Comments on: From the Outside In: My Reflections as a Non-Muslim Wearing the Burqa in Silicon Valley

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 03:03:01 +0000

Caprine – thank you for reading this though provoking piece. We did not have any front images of Elizabeth wearing the burka – so yes, that one photo is a stock photo.

By: Caprine

Caprine — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:56:11 +0000

I don’t know if the photo accompanying this post is of Elizabeth, the author, or a stock image, but today, 11 years after the original post, I saw the same image used in a political Facebook post (should this be reported?). And, it was used to do the very thing she warned about when she wrote: “Yet it seems to be in our nature to paint broad strokes of generalization, to distill complexity into simplified clarity. We find comfort in creating categories out of experience by lumping people with certain characteristics together. How many of us might unconsciously fill in the blank to any of these statements: All of the Middle East is…All Muslims are… Women in burqas must be…” My observation is that we not only fill in the blanks in the present tense–“All Muslims ARE,,,” or “the MiddleEast IS…”–but our fear comes out when we hear the future tense: “All Muslims WILL…Women in burqas WILL…” etc. For me, her observation on our nature is so applicable and pertinent to how we are tempted to also look at people with disabilities, or with dementia or Alzheimers, where we may jump from something like a verbal typo to the conclusion that the person will catch the stove on fire, wreck the car, or say the wrong thing in public, etc. Elizabeth’s post was so thought provoking and it upsets me that someone used the image associated with such beautiful words to later associate it with ugly words.

By: Rickie

Rickie — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 19:19:33 +0000

‘Who is being oppressed? The burqa-clad woman in Saudi Arabia or the eleven year old American girl stripped bare by the influences of popular media, sporting shorts and a tank top that flaunt a body not yet developed?’ Really . . . how about a more representative statement “Who is more oppressed? The burqa-clad woman in Saudi Arabia who never had a choice but to wear the burka, or the eleven year old American girls who in the vast majority of instances chooses to dress as she please and chooses, for the most part, to do so more or less modestly and love her body regardless of what anyone or media source tells her?” The issue is always choice. Just as you chose to wear the burka AND remove the burka, a choice the Saudi woman women you describe never had.

By: husson

husson — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:05:54 +0000

la burqa ! vaste programme…pourquoi les femmes doivent se voiler et pas les hommes ? sommes-nous si attirantes que les mâles craignent de nous regarder en face ? mes cheveux sont-ils plus impurs que les poils de barbe ou la tête rasée permet-elle aux idées de mieux rentrer dans le cerveau ? tradition ! mais qui a décidé de cette tradition anti-liberté des femmes. Et si on réfléchissait un peu sur les traditions de chaque pays, chaque religion, etc. ne sommes-nous pas tous semblables, nous les humains en déroute, différents quand on est heureux, différents quand on souffre, qu’on est au bord de la mort ? Cette mort tant redoutée…. mais on a une belle mort quand on a une belle vie, pas la peine de “se voiler la face” ou alors tous ensemble, nous ne sommes que des HUMAINS, un peu de temps dans le temps infini…alors supportons-nous les uns les autres, hommes ou femmes !

By: Shubha

Shubha — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 06:49:59 +0000

I came across this link by chance and read it with great interest, Living in India (I am a Hindu) we are used to seeing Burkha clad women.For the majority of us they are women like us, who choose to wear the burkha as part of their religious beliefs. I have friends who choose to wear the burkha although some women in their own families don’t. This diversity is part of India and something we take for granted.
It is only the recent atmosphere which has made people more aware of muslims and evokes the kind of response you saw in the policemen.

By: Monnette

Monnette — Tue, 06 May 2014 03:56:55 +0000

When you mentioned diversity, the first thing that came to my mind was the “Diversity & Inclusion” groups that are prevalent in the US. I wondered if the aim of such groups embraces the diversity of burga-clad women.

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 02:31:37 +0000

Thanks Dave! I appreciate you sharing my article. Hope all is well!

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 16:31:08 +0000

And here is a piece I wanted to share that Andy from Backpacking Diplomacy wrote – mentioning Elizabeth’s post: http://www.backpackingdiplomacy.com/a-day-as-a-muslim/

By: Digital Nomads

Digital Nomads — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 14:28:36 +0000

You are very brave Elizabeth, and your story and experience are very insightful.

By: InTheRoar

InTheRoar — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 05:47:37 +0000

Interesting indeed. Thank you.

What you said about peripheral vision and being able to pass on nuances of pleasure, irritation, gratitude etc was particularly interesting.

I think the men should “have to” wear a sheet over their heads too on a daily basis as it strikes me as a very unfair equation. I’ve never understood why women should “have to” live under a sheet because men have whatever thoughts they do. It’s very very odd to me.

By: JadeAdele

JadeAdele — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:36:45 +0000

What a fabulous post! I couldn’t take my eyes off it until the end. So very open minded and honest. Thank you for taking the time and fighting your fears to actually try to understand another point of view. No I don’t believe that wearing a burqa truly lets you understand what it’s like to be in the shoes of a muslim woman in the United States, but it definitely helps shed a layer of of that exoskeleton we barricade ourselves with against the unknown.
I think you’re perfectly correct to mention the clash between the extremes of a woman clad in black and one clad in overly revealing attire. Both, to me, show a freedom of expression stripped from the individual. A costume worn for fear of what would happen if we didn’t. We are all guilty of it in one way or another. The happy medium balancing daintily somewhere between both cultures.
This subject opens such a large can of worms, but I’m very glad for it allows people to rethink their preconceived notions.

Thank you.

By: David

David — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:04:38 +0000

Yes, and this was in forward thinking Silicon Valley California. What part of Norway are you in? My brother and I were in Oslo and then the western part of the country visiting Fjords not too long ago. Spectacular scenery! …and my sister who wrote this piece also wrote some thoughts about her visit to Norway a few years back:
http://www.davestravelcorner.com/journals/destination-europe/norway-summer-2007/

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:26:59 +0000

Hmmm – I think I’ve been living in Europe too long…no one would even bat an eye if you wore a burqa over here. Even in Norway.

By: TheEagerTraveler

TheEagerTraveler — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:43:04 +0000

Loved reading about your experiment. I’ve lived in India for a few years (mainly when I was a child) among Hindus and Muslims and my first exposure to the veil was actually when my very close girlfriend (a Pakistani Muslim) in college in California, decided to start wearing the veil. I remember my first reaction was anger and confusion. It was so alien to my beliefs of equality and freedom as well. But through her experiment (she stopped wearing it when she got engaged because her Muslim husband asked her to stop wearing it) I was exposed to one theory on why women want to or are required to wear the veil. The explanations I got all centered around the need to protect women from men and their sometimes unwanted attention.

I was recently visiting India (late 2012) and arrived in the middle of the rape case that rocked the nation. Violent in nature, it was probably the first of its kind that was being reported. Rapes themselves are not new to India and have been occurring for as long as I can remember. During my trip, I was privy to many talk shows that were aired, speculating if it was the modernization of Indian society that led to the recent rape. I was shocked to hear that. There was also an article in the local newspaper in Chennai that stated women in nearby Pondicherry would be asked to soon start wearing a ‘jacket’ over their regular clothes in public.

That instantly took me back to Muslims and the veil – is that where India was heading – is that what the talk shows were eventually getting at? Was the solution that women needed to cover themselves to resist such invasions? I left India soon after and hear the case is still under way. I don’t think Pondicherry has instituted the ‘jacket’ requirement, but I don’t know. But upon further reflection, I realized, when I do walk the streets in India (way before the recent rape), that I consciously make an attempt to dress ‘down’ and try not to draw attention. Maybe it’s because I”m aware that it’s a different society than the one I’m used to living in (my hometown is California) and you do have to be aware of the local vibe. Does this mean a veil is in order? My mind rebels against the possible requirement.

I”m heading to Turkey in summer and looking forward to the country that straddles two continents. 🙂

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 06:00:30 +0000

Congratulations Elizabeth! I’m so glad you finally sharing this!