In the essay “Shrouded in Contradiction” by Gelareh Asayesh discusses the distention of gender in her Islamic society. She expresses her feeling toward wearing a hijab and how it’s not a big deal until it is. “None have been more daring than I. I've wound my scarf into a turban, leaving my neck bare to the breeze. The woman in black is a government employee paid to police public morals. ''Fix your scarf at once!'' she snaps. ''But I'm hot,'' I say. ''You're hot?'' she exclaims. ''Don't you think we all are?'' I start unwinding my makeshift turban. The men aren’t hot,” I mutter. Her companion looks at me in shocked reproach. “Sister, this isn’t about men and women,” she said, shaking her head. “This is about Islam.” I want to argue. I feel like a child. Defiant, but powerless. Burning with injustice, but also with a hint of shame.” In this excerpt, she clearly expresses the way that a hijab is about a lot more than a religious article of clothing. It’s a societal definition of genders. She expresses the way that the hijab can become complicated do to the societal views. She feels a strong sense of injustice because on a hot scorching day by the sea short, as a result of their sexuality women have to endure the heat in silence under there hijab. When she expresses her discomfort, she is reproach by a women officer. She reminded her; that the hijab has nothing to do with being a woman or a man, but is about being an Islamic woman. Thus, lies the contradiction, gender does play a role within the Islamic religion and society. This dictates the way in which a woman should dresses, and is expected to behave.
This excerpt correlates with the main topic of this essay, by explaining the role of clothing in an Islamic society. She also links this excerpt by expressing the powerless and guilty feelings she felt when the officer reproach her. There she was a women, yet she felt “…like a child.”
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Exploration 8:Shrouded in Contradiction
I recently read the story, "Shrouded in Contradiction' by Gelareh Asayesh. this story describes her conflict of clothing choice in her home country of Iran. Iran is an Islamic Republic. All of the women in the country are expected to follow both the written, and unwritten rules of Islam. Women in Iran are expected to wear hajba, which is Islamic covering. The covering of the body by clothing ensures that the people in an Islamic society find passion in the soul, and they do not become distracted by passion on the body. In theory, this rule of culture seems to be acceptable, but it becomes extremely annoying to some women, especially for those who have spent time in Western cultures, like Gelareh.
"The veil masks erotic freedom" Gelareh states in her writing. It makes sense, if a body is covered by clothing, then it will be harder for men to find them physically attractive, but why is it the woman's job to contain the sexual tendencies of men? If a man looks at a woman and finds her sexually attractive, it is not her fault that she is sexually attractive, it is the man's fault for thinking about sex so much. It would make sense to this reader, if the Men of Iran attempt to cleanse their thoughts in order to find religious peace. In stead of just covering every Woman's body in clothing, which makes them extremely uncomfortable.
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Gelareh Asayesh feels conflicted because she is expected to follow the written and unwritten rules of her Islamic background and she doesn't feel the need while in another country. This is not to say she doesn't value her own culture though. She has a love hate relationship with it. Everyone has some sort of a love, hate relationship with someone or something. i have a love, hate relationship with my job. I love the fact that i am making money, keeping busy, and being with my peers, but I hate it because i am so exhausted at the end of a work day that I don't feel like doing anything else, so it kind of consumes my life.
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