å Sunday, April 30th, 2017

Lila Abu-Lughod writes a very matter-of-fact and powerful essay on Muslim women and if they need “saving”. Her purpose of the essay is not only to educate those who are ignorant or unaware of intricacies that go into veiling in Muslim countries, but also to argue that the Western way is not always the best way. She has a problem with the fact that Americans have construed this idea of Muslim women needing help, that the fact that they cover themselves means that these women have lost female agency and their voice. Americans think that because Afghan women did not tear off their burqas upon liberation, their oppression must run so deep that they must not understand how oppressed they are. Contrary to this belief, says Abu-Lughod, even if liberation let women choose whether to cover themselves or not, most Afghani women would choose to cover themselves in some way or another, perhaps more modestly. The burqa is tied to individualistic, societal, cultural and religious meaning. The author believes Americans have an “obsession” with the veil, and that there are more pressing issues to deal with when concerning ourselves with Muslim women.

While she does not come out and say it verbatim, I think Abu-Lughod would argue that Americans need to take a look at and criticize their own social issues before trying to make other countries their “project”. Ideas of globalization lead to a moral and social sense of superiority over the “others” that need saving. The fact is, Muslim women are not necessarily the ones coming out and asking for help. Further, the author says she does not know of one non-American woman that has ever said they wish to be more like American women. In order to present a case for female agency in any country, one must understand the significance of cultural difference and learn to accept that what is appropriate in other countries through customs and rituals is quite frankly, none of our business.

This conversation about Muslim women is as relevant now as it was 15 years ago, specifically because as a culture we still have no more understanding about Muslim women and the terror of their presence. Terror may seem excessive, but burqas on the beach seem to be an issue in the current French presidential elections which makes it seem like maybe it is us and not them that are we should be afraid of. Additionally, it has become common for some women to joke about the seclusion a burqa would provide, as if they would finally know what it feels like to walk down the street without being harassed.

The veiled woman has variations and although looking at it as a uniform, worker versus housewife, may seem oppressive, most women follow some sort uniform whether business casual or high fashion. To encourage or require a Muslim woman to unveil for her ‘comfort’ also known as our comfort seems equally reductive because issues of equality are more deeply rooted than clothing and remaining focused on clothes is like expecting a band aid to heal a broken bone. Abu-Lughod presents an excellent question when discussing liberating Afghan women, what do we do if liberation means something different to them, and when our need to fix things out weighs our understanding.

Our superiority driven desires to ‘save’ people is patronizing, but more than that it often seems like a short cut. If you can’t be bothered to do the work of learning about a culture and/or what your role in it is, but you can open a door to Westernize someone you are removing that person’s agency. It is only another role of expectations that the person had nothing to do with assuming, but is now left with the responsibility of maintaining. I agree in it being more valuable to shift the focus to demilitarizing and peacekeeping, but there is so much money to be made in a perpetual war state that I can’t imagine how it will change.