Intolerance?
headscarves. I feel incredibly intolerant lately. I’m unsure if the way I’m thinking is being intolerant, or if I’m feeling guilty for no reason.
Until recently I had not really come across women who not only wear headscarves, but who then have another covering over their mouths and noses, so they only part of the face that is seen is the eyes. Of course I’ve seen pictures of people wearing such things, but it is different being confronted by such things in person. And I do find it confronting. Every time I see it I shudder.
Am I being intolerant? I don’t know. I don’t have a problem with the muslim religion. But I certainly don’t think that total body covering is required in order to be a good muslim. I think I react so strongly when I see it because it feels like these women are dressing in that way through fear. No man would let anyone tell him to cover all his body! Have these women been led to believe that women are inherently inferior creatures, that they have less rights than men. Why is it that the men can show their faces but the women cannot? Are the men in their families telling these women they are sinfula and evil if they show their face? What motivates it? And how can it be allowed in society today?
I agree with freedom of expression, but I can’t believe that these women are free to express themselves and they choose to cover everything but their eyes. I cannot see freedom in that action.