{"id":138580,"date":"2019-04-08T23:56:44","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T05:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/?p=138580"},"modified":"2019-04-08T23:56:44","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T05:56:44","slug":"oppression-is-whatever-a-bodys-obliged-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/04\/08\/oppression-is-whatever-a-bodys-obliged-to-do.html","title":{"rendered":"“Oppression is whatever a body’s obliged to do”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The hijab<\/em> — the scarf-neck-head covering worn by some Muslim women — is not actually dictated per se<\/em> by the Koran, but is a traditional dress in some parts of the Muslim world that has been tied to religious and theocratic rulings. It’s controversial in a number of places as religious wear, and as Muslim<\/em> religious wear, but also as a sign of oppression against women in the Muslim world (and, as such, often conflated with other and more restrictive garb<\/a> to hide, mask, or enforce the modesty of women).<\/p>\n

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Ilhan Omar, in hijab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first article below demonstrates, though, that it’s not a matter of either-or. Some Muslim women (such as Ilhan Omar) wear hijab<\/em> as a sign of their religious devotion, and celebrate it as a personal freedom. Others, esp. those living in some Middle Eastern Muslim nations, have it forced on them by state law, and consider it as a constriction<\/em> of freedom.<\/p>\n

The conflict seems perfectly understandable to me, analogous to another example of religious identification. I know a number of Jewish people, especially women, who wear a Star of David as a necklace, as an expression of their religious belief. Nobody (aside from anti-Semites) thinks a thing of it, save perhaps observing how cool it is that someone can choose to wear the symbol openly and without government sanction.<\/p>\n

But if you had a law (as in Nazi Germany) where Jews were\u00a0forced<\/em> to wear a Star of David on their clothing to identify<\/em> them as Jews … that’s clearly oppressive.<\/p>\n

From there, it seems straightforward to celebrate that\u00a0 Muslim women who choose<\/span> to wear the\u00a0hijab<\/em>\u00a0have the freedom to do so … but to condemn nations who\u00a0mandate<\/span> that all women do so (or even more).<\/p>\n

Do you want to know more? <\/em><\/p>\n