BOOM OF VEIL AS CONSECUENCE OF INCREASING HARASSMENT CASES IN EGYPT
National Central University
Expository writing
Dr. Yamei Yang
Jessica Villasenor
100409908
Abstract
Egypt has being facing an increase in
sexual harassment cases. There is a range of probable causes for this
phenomenon. However, what is matter of this research is to prove the connection
between harassment and the boom of the use of veil between women. Concluding
results lead us to the understanding of the reason for women to believe that
the veil works as a protective shield from harassers.
Being one of the most influential
countries in the Middle East, Egypt has captured my attention long time ago.
Even thought it seems to be a country very far from the general points of
interest in our life, the truth is that I have been doing some research about
the political situation in this country since the uprising in 2011. In this paper
I will approach another aspect of Egypt, this is, the society. One of the most
exciting parts to study in a society is, undoubtedly, its traditions. I will
explore the reason for Egyptian women to use more the veil nowadays.
Since some years ago
Egypt is undergoing an increase in use of the headscarf commonly named veil. Nowadays
the 90% of the female population in the country has incorporated it in the
everyday outfit (Morsi, 2008). This
may not be a surprising fact since 90% of the population professes Islam and it is common for Muslim women to wear this veil. The data is more surprising when analyzing the recent history of the
peculiar cloth we find that it was not very popular in the last century. Thus,
in such a modern country as Egypt, what are the reasons for this phenomenon?
Throughout the reading of this research we will discover that male harassment
has a lot to do with this increasing usage of veil.
First at all and because is a core concept in my research, I must give a
clear definition about what veil
is. There are many kinds of dressing for Muslim women, as we can see from
Picture 1. In this research, I will mostly refer to hijab as it is the most
spread dressing custom in Egypt. Hijab is the general name for the traditional
scarf between Muslim women. Hijab comes from the Arab word Habana, which means
"hide from the sight", but the literal meaning is "curtain".
But for common usage, Hijab refers to the veil used to cover the hair. The
veil has been worn since many centuries before the Islam, but it was adopted by
the followers of Muhammad[1]
as sign of wealth and status. Prophet Muhammad believed
that wearing veil would be a protection against sexual temptations between
women and men. Nowadays, even though is not a mandatory issue in Egypt,
wearing veil is seeing as an honor measure, dignity nationalism and devotion to
Islam.
Picture 1 (Libertad femenina, 2011)
|
However, from the Prophet Muhammad’s epoch until now, the reasons to
wear the hijab are quite the same. In Joseph (2011) a woman is giving her
reasons to wear it, she is talking about “the establishment of a space of
contemplation of modesty and honest on a daily basis”, basically the same reasons
for Most of women in the country to wear it.
It is interesting to point out that in 1920 and 1930
the scarf fell out of favor between Arab women. However, it reappeared with a
renewed strength only 50 years after that. During the 1970, millions of
Egyptians migrated to the booming Gulf States for work, such as Saudi Arabia.
Some decades later, they went back to Egypt bringing the more
conservative traditions of that States. That is how the usage of veil was
“reintroduced” in Egypt. They not only brought the tradition of wearing scarf
but it also was the start of use of burqa, an inexistent phenomenon between
Egyptian women and that can only be explained because of the exposure of the
society to the more radical Gulf States customs. This is, in few words, the
history of the reintroduction of the niqab in Egypt.
Inquiring more about the reason for this phenomenon it is time to talk
about the modernization of the country. In Egypt the signals of modernization
are everywhere, from mobiles phones, internet to satellite dishes. A report from the BBC (2005) clearly explains
the changes Egypt underwent during this modernization process when explains
that the advent of pan-Arab satellite TV channels such as al-Jazeera in the
1990s provided Egyptians with high-budget programming and more open talk shows
on social and political issues. This subsequently produced changes in the
Egyptian media landscape. On TV and online,
cultural influences of the West duel with those of the conservative states of
the Persian Gulf. That, in turn influences Arab pop culture, which often
features scantily-clad divas and remakes of Western TV hits. Modernization
started playing an important role in male’s behavior.
It is generally accepted, as Hardy mentions that Islam and modernity are
simply incompatible (2002). Even though most the Egyptians had known how to
deal with it, there is a segment of the male population which had failed to
differentiate what is correct to do and what is not. Before anything, it is
necessary to cite some statistical data. Unemployment in Egypt has been
increasing since the 90s. It reached 15% in men younger than 35 in 2012 (Wali,
2011, p. 1). This means that a broad segment of male population has failed to
find a job and it has been known, as Stack (2008) accurate exemplifies it, as
the waiting generation. This
generation “has nothing to fill their lives except TV and the Internet...
Egyptians watch American actors do[ing] things that they cannot, like date or
have premarital sex…” (Stack, 2008. p.1).
These men see behavior that they cannot do because it is forbidden in
their society.
When combining the external influence and all the domestic problems,
such as the economical difficulties already present in the country we have social
problems like harassment.
When talking about
harassment I will refer to these 7 forms identified in the research “Clouds in
Egypt’s sky” (2008) of it, which are: touching, noises (Including
whistling, hissing noises, kissing sounds etc.), ogling of women’s bodies,
verbal harassment of a sexually explicit nature, stalking or following, phone
harassment, and indecent exposure. The
mentioned research also shows that the common age for harassers is between
19-24 years old. This age is ¿coincidentally? the same range of age for the
majority of unemployment man. The reasons for these men to harass a woman are the
belief that harassment works to satisfy the repressed sexual desires, make them
feel more masculine, more confident and stronger. The above explained are the reason for men to incur into harassment,
however, ¿what is the relation of these
factors with the veil? Religious campaigns have claimed, and we may
incorrectly assume that the veil may be an efficient protective shield for women
but the study reveals that there is no connection between the two facts. Picture
2 demonstrates it. For example, we may
think that a girl dressed like (2) or (4) would be more commonly harassed, but
contrarily it is not. The majority of harassed women wear like (1). Therefore, even though is a widely accepted belief,
the use of veil is not helpful when it comes to prevention of harassment.
Picture 2. Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights
(2008)
|
There is the generally-accepted belief that a good
Muslim has to wear the veil even thought is not a mandatory issue. According to
Caner (2005) the first followers of Islam adopted the veil because it was a
sign of respect for the religion and at the same time a sign of honor and
purity. In Egypt, the traditional thinking is that veil is a sign of modesty
and the beating of ego (Joseph, 2011). However, pressure from the media may
also influence women behavior to wear it. Picture 3 is one of the images of the
campaign “veil your lollipop” which hit the principal cities in Egypt in 2008.
The legend in Arabic shown on it could be translated into English as you can’t stop them, but you can protect
yourself. This campaign had the clear purpose of encourage women to wear
the scarf. It also reflects the old “blame the victim thinking” mentality, the
woman is blame of not being covered enough meanwhile the harasser is absolved
of his mistreatment of her. The image not only compares a woman to a candy than
can be licked, but also it uses the patriarchal thinking in which women are
seen as objects than can be covered. Finding
themselves in a disadvantage position with no
more apparent choice, women embraced it and incorporated it in their dressing style
on a daily basis.
Women in Egypt are turning back to
previous traditions in the pursuit for safety and as protection from men’s compulsions.
The common point of view of Egyptian Muslims toward
the veil is related to decency of woman as well as to avoid provoking men’s
instincts (Caner, 2005). However, even though veil is seen as a protective
shield for them, the facts prove the statement to be false.
As Shenker (2010) points out, many different
explanations for the increasing harassment cases in Egypt have been put forward
with varying degrees of credibility. Some blame Islam's attitude to women,
though harassment levels in Egypt seem to far outstrip those in other Muslim
countries. Others point to sexual frustration, which is certainly a factor in a
country where economic pressures are forcing many young people to wait longer
and longer before they can afford to marry and whose society has been exposed
to modern values from western countries. Whatever the main reason for the
increase of sexual harassment cases is, the reality is that whereas we do not
find it, it will be impossible to draw a plan to fight against it.
It is a pity
that not even the veil can help women in Egypt to be safer from harassers, but
it only confirms that the problem is deeper that what we think and the solution
for this situation can only be reached through long terms restructuring society
programs and extensive research about its causes.
Conclusion
Cases of harassment have being increasing in Egypt in
recent years. The causes for this phenomenon can be found within a broad range
of aspects, such as unemployment and deteriorated economical situation, effects
of the modernization, patriarchal thinking in Islam, for example.
Women have been
pushed to the return of the usage of the hijab because of the belief that it
can protect them from harassers. Religious campaigns have encouraged women to
wear it. However, concluding research about the topic shows that there is no
relation between the cloth a woman wears and the probability to be
harassed. Despite the fact that the situation is a pattern that is repeated on a daily basis, there is
not much done on the subject. In conclusion, the evidence is overwhelming and the
statistics alarming, the Egyptian Government can no longer close its eyes in
front of these kinds of situations that undermine the physical and moral
integrity of women. I hope the country can promptly overcome these events.
References
Abou, N. (2006, October 31). Fierce debate over veils
in Egypt. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/31/AR2006103100696.html
BBC NEWS. (2005, September
2). The media in Egypt. Retrieved January 04, 2013, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4199054.stm
Caner, E. M. (2005).
Voces detrás del Velo: el mundo del Islam y la mujer musulmana. Michigan:
Portavoz.
Hardy, R. (2002, July 16). Egypt: Crisis of identity. BBC News. Retrieved from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2002/islamic_world/2131219.stm
Joseph, S. (2011, May 24). Why do Muslim women wear the hihab? (Y. Klimchak, Interviewer)
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdp_1jIyKQ
Kuswandini, D. (August, 15 2012). Why some Muslim
women don't wear hijab? Jakarta Globe. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/talkback/why-some-muslim-women-dont-wear-hijab/538417
Libertad Femenina (2011, February 3) Estilo Mujeres Musulmanas. Retrieved from http://feministtruths.blogspot.tw/
Morsi, E. (2008). Babel Med. Retrieved from
http://eng.babel.net
Muhammad. (2013).
In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
January 04, 2013, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396226/Muhammad
Rights, T. E. (2008). Clouds in Egypt's sky.
Cairo: The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights.
Stack,
L. (2008, September 23). In Egypt, sexual harassment grows. The Christian
science monitor.Rertrieved from http://
www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2008/0923/p07s02-wome.html
Shenker, J. (2010, Setember 21) Tackling
sexual harassment in Egypt. Retrieved January 04, 2013 from
http://jackshenker.blogspot.tw/2010/09/tackling-sexual-harassment-in-egypt.html
Wali,
S. (2011, February 1). Egypt finds freedom-From sexual harassment. ABC News.
Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/egypt-protest-sexual-.harassment-women-drops-witnesses/story?id=1280463?page=2page=2#. UMNKMHfkLE4
[1] Muhammad, in full Abū
al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim (born
570, Mecca, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia]—died June 8,
632, Medina), founder of the religion of Islam, accepted by Muslims
throughout the world as the last of the prophets of God.
(Muhammad ,2013).
