I just realized, from watching Little Mosque today, that one thing I find raelly dissonant about hijab is that Muslim women generally cover their heads when out in public, but they will bare their heads when at home, including in front of their father and/or brothers.
Intellectually I can accept that's What's Done. But when I really think about it and try to identify with the situation, I find it very strange to expose to your father a part of your body that you aren't willing to expose in public. There is no analogy or equivalent in my own life experience. Yes, I'll wear my pyjamas or a bathrobe in the presence of my father, but that doesn't actually expose any of my body, it's just highly informal. If I'm wearing a cami and planning to put a shirt on over top and my father knocks on my door while I'm dressing, I'll make him wait until I've put on and buttoned the shirt - he doesn't get to see me in my cami if that's not what I'm exposing to the general public.
I just have no frame of reference for showing your father a part of your body that you keep hidden from the public. Covering your head, your face, your whole body, I grok that. You can't date, no physical contact with the opposite sex, I grok that. Putting a scarf over your head to go shopping and then taking it off when you get home to your father, just too much for my puny little brain.
2 comments:
well, i think you get it wrong . Of course we dont wear hijab in front of fathers and brothers but that doest mean in any way that we "undress " in front of them !!
its just we wear what we feel comfortable in at home..but imagine having to dress in a certain way at your home in front of your father!! to understand this more you should know more about what islam is based on.
i spent a long time not wearing hijab but wearing it is the best thing i ve ever did,its that feeling of being so precious , free and comfortable that ive never felt before. there are many reason why we wear hijab ,if you want i can send them to you .
That's what makes it so fascinating, it's this whole concept that doesn't exist in my life. In my life, the standard of modesty I maintain in public is the standard of modesty I maintain in front of my father. I have no nuances at all! Medical and sexual situations aside, if I'm fully dressed, I'm dressed, and I am comfortable, no matter who is in the room. If I'm not fully dressed, I'm undressed, and I'm uncomfortable, no matter who is in the room. It's black and white for me. You've got this whole range of types of modesty that I don't even have language for, which is so cool! I love concepts that exist outside of language!
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