Western women can learn from Islam – Anne Michaud

A bit of an odd piece on dress codes. Yes, the hypersexualization of the West in unhealthy, for both men and women, yet my sense, anecdotal, from my daughter and her friends, is that are strong young women, and have navigated the imagery successfully.

As to her comments about Iran, total ignorance. A thousand people demonstration  in Tehran, a city of more than 10 million, is a rounding error:

Women in full burqas and hijabs poured into Tehran’s streets last week to protest the modern dress of their urban sisters. City women usually nod to the conservative religious dress code by wearing knee-length coats and head kerchiefs in public. But earlier this month, several dared to bare their full heads and faces for a photograph.

So, the protesters — about 1,000 women and men — appealed to Iran’s morality police to better enforce the law, which obliges women to cover their hair and much of their bodies in loose clothing when outside, regardless of their religion.

As I studied the images of the mob of black-cloaked women, I thought we could use more public modesty ourselves.

As I see it, the hijab head covering and burqa cloak are symbols of subservience. They erase individuality, represent hostility to girls’ education and independence, and press unique souls into one narrow feminine role.

And yet, I wonder whether the same couldn’t be said about a culture that turns a Hannah Montana into a twerking, crotch-rubbing wrecking ball.

Western women can learn from Islam – Anne Michaud – Newsday.