先看些资料。伊斯兰世界,面纱、头巾跟男人的缠头布一样,是一个神圣的象征。它到底是让女人更显神圣、不容侵犯还是被奴役受压抑的象征?这个问题没有答案让面纱更具魅力。
The veil remains an intriguing and often abused aspect of Eastern culture and politics. It is the single most complex symbol that stands between empowerment and oppression, between the Western woman and her Eastern counterpart.
The veil makes an ambivalent statement: even as it is a sign of women’s enslavement, it is also a custom firmly entrenched in the female psyche. Laj or sharm, intrinsic to the practice, persist because of connotations of “honour” in their observance. Many women go further and choose to veil themselves as a sign of Islamic defiance to the rapid embrace of globalization and Westernization.
The veil series is a captivating body of work by photographic artist Sara Shamsavari, celebrating the way young Muslim women in London, Paris and New York express their individuality through vibrant hijab styles. The exhibition is part of the Women of the World Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall until March 29.
In a video for Le Figaro, Pascale Boistard was asked if she was against the wearing of head scarves at university, and said that she was. She was asked if the government should take formal measures, to which she said it was up to university presidents to talk to students about the issue, but added: “I’m not sure the headscarf is part of higher education.”
Elsa Ray, spokeswoman for the Collective against Islamophobia in France, said she found Boistard’s comments surprising and very disappointing. She said any ban on headscarves would be unconstitutional and against freedom of expression enshrined in law. She was surprised that “at a time of rising Islamophobia, the only response of government, instead of protecting Muslim citizens, is to propose a measure that directly targets Muslims”.
University presidents have been clear that discriminating against students in headscarves is illegal. “I don’t see in what name we would ban young women for expressing their religious convictions, including in universities,” Jean-Loup Salzmann, head of France’s conference of university presidents, told France Inter radio.
There are chapters concerned with the equation of the veil with devotion. Veiling is part of religions other than Islam such as Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism and even Christianity where surrender to God is thus inculcated. Here goddesses and priestesses are veiled as much as sacred objects and icons: the tabernacle at Mt. Sinai, the Ka’aba which is the holiest shrine at Mecca, statues of the Virgin Mary are supreme instances. The veil becomes a symbol of wisdom and, as shown by Desiree Koslin in her analysis of the veiling of Christian nuns, also a means of distinction between the sacred and the profane.
As Maliha Masood – an award-winning writer in creative nonfiction – puts it, “My Hijab gave me refuge from prying stares and possibly averted more serious dangers. It adopted me at subway stations and rejected me in trendy cafés. It has kept me warm on cold winter nights, it has wowed, titillated, and amazed, and it has also made me laugh, dance, sulk, and complain. As with most relationships, my Hijab and I have had our spats and dramas. These days, we’re in a mellow groove, content to leave each other alone, but always on the lookout for a rousing debate”.
The veil, in sum, can be whatever one wants it to be.