Cover Your Head

November 12, 2008 We had several lectures today about Islam. They were pretty interesting. I didn’t know much about Islam before we began this course and now I feel like I have a better understanding of the religion. We went to a Muslim boy’s school this afternoon. All of the women in our group were asked to put scarves over our heads, but the men had to do nothing. I got really pissed about this. All week we have been told that Muslim women cover themselves for protection from men. Why should I have to cover myself up because some men aren’t able to resist staring at me? Why should I have to make up for his inability to keep his mind off of sex? How is it my problem if the way that I look distracts him? I’m really trying to figure out how these women can wear this crap everyday of their lives. It made me feel like less of a person being told that I have to dress a certain way. It seems to me that if the men are the ones with problem perhaps they should teach their boys that women are not sex objects. I’m having a really hard time with this. It is not only the Muslim women who face this problem. Throughout all of India, women are told to be modest. Even when packing for this trip I had to keep in mind that I should only pack modest clothing. I know that I should respect other cultures and their traditions, but this really stinks.