The same head-to-foot covering that many Westerners associate with oppression is what some Muslim women consider empowerment and liberation.
At a meeting at The University of Memphis Thursday entitled, “Women Behind the Veil,” guest speaker Shampa Mannan addressed the role of women in Islam, their traditional dress and other issues related to Islam.
During the fourth session of Islam Awareness Week, Mannan explained that Muslim women wear the veil and robes, the hijab, in compliance with Islam’s command to “draw your garments around you” in modesty, revealing only the face and hands.
“The hijab is for the protection of women,” Mannan said. “Modesty is the key, emphasized for both men and women.”
Mannan also compared the hijab to the robes of Catholic nuns.
“Why is it that when someone sees a nun, they think that she is religious and devoted, but when they see a Muslim woman, they think she is oppressed?” Mannan asked.
Other Muslim women who attended the meeting said they like the treatment they receive because of the hijab.
“We do not feel oppressed,” said Eboni Leake, a former U of M student who converted to Islam during her junior year. “We wear the hijab for modesty, and to be respected for who we are. The guys don’t talk in a way that would demean women when I’m around anymore, and if they do, they apologize.”
Another woman said she agreed she is treated with more respect because of the hijab.
“I feel like guys respect me because of my clothes, in the way they approach me and talk to me,” said Sadia Uddin, a U of M sophomore biology major, who moved from Bangladesh to the United States when she was two years old. “I feel that people look at me for who I am. I want them to notice how smart I am, not what I look like.”
The stigma the West has attached to Islam’s treatment of women is unfounded, said Mannan, who obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology at The U of M and received her master’s degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
“The Qur’an says women are equal with men in the eyes of God,” Mannan said. “It does not give men the right to abuse their wives.”
She went on to quote examples from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the teachings and actions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, which outline the rights of women.
Mannan said Islamic women have the right to refuse to marry a man they do not wish to marry.
They also have the right to work for pay equal with men and keep their earnings, to seek public position, and to initiate marriage and divorce.
These ideas directly conflict with several myths about Islam, according to Mannan, such as the ideas that women cannot work outside the home, choose their husbands or get a divorce.
Under the teachings of Islam, women can also own property and invest money, along with being allowed the freedom to voice their opinions and participate in community life.
And all women have a duty under the Qur’an to become educated, which many women have taken seriously. According to Mannan, many Muslim women are now receiving their college degrees before they marry.
“The countries that do not allow women these rights are not practicing Islam correctly,” Mannan said. “Here in America, we have the opportunity to practice Islam correctly.”
The final meeting of Islam Awareness week, entitled “Ask Anything about Islam,” will be held today in the University Center Faulkner Lounge from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
