Tea Talks: "The Veil, the Veil: How the World Become Obsessed with It?"

Dr. Umme Al-Wazedi, associate professor of English, will discuss the veil’s ancient and modern history and its resurgence in our time.

The Women's & Gender Studies Tea Talks feature faculty, staff and guest speakers on a range of topics.

Description: "The veil’s ancient and modern history and its resurgence in our time is an important subject for discussion for those of us posing new questions about women and Islam in literature, film, and fine arts. In Europe and the U.S., the veil is often presented through errors of conceptualizations. The media, in particular, seems to be obsessed with the role of the veil.

"Recurrently, these discussions run along essentialist and ahistorical lines associating Islam with the ideology of shame and honor. Moreover, the Muslim immigrant “problem” in Europe and the U.S. and the fear of Islam and Muslims in connection with terrorism has heightened the controversy on the issue of the veil.

"In France, the subject of women and Islam, and the veil in particular, has been highly politicized. In Denmark, as well, the veil is associated with the position of the Muslim women as marginalized and subjugated. While this is the case with Europe and the U.S., in South Asia, particularly in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the veiled Muslim woman represents a controversial and questioning position in the construction of the nation-state.

"My talk seeks to initiate a dialogue on the use of the veil in literature, film, and fine arts (photography, painting etc.) by analyzing and critiquing its use. How do we see the veil when it is talked about in the media, in the teaching of Islam, and in upholding it as a national symbol of a nation-state? Is the use and meaning of veil presented as natural or constructed; real or metaphorical; and religious or political?

"I intend to not only challenge the stereotypes but also go beyond the veil. Understanding the complexity of the use of veil as Fatima Amrani Zerrifi rightly says, “It may be a political, religious or cultural taboo that women are trying to dismantle, as it may be a mask, a site of resistance, a third space that women hide behind,” my talk's purpose is to problematize the danger of believing in a single story."