays work forces as superior and adult females as inferior adult females do non have on the head covering as a mark as their lower status. Alternatively they wear the head covering in order to protect themselves from work forces and their lecherousness ; work forces are “ peculiarly vulnerable to corruptness through unregulated sexual contact with adult females. ” ( p. 399 V or NT ) Women must protect their gender from work forces and non because they are peculiarly lubricious themselves but because they are cherished, because “ adult females are like diamonds ” ( p. 404 V or NV ) The head covering can be considered emancipating in the sense that work forces are seen as a menace to adult females, because work forces are basically unable to command their sexual impulses adult females must protect themselves. Womans are besides seen as a cherished trade good, so they can non demo their beauty and their muliebrity to simply anyone. However, the essentialist thought of work forces and adult females can easy be translated to Muslim adult females in the West. Although there is a difference between a Western thought of maleness ( although masculine thoughts are really varied ) and the Islamic thought of maleness there is still an overruling impression that work forces are a menace to adult females.

Work force are still, arguably, in control of adult females ‘s gender and utilize it as a arm against adult females. Women must either be sexless and maintain themselves pure for work forces or they must undermine into sexual force per unit area and have sex with work forces whether or non they truly want to, because work forces see it as their right to hold sex. Although the head covering can be seen as work forces commanding adult females ‘s gender the head covering can besides be seen as a sort of release from being perceived as a strictly sexual object. Womans in the West see themselves as free because their gender is by and large non oppressed, nevertheless it can be said that adult females are now pressured to give sex for ‘free ‘ . Womans are besides forced to conform to really high criterions of female beauty, and the less that they conform to these criterions the less value adult females have in society. Muslim adult females who wear the head covering, nevertheless, can non be judged on superficial beauty because they can non be seen and in some ways they can travel more freely in societal and rational groups. If a adult female can non be devalued because of her visual aspect or age so, theoretically she can derive greater liberty, and if non autonomy so surely she can derive greater societal regard. Besides the more restrained a adult female ‘s gender is the more value her gender has, so if adult female chooses non to hold sex and is non pressured into giving up her gender easy by society the higher place she has up in society. Restraint of gender can compare to power if it is done by the adult female ‘s ain admittance. The easier sex is to obtain in society so the less value adult females have ; this is why Muslim adult females who wear the head covering can see themselves as cherished ( if they pattern abstention and no sex before matrimony ) . This is because adult females are cherished, because they are pious and keep their gender they are able to derive hubbies who would look after them, so that they have the option to work or non work forces are “ supposed to take attention of [ their married womans ] ” ( p. 486 Inter G ) . Yet is societal regard to the same or greater value than liberty? It seems that most Muslim adult females would believe so, and most Western adult females would believe that it is non. “ For illustration, the Victorian lady had small liberty but comparatively high regard, compared to the call miss who has more liberties but small regard ” ( p 326 the R of V )

It seems that adult females ‘s gender and what controls it depends really much on what society one occupies. Western adult females tend to see Muslim adult females as controlled by their hubbies and confined to the kingdom of the place, whereas Muslim adult females can see Western adult females as giving their cherished gender for free and put on the lining the loss of regard of work forces and loss of societal regard as a consequence. By Orientalizing the head covering and the adult females who wear them we have risked fring the apprehension of the head covering as authorization ; we see the West as progressive in comparing to the East, specifically when compared with Islam, hence, merely a progressive civilization can advance any feeling of empowerment towards adult females.

The head covering is closely related to the rhetoric of control, work forces can non command their ain gender, hence adult females must have on the head covering but besides in a negative sense the head covering can be seen as a tool of control. [ put someplace ] What one must gain is that the head covering is political and non spiritual, because the head covering has been ignored in some parts of the Muslim universe and is non ever seen as a critical portion of a Muslims adult female ‘s religion ; she is still a Muslim whether or non she chooses to have on the head covering.

On balance, although the head covering can so be seen as mark of subjugation it is besides a mark of release against the gender of adult females. Some Muslim adult females wear the hijab out of protest and disapproval of the commodification of adult females ‘s organic structures, particularly in the West. However, this impression of the head covering as protection is based on on an essentialist model of society where work forces and adult females are basically different, and even if the differences between work forces and adult females are socially constructed adult females still need to protect themselves from this pitiless building of work forces. Work force who colza and maltreatment, work forces who use adult females for their ain sexual appetencies, and they must be forced to get married and look after adult females if they want their sexual impulses to be fulfilled. The head covering so so forces work forces to look at the homo within the adult female because they get so distracted with sex that they can misapply adult females easy and see them as strictly sexual existences. Yet the head covering besides represents another side to this statement because work forces can non, or will non, see adult females without cut downing them to sexual objects adult females are forced to take up the head covering. Womans are forced to protect themselves and work forces have no function in commanding themselves, it is their ain duty to guarantee that work forces do n’t happen them attractive. For us ( the West ) that is a brutal impression of work forces, adult females should be free and independent and allowed to make as they please ; it is an skip of adult females ‘s human rights and is high immoral. Yet if the statement is inverted so Western adult females should hold a good difficult expression at their ain topographic point in society, Islam requires work forces to look after and supply for their married womans, Muslim adult females do non ever see it their concern to work unless it is required of them. Whereas in the West adult females are expected to work and to take attention of the place and kids, whereas work forces are expected to work but it is non their function to make more than the lower limit when it comes to household and place life. Western adult females are pressured into sexualizing themselves. Although it is critical that Muslim adult females need to see themselves as homo instead than as sexual objects that need to be wholly covered so that work forces will take them earnestly possibly Western adult females should halt seeing themselves as sexual objects which are merely ‘liberated ‘ if they satisfy the sexual eyes of work forces. We have Orientalised Muslim adult females as inferior to our Western secular values, yet Muslim adult females are no more nescient or, blindly or non, caged within their ain society than we are. Whomever gives adult females the most rights and freedom is seen to be the most moral society, yet morality is equated with power. The most moral is the most merely, and the most merely can warrant holding power an rule over other civilizations. The issue of adult females ‘s rights net incomes work forces and societies, non merely adult females.

“ In Western states, adult females have a ternary load of place, kids and work. It is truly work forces who are liberated in the West. ”