Reinventing the Veil

The veil worn mostly by Muslim women, though extremely symbolic in Islam often evoked various responses from the populace and are occasionally misunderstood. In this article, ‘Reinventing the evil’, Leila Ahmed revisits her childhood memories as a young Muslim girl living in Cairo who though was not obliged to use the veil is now wondering why most Muslim women are resorting back to the veil.  

Leila Ahmed asserts that most of the Muslim women who wears the veil are often misunderstood by the society they lived. Professor Leila Ahmed further ascertains that most of these Muslim women as a result are slowly adopting the ‘hijab’ (head covering and concealing garments) as a response to such criticism in what the professor describes as a ‘quite revolution’ by the Muslim women.

As writer of Islam and feminism, Leila Ahmed gives an account and analyzes the various ways in which the American public understood the renaissance of the hijab. Leila Ahmed wonders why even some young and educated Muslim women living in Western countries were opting for the wearing of the veil which was largely considered a symbol of oppression to women.

 She partly attributes this to the increasing spread of Islam in most parts of the world prompting the use of the hijab to signify a deep rooted brotherhood in the Muslim world. Leila Ahmed further ascertains that as a result of the revolution and the reintroduction of the hijab, most of the immigrants who during childhood did not use the veil or go through some Islamic teachings are currently encouraging their children to pursue Islam education.

Leila Ahmed further reiterates that for sometimes now, the true meaning and intention of the veil was lost especially in the western world, but affirms that the situation has since changed. Leila Ahmed ratifies that some of the western societies still view those women who wear veils as ‘backward’ while those who don’t are termed ‘advanced’. In conclusion, this article by Leila Ahmed enables her to discover that the veil was not actually a symbol of women oppression as most western opponents assumed, but rather a symbol of Muslim brotherhood and a deep rooted pride.