Untangling the issues beneath the veil

When Jack Straw made his comments last week about women who veil, he probably thought it would win him a few votes amongst middle England. He may or may not have any idea of how the discussion would flare up in the media. It all seems to have gone crazy. Or has it? Is it just our dear friends in the media who have fanned the flames of an almost non-story?

What could have been an interesting community-binding discussion has by pretty much all parties led to a drawing of lines in the sand. What Jack Straw so cosily framed up as a passing remark about one small piece of cloth, has also sucked in numerous other issues like a hungry tornado.

With everyone throwing their fingers into the pie, what are really the points being raised?

Women who veil: why?
A lot of commentary has been along the lines of "I can't imagine what possesses these poor women to..."
I personally can't imagine what possesses English people to travel to the south of Spain on holiday to meet more English people and eat more English food; or what possesses men to dress in boring grey uniform suits; or why bald men think combovers will fool people into thinking they have hair.
But they do, there we have it.

Some women do indeed cover their faces because of cultural or family pressure. This is wrong. These women should be free to choose what they wear.

Some women choose freely to wear the veil. It may be because they feel that it is a religious requirement. It is for them to explore whether their faith really requires them to do so. Last time I checked in our democratic land, people were free to choose how they follow the legitimate and peaceful tenets of their religion. If we want a discussion on whether covering the face is a requirement for Muslim women within the scholarly debates of Islam, let's do it. But not from the starting point of "It's subtle patriarchy rearing its ugly head..."

Some women wear it because they feel it frees them from the strictures of this very visual superficial world where women have to be the right size and shape and dressed the right way in order to be validated. They feel that being covered up allows them to validate themselves for who they are.

Some women wear it to reclaim their religious rather than their cultural heritage. They found their parents who moved to the UK following a mix of religion and tradition which often didn't make sense, and found themselves having to maintain tradition in the name of religion. They find that wearing the veil allows them to reclaim the religion whilst rejecting the tradition.

Hijab vs Niqab
Only about 5% of Muslim women wear the niqab, the face veil. So we're creating a huge fuss about the way a very small number of women choose to dress. So, let's be honest, this isn't really about them, is it? If it was, the government and the bastions of the free world who are attacking the niqab and the poor defenceless women who wear it would be more concerned about providing them opportunities, about making Muslim women more economically active and about encouraging more Muslim women through education.

Many more women of course wear the hijab, the headscarf. Jack Straw says he defends the right of Muslim women to wear the hijab. Bravo Jack! But what if one day you decide that the lack of information about whether a woman's hair is straight or curly, long or short, will be a barrier to talking to her? What if once "our way" is to uncover the face, will it be a short step to telling Muslim women to take off their headscarves?

Most of the Muslim women who I know who wear the headscarf agree that it can be unnerving to interact with a woman who wears the niqab. Most of them don’t think it's a religious obligation to veil the face. If they did, then they would be veiling too.

But the way that Jack, the media and some of the public is framing up the debate, these women are forced to defend the niqab whilst thinking that it's probably not the right thing to do. They have to defend the women's right to wear a face veil, because that is tied to the right to wear a headscarf.

Oppression
In a lot of countries women are forced to wear the full veil. Yes, it's true. And that's wrong. Britain is not Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia. Thank goodness. That's why I live here and not there. The issues in those countries and in Britain are not comparable

Radicalisation
It's probably true that more women have started veiling in the last few years. But with a media frenzy like we're seeing in the last few days, can you blame people for trying to assert their identity? The rejection of the veil in the last few days will probably cause more women to cover their faces rather than less. It’s simple - if you attack the way people do things, then they get defensive.

It's just a debate and Muslims are being hyper-sensitive
Yes, Muslims are sensitive. But then we had three leading stories last Thursday about Muslims. We're only 2% of the population, we don't warrant this sort of attention all the time.

So, there was someone who wanted to change shifts on their job. I'm sure there was someone down the local video shop who wanted to do the same. Some cabbie didn't want a dog in the back of his car. I’m sure on Friday night there were a few cabbies who didn't want kids who had been out all night vomiting in the back of theirs. None of them made the news.

In one of my earlier pieces I talked about how it's now acceptable to say whatever you like about Muslims. This debate, alas, could have been a good one, but has fallen into line with the general hostile microscope on Muslims.

Separation
A piece of cloth probably no more than 30cm squared is a barrier? You can't walk down the street and smile at someone if it’s in the way, say the reports. Funny, I've stood on the tube in the rush hour, wearing my headscarf but no veil, and been pushed into someone's armpit. On worse days, I've had grubby hands on my behind. Being that close to some certainly hasn't fostered better relations. Nobody has smiled or said hello. In fact, it would be considered a miracle if you walked down the street in London and someone smiled at you. You'd probably think they were a bit tipsy or loopy. It's ridiculously immature to imagine a handkerchief is the cause of community separation.

The thing is, there is an issue, but it's a bit dim of a senior politician who has certainly been around the block to say removing it from a few women will solve our problems.

Muslims, including Muslim women who veil, need to take some responsibility. Instead of being shrinking violets, these women need to go out and talk to their neighbours. Invite the local women round and take off your veils in the privacy of your own home. Talk to them about food, children, work, holidays, magazines, films. Whatever.

Separation, does indeed cause fear. Ignorance causes fear. Human interaction is the kryptonite to both. So instead of being angry, sad or disappointed, Muslims need to talk to other people about very ordinary, mundane things. Take some iftar round to your neighbour whilst we're still in Ramadhan. Send them some halwa. Talk about the weather. It will work wonders.

"When people cover their faces it means violence"
Hoodies, bank robbers and Dick Turpin have all been quoted as to why British people apparently have a genetic mistrust of people with their faces covered.
On the other hand we quite like brides-to-be and surgeons.
The pre-conceived ideas are our problem, not that of the people veiling. Take some time out to see a shrink.

"This is our country, why can't they do things our way?"
Erm, this is our country too? A brief history lesson: the British empire came over to where my ancestors lived and gave them British passports. So the way I do things is the British way, because I am British. Most other people who consider themselves British are probably the same. Remember all those Saxons, Celts and so on? Other people's stories may be different, but we live here, we pay our taxes, and like it or not, we're British.

Britain has a history of change. The Brits didn't drink tea that long ago. It was sent over by the Indians. Didn't hear anyone complaining then. So why is the line being drawn now? Societies change, that's the way it is.

Have you tried wearing a face veil?
I have, I spent a day behind one in very hot weather. It's tough. It's hot. Nobody made me do it.

The most fascinating experience is that people have to LISTEN to what you are saying.

We should be doing more of the same.