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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Moslem Ugly Headscarves Are New Fashion Craze in Iraq |
| 2004-12-30 |
| From The Washington Post They want to be invisible, these young women at Baghdad University explained. They were sitting in a small group -- five students with pale head scarves pulled tightly around their somber faces. They would not give their names. That would be crazy, they said. The whole point of wearing the scarves now was to be anonymous and unimportant, to avoid being singled out and followed, or kidnapped, or shot. It was more than a matter of blending in. It was a matter of disappearing into the landscape. "I put on the scarf because I wanted to walk in the street without fearing someone will kill me or kidnap me," said one of the women. " I want to finish my studies. Without the scarf I cannot. I heard rumors about killing women without a scarf. Why should I risk my life?" This is the new reality for many women in Iraq, Muslims and Christians alike. As the months have passed since the U.S.-led invasion, fewer women are daring to venture out without wearing a traditional Muslim head scarf, called a hejab in Arabic. In Baghdad, moderate Muslim women used to feel they had a choice whether to wear the scarf, even as religious oppression under Saddam Hussein grew over the past decade. Now, in many neighborhoods, it is hard to find a woman outdoors without a head scarf. Conservative Muslims believe that women should cover their heads to hide their beauty and not tempt the men who see them. Such instructions are spelled out in the Koran, the Islamic holy book. .... "Because of the current situation in the country, lack of security, the occupation and many other things, people started to look for a way to escape the terror," said Fadhil Shaker, a psychology professor at Baghdad University. "They want to hide or take shelter to protect themselves. For women, the scarf is the best way to protect them. Women believe the scarf will be the wall to prevent people from looking at them." |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #4 Maybe the women of Iraq should try it sometime. It's not like guns aren't available over there. I've been wondering about that myself. At what point will Muslim women say that enough is enough and fight back against the freedom-smothering BS they're constantly subjected to? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-30 6:02:49 PM |
| #3 OH NO! NOT LOOKING AT THEM! HORRORS! Amen to what you said, Barbara. |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-12-30 2:14:05 PM |
#2 The scarf helps me to walk in the street freely."I've found my S&W .357 magnum does that for me. Maybe the women of Iraq should try it sometime. It's not like guns aren't available over there. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-12-30 12:23:19 PM |
| #1 No real surprise here - Islam's religious warriors have set up shop in Iraq - conducting summary executions and butchering anyone - including Muslims - who disagrees with them. When these men are killed, captured or cowed into submission, the scarves will come off. For such men, a woman's act of not wearing a scarf is an affront to them. In time, these scum will be scoured from Iraq. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-12-30 12:18:39 PM |