On boundaries

It will not have escaped the notice of many people in the UK that a might furore is going on about some comments Jack Straw has made about Muslim women who veil their faces. He has spoken out to say he feels uncomfortable holding a discussion with a woman who covers her face and would prefer it if they didn’t. As a result, he’s been accused of Islamaphobia, praised by others who think likewise and found himself allied with some very strange people indeed (possibly given credence to racist ideologies).

So what is actually at stake here? Some Muslims have accused Straw of intolerance, but I think this is a knee-jerk reaction that does not pay full attention to what he has said. To make it plain, he asks women in veils who come to his surgery if they would not mind removing their face covering so he and they can communicate more easily. He has a female member of staff in attendance. Some people, both Muslim and non-Muslim have accused Straw of double standards: would he ask an orthodox Jewish man to remove his hat or a Sikh to remove his turban? I think this also misses the point. Neither of these forms of headdress, like that of a Christian nun, covers the face. In communication with a Sikh, Jew or nun, you can see their face.

Straw’s comments have also raised questions about what it means to live in British society. He argues that the face veil creates a barrier. By wearing such a garment, a Muslim woman is declaring her separateness from society. No doubt there are those who disagree, but so much of our communication depends on face to face contact and being able to identify the person we are talking to, witness the debate surrounding teenagers wearing hoodies and hats that were seen as obscuring their identity. In addition, for some people, particularly those who are profoundly deaf or have other hearing impediments and thus rely on lip-reading for understanding, it is impossible to communicate with someone whose mouth is covered.

I admit that I feel very uncomfortable at the sight of any woman with a veiled face. I understand that for some devout Muslim women, modesty of dress entails the adoption of a hijab or a loose robe and is an essential part of their religious practice, but I can still see them, smile at them as I pass by at the university and say hello. A face veil sends out so many different and contradictory messages and for me it says clearly ‘I don’t trust you’.

As a woman, I also find this practice offensive, even though for some women, it is entirely their choice to wear the veil. For me, it harks back to a time in many cultures and religions, not just the Islamic east, where women were invisible and expected to be invisible, their freedoms curtailed and their sphere of work, expression and life severely limited. To my mind, it also shows a very negative view of men. Can they be trusted so little that a woman must in effect disguise herself?

This debate is set to run and run. Jack Straw is fortunate in that he is in a position to ask a woman to remove her veil, something I suspect that I would not be able to do in the seminar room. In our society there is much talk of rights and very little about responsibilities. It is, under our laws, undoubtedly a right for an adult Muslim woman to choose to wear a face veil and I, as a citizen of this country, must respect that right, even though it makes me feel by degrees uncomfortable and angry. But I say this, that Muslims should also respect the feelings of people who see things very differently and understand why a covered face is such a contested boundary.