Going back to the article Understanding the Niqab (see my blog post: The Blind Leading the Blind, further down on the list), the author says: How can the Islamic dress that guards the modesty and respect of the woman be accused of enslaving her?
One supporter included the following in her remarks: Maybe we should be teaching the future generations how to have self-respect and self-esteem rather than stripping away their rights to show a little modesty and devotion to faith.
According to conventional wisdom, which these women seem to follow, if everyone went about naked or scantily clad, society would fall apart because people would be tripping over each other to have sex, or at least their minds would be wandering from the task at hand. Someone, especially a woman, who dresses in non-form-fitting clothing and long skirts or pants rather than short ones is considered modestly dressed.
But is this really the case?
Ive looked up various definitions of modest and modesty. It encompasses the following: shyness, humility, lacking of self-confidence, respecting good taste or propriety, being reserved in sexual matters, unpretentiousness.
Good taste and propriety are necessarily relative. So is being reserved in sexual matters. Years ago, I would sometimes be skirting the limits of good taste when I made certain statements. Todays generation has me looking very much like an old fuddy-duddy. Nuff said.
Then there is shyness, humility, unpretentiousness. I suppose some might say a shy person will cover him- or herself up more than someone who isnt shy. Perhaps. But shy people usually dont want to draw attention to themselves. They will at least try to blend in. Therefore, a woman who wears a niqab in North America to demonstrate modesty may ironically be defeating the purpose.
Those who are simply too embarrassed to wear anything that covers less in order to draw less attention to themselves are stuck in a catch-22. And those who say they do it to make a stand for Islam or as a sign of personal empowermentarent being all that bashful, are they?
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SocialCO Media, LLC or True NudistsOne supporter included the following in her remarks: Maybe we should be teaching the future generations how to have self-respect and self-esteem rather than stripping away their rights to show a little modesty and devotion to faith.
According to conventional wisdom, which these women seem to follow, if everyone went about naked or scantily clad, society would fall apart because people would be tripping over each other to have sex, or at least their minds would be wandering from the task at hand. Someone, especially a woman, who dresses in non-form-fitting clothing and long skirts or pants rather than short ones is considered modestly dressed.
But is this really the case?
Ive looked up various definitions of modest and modesty. It encompasses the following: shyness, humility, lacking of self-confidence, respecting good taste or propriety, being reserved in sexual matters, unpretentiousness.
Good taste and propriety are necessarily relative. So is being reserved in sexual matters. Years ago, I would sometimes be skirting the limits of good taste when I made certain statements. Todays generation has me looking very much like an old fuddy-duddy. Nuff said.
Then there is shyness, humility, unpretentiousness. I suppose some might say a shy person will cover him- or herself up more than someone who isnt shy. Perhaps. But shy people usually dont want to draw attention to themselves. They will at least try to blend in. Therefore, a woman who wears a niqab in North America to demonstrate modesty may ironically be defeating the purpose.
Those who are simply too embarrassed to wear anything that covers less in order to draw less attention to themselves are stuck in a catch-22. And those who say they do it to make a stand for Islam or as a sign of personal empowermentarent being all that bashful, are they?