Great cartoon: Burka vs Bikini - symbols of male-dominated cultures

[onenote]

106. You'd lose that bet.

Ever hear of Dar Al-Hijrah? It's one of the larger mosques in the northeast. Attendance at worship service numbers in the thousands. I live a mile from it (and have for 50 years). There are many women in the are who wear niqab in the immediate vicinity. They work at some of the stores where I shop. (By the way, like a lot of people, I tend not to use burka to refer both to niqab and the more complete covering that is a burka; and while I'm not sure how it impacts this discussion, if it will make you happy, I will never do so again). By the way, if the cartoon depicted a woman wearing a hajib instead of a niqab, would it have been any different?

In any event, based on discussions I have had with some of these women (including discussions at interfaith gatherings sponsored by local synagogues) is that the women who wear the niqab feel a cultural imperative to do so-- just as some Jewish men (e.g., Hasids) feel a cultural imperative to to dress in black, wear hats and tzitzis. WIthin their peer group, they would feel uncomfortable not wearing the niqab.

In contrast, I don't think there is a comparable cultural imperative for women to wear bikinis. I've never been to a beach in which all, or even most, of the women in attendance wore bikinis (although I have been to beaches in which all or most of the women -- and men --wore nothing at all.