Veil @ MindSay

In a project I'm working on, one of the characters wears a dark veil over half her face, or at least part of her face.  So far I've studied a lot of bridal headresses for inspiration and researched some kick ass examples of medieval veils, but none yet have captured the look I see in my mind.  Before drawing the character concept, I decided to use the sheers I have at home.  The above photos are the self reference I came up with.  I took over 65 photos in all and you can, if you really want to, see them at my Myspace photo album.

 

Later this week I'll display the resulting character sketch.

At the risk of offending some sensibilities...but go ahead shoot me down -

 

Yes, Jesus was a peaceful man,

And so say all of them

Based on their version of peace,

Muhammad they condemn.

 

They rape, they kill, annihilate,

And call it "Work of God"

Destroy, pillage, incarcerate,

The definition's broad.

 

The veil they say is evil,

The cassock is benign,

Glasses that cover half your face

Are absolutely fine.

 

You wear your cloak in winter,

I wear it all the time

On you, it's just a covering,

On me, it is a crime.

 

Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine,

Did I invade or you?

For oil, power or resources,

Say why, I have no clue.

 

If I protest, you hear me not,

I act, you shoot me down.

A few of us retaliate,

you bomb my every town.

 

The Spanish inquisition,

Conquistadores and slaves,

Imperialism, colonies,

Is this how one behaves?

 

Is this your Ministry of Peace?

The love that you profess?

You call it love, and wage a war,

We war, but we confess!

OK, what about ‘the veil’?

 

British poodle, Tory Blain and prominent ‘Labour’ ex foreign minister, Jack Straw, have made headlines lately with their remarks about veiled women.  Straw claims the veil is a ‘visible statement of separation and difference’.  Well, duh.  Straw’s views on the kilt were, curiously, unreported. 

 

Yesterday Al Jazeera reported a West Yorkshire teacher who lost her discrimination case when she was suspended for refusing to remove her veil.  The report doesn’t mention what she was teaching.  As I point out later, in my view, it makes a difference, although not to whether it is discrimination or not.

 

It wouldn’t surprise me if there were schools in England, even within the Kirklees council’s jurisdiction, including Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury itself, that actually require girls and boys, even male and female teachers, to dress visibly differently.  Well might anyone wonder why they are promoting such separation and difference.

 

If the objective is to promote secularism, it is entirely counterproductive to exclude veiled women, or anyone practicing what they believe their religion requires of them, from secular institutions, as they did in France last year.  Even if this were not intuitively obvious, Turkey has banned the veil for 80 years and look where it’s got them.  Aishah Azmi’s case in Dewsbury, though, is irrelevant to this issue – after all, what would a Church of England school have to do with promoting secularism?

 

According to the veiled women I have asked about it, their motivation for ‘dressing modestly’ is to avoid arousing male lust.  This is the case whether or not they cover their hair, or their faces.  They all think they are dressing modestly.  It hardly seems to make any sense at all, however, given the avowed purpose, to cover everything else but to leave their sexy eyes exposed.  But then, if religious beliefs made any sense, they wouldn’t be religious beliefs, now would they?  Ironically, those wearing a full burqa actually accomplish what they claim to set out to do.

 

There may in fact be a correlation between the amount of skin a society considers it acceptable for women to expose and some measure of women’s rights or equality.  But even if such a correlation exists, it is not evidence of a cause and effect relation, much less which is the cause and which the effect.  It is a big mistake to think that a miniskirt is either a sign of liberation or a strategy to achieve it.

 

If a veiled woman wants to work as a dentist, a bricklayer, an engineer, a chef, or what have you, this is entirely unobjectionable.  I do have a concern, however, about a language teacher who will not allow students to observe what they do with their vocal apparatus.  Don’t laugh.  I had a veiled woman in one of my classes studying to be an English teacher.

Addendum:  In a big surprise, today's NYT had an op-ed by one Paul Cruickshank, arguing that criticizing veiled women was counterproductive!

Hello Everyone,

 

If anyone has an opinion on Belgian wedding veils, please let me know.  I'm thinking of adding them to my wedding veil website but I'm not sure if they're popular with brides in the States.  Thanks VERY much!