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Andrew Brock assignment 11

In her essay, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and its Others, “ Lila Abu-Lughod argues that discourses on humanitarianism and human rights in the 21st century rely in some way on constructions of Muslim women. The”Veil” Abu-Lughod speaks of in her essay is the burqa muslim women are forced to wear and the connotations attributed to it. Abu-Lughod states that. It is common popular knowledge that the ultimate sign of the oppression of Afghan women under the Taliban and the terrorists is that they were forced to wear the
burqa. She also states how Liberals sometimes confess their surprise that even though Afghanistan has been liberated from the Taliban, women do not seem to be throwing off their burqas. Not only liberals are guilty of this thinking but the general populace as well. When one that does not understand the meaning behind wearing the burqa views a woman wearing one it is typically assumed it is due to the woman being forced to wear it. While most keep silent about their displeasure or confusion about women wearing burqas some can be a bit extreme. Many accounts of women wearing burqas being called terrorists and people ripping the burqas off of women’s heads have occurred in recent times. For these women to truly be saved they need to be given equal rights and respect. As long as the wearing of burqas is attributed to a forced woman with no rights they will never gain the respect they deserve. Some muslim men even support the idea that this way of dress means these women dont deserve respect and that these women are truly not equal to others. This way of thinking and the ones that support this way of thinking need to stop for muslim women to truly be free.