Where Burqas Meet Strippers

Could the traditional burqa-clad woman and the modern Western exotic dancer be two sides of the same coin?

Think about it:

The tradition of the burqa/headscarf is the product of a patriarchal system that is geared towards and tailored to pleasing men by placing the responsibility of curbing male lust primarily upon women.

Similarly, the modern stripper is the product of a patriarchal system that is geared towards and tailored to pleasing men by catering to that lust.

Both are designed to sustain the dynamics of a male-dominated society.

Both presume and maintain the status of women as sexual objects -- whether it's by having them covered from head to toe, or exposed from head to toe -- depending on whether the men in the immediate environment want to curtail their seemingly uncontrollable sexual urges or exercise them.

In effect, the burqa fosters the objectification of women just the same -- but in reverse.

Both can be seen as insulting not only to women, but to men, perpetuating the stereotypical notion that men have virtually no self-control over their testicular physiology, and no discretionary sense.

That said, many women who choose to wear the burqa/headscarf or be exotic dancers do so out of choice, pleasure, and sometimes, for liberation. Whether we agree with their views or not, these choices, like anything else, are personal and individual, shaped by many complex circumstantial and environmental factors.

We have heard women who defend the burqa/headscarf say that women who choose to uncover themselves are treating themselves as commodities.

We have also heard women who oppose the burqa/headscarf say that women who cover themselves are oppressed.

President Obama defended the rights of women who choose to wear the headscarf in his speech in Cairo.

President Sarkozy, on the other hand, has declared unequivocally that burqas are not welcome in France.

Muslims have come out in large numbers in the past to protest bans on headscarves in France and Turkey.

However, there hasn't been any organized protest from them against the mandatory imposition of headscarves in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Headscarves, strippers, burqas, bans, mandation, objectification, oppression... where can we get some consistency?

Only from the same core values that have always been consistent when we've faced these kinds of complex social issues:

Equality and Choice.

I am not opposed to a woman's choice to wear a burqa. Nor am I opposed to a woman (or man) choosing to be an exotic dancer. I am in opposition only to the idea of banning any individual from choosing the life they want to lead -- whatever we may think of it.

Follow Ali A. Rizvi on Twitter: www.twitter.com/aliamjadrizvi

Comments

[bismillah001]

Ali,

"The tradition of the burqa/headscarf is the product of a patriarchal system that is geared towards and tailored to pleasing men by placing the responsibility of curbing male lust primarily upon women."

This assumption deserves to be interrogated. The Muslim world community is comprised of hundreds of hundreds of ethnicities and cultures, each with its own history, social norms and interpretations of Islam. The way the burqa is understood in Java, for instance, will be far different than in Morocco, or Turkey. Even within Saudi Arabia,its meaning will be different in the east than in the west.

Another factor is social class / affluence. In Lahore, for example, the burqa has historically been a signifier of wealth and class, worn by upper-class women while lower class women wore simple headscarves.

Colonial history has been hugely important. For France, for instance, colonial occupation in Algeria was coupled with an intense campaign to gain control of the Algerian Muslim woman (and thereby the Algerian man) specifically by unveiling her (such explicit intent was articulated by the French authorities; this is not just an interpretation of their policies).

All these myriad factors influence the unique way one group of Muslims relates to the burqa. I think your characterization of what the burqa represents fails to acknowledge this crucial fact, and insinuates that the burqa or headscarf, at its core, has some essential, monolithic meaning. From a social science point of view, that is irresponsible and inaccurate.

[orangepetal]

Finally.
Now, as a woman, I don't care about protecting or catering to men's lust. I guess it is not relevant to my world. Personally I care little for exotic dancing or obsessive morality, but am also not really offended by either.
I am offended though by insinuations that I lack some perceived morality on my turf. This is a very popular theme by hijab wearers or impossers or preferers. If that's how you feel fine, but keep it private. I don't want to hear it. Another thing is, there is a huge difference in choosing something or having it imposed. A poor western girl who dances is often not at all self-concious about her body, she probably makes excellent money and likes that. There are usually other options like serving or even cleaning that a woman can always find if she is really desperate and modest. On the otherhand a woman brought in from the Ukraine by savage men and forced to perform favors is a whole other story. So choice is crucial. Also, marrying off girls to middle aged men and giving girls hell for daring to love, kind of does not quite seem vituous to me. WE'VE ALL got issues, so let's refrain from the holier than thou vibes. This is extremely brief, I'm aware there are complexities involved in the various issues.
And nobody really cares what anyone wears, with people being blown to pieces everyday, there are more important things to care about.

[Usama]

God even mentions that those who have deviant thoughts towards women who are modest and cover thems have sickness in their heart. Showing pictures of some woman wearing a burqa exposing her legs is disgraceful. It reveals the same desire to objectify and denigrate women who choose to be modest. Disgraceful.

[DCX2]

Surely the woman in the picture was aware of the exposure of her legs. Chances are, she was choosing not to be modest. The moral of the post was that a woman can choose to do whatever she wants to do, and if she finds it erotic to juxtapose the burqa with some leg, then more power to her.

It's hard to objectify someone who is encouraging you to look.

[larry278]

There is a lot more room in a burqa for folding money, gold coins too, than there is in or on a strippers garter or g-string.

[ModernTimes1]

Not to mention sneaking in a case of Heineken to a soccer game

[HPdevotee]

For many western women who have seen their mothers, grandmothers and many other woman fight and SUFFER for the rights we women now enjoy, the burqa resonates deep within us as disrespect to our status won at such a high cost. And to see a woman reduced to a floating ghost image on a public street is offensive and makes our current struggle that much harder.

It's been rather telling to read the comments on a couple of the articles on here lately concerning this topic...it seems more men than women are all about 'choice' for the covered women. They feel as you obviously do, that this stance is true equality for women..I mean, isn't that what feminism is all about, they ask. My answer is that that seems to be the male version of equality, "If a woman chooses to live in subjugation, then who are we to complain" is the essence of that thought.

What men (and some women) miss is that some women in subjection is to subjugate the whole. It creates the climate and acceptance of the control of women through a faux sense of 'equality'.

Feminism IS all about choice..but that choice is not between the extremes of subjugation OR freedom...but choices within freedom alone. Total equality and emancipation of women is the goal where control becomes but a distant nightmare.

[Ali A. Rizvi - Huffpost Blogger]

HPdevotee,

I agree with you. I look at the burqa as an oppressive phenomenon that operates on the assumptions that (i) women are sexual objects that need to be covered, and (ii) the responsibility of not provoking seemingly uncontrollable male lust lies on their shoulders.

However, there are countless Muslim women living in the west, many of them successful and independent, that don't find wearing a burqa or headscarf objectionable, and some have said that it's liberating. I know and have spoken to many of them. Like here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sabria-jawhar/sarkozys-rejection-of-the_b_220564.html

Suggesting that these women don't know they're being oppressed (or that exotic dancers don't know that they're being exploited) may be a topic for open debate, but it certainly isn't grounds for banning the practice, as much as the rest of us dislike it.

[alexa07]

Ali, this is a great article, but the Islamophobics & Arab-bashers won't like it.

[ModernTimes1]

There's a huge difference in the mind of Westerners between a modest scarf and a a black body shroud coverin entire body. Perhaps Mr, Rizvi, you need to become more culturally sensitive toward European sensibilities to understand this.

[HPdevotee]

Where do we find the most burqa wearers? The Sudan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia...and what do these countries all have in common? They practice the most rigid, fundamentalist form of Sharia law. It seems the more progressive a Muslim society becomes the less burqa wearers you find, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, etc. I do believe there is a direct correlation within that fact.

"Interpreted by strict, conservative Muslims and fashioned into legal code, Sharia calls for punishments such as the severing of limbs, stoning, hanging and flogging, or beating."

"We do not have in modern times any state which has introduced Sharia and has been able to respect women's rights," said Ziba Mir Hosseini, author of the book "Islam and Gender."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec03/sharia_9-29.html

and again here; (con't)

[MarcusT]

You could have used an objective editor.

[ModernTimes1]

"Similarly, the modern stripper is the product of a patriarchal system that is geared towards and tailored to pleasing men by catering to that lust."

The entire edifice of this blog can be taken down with two words--male strippers.

[MED1025]

Well said.

[BobLablah]

Why exactly would a woman wear a burqa for "liberation"?

[Ali A. Rizvi - Huffpost Blogger]

There are actually many Muslim women living in western countries who have described the burqa as liberating. It's a very commonly cited idea. Here's a Hirschfield piece on it: http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/brad_hirschfield/2009/06/burqas_can_liberate_or_debase_coercion_is_the_issue.html

[ModernTimes1]

Ah, we have religious fundamentalist MAN ( of any religion) citing anecdotal evidence that burga is liberating. Ok, the argument is over then. No need to debate the issue.

But there's serious logical tension going on here.

Those who criticize total body cover practices are accused of meddling with Islam.
But when voluminous examples are cited of women killed for refusing to wear burqas, the argument is brought forth that Islam has nothing to do with those deaths.

Chose one. Not both.

[ModernTimes1]

Why? Only as a victim of cultural and religious brainwashing and prejudice.

[NAPinMtPSC]

Ali - the vast majority of women who wear the burqua do so because they will be beaten if they don't. The ones who live in France or other western European countries and claim it is their choice to wear the burqua are probably under intense familial and social pressure to do so.

Harriet Tubman, when asked how she felt about saving so many from slavery through the underground railroad said that she could have saved so many more, if only they had known they were oppressed.

Although I don't think stripping is a wise choice for women, many do it because the money is so good. However, unless we're talking about the white slavery trade, most women are not forced to do this.

Your argument does not hold up. Wearing of the burqua, for any practical purpose most certainly is not about choice.

[lee4713]

Yeah, I guess if you couldn't go outside of your house without wearing a burqa, then wearing one could be "liberating". Consider the alternative . . . . so what kind of "choice" is that?

[chitown]

Women who strip do it for the money, not the "liberation". If you could earn $1000 a night wearing a potato sack over your head, you'd see burqa-wearing women, and a few men, everywhere.

[ModernTimes1]

Freedom to admire the beauty of a human body vs. religious oppression of natural human instincts are indeed two sides of the same coin.
It is the Yin and Yang. Like freedom and religion. Democracy and police state.
The Middle Ages are over. At least in the West and Far East.

[Vickster]

And then there is the freedom to go out in public without your body being ogled... er, "admired".

[ModernTimes1]

Ogled?
This is your personal projection.
And of course you yourself never, ever look at an attractive person on the street.
Hmmm?