Who Wears a Veil?
What factors determine the changing roles of women in the Middle
East and Islamic societies?
Can you tell what religion these women are by looking at
them?
Check the key on the following pages to find out.
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Top Row, Left to Right:
1. Malala Yousefzai
Muslim
Pakistan, Female Education Advocate; Humanitarian/Activist;
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora,
Pakistan. As a child, she became an advocate for girls' education,
which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her.
On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was traveling
home from school. She survived, and has continued to speak out on
the importance of education. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace
Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won, becoming
the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 10,
2017, Malala Yousafzai was named the youngest ever UN Messenger of
Peace, with a special focus on girls' education.
2. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Christian
President, Liberia; First elected female head of state in
Africa; Nobel Peace Prize winner; Women’s rights activist
Born in Liberia in 1938, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was schooled in
the United States before serving in the government of her native
Liberia. A military coup in 1980 sent her into exile, but she
returned in 1985 to speak out against the military regime. She was
forced to briefly leave the country again. When she won the 2005
election, Johnson Sirleaf became the first female elected head of
state in Africa. In 2011, she was one of a trio of women to win the
Nobel Peace Prize.
3. Dr. Hanan AshrawiChristianPalestinian SpokespersonHanan
Ashrawi, a Christian Palestinian, has been a prominent spokesperson
for Palestinian statehood since 1988. She holds a doctorate in
medieval literature from the University of Virginia in the U.S.
Ashrawi has served in several educational leadership roles in
Palestine, including as Dean of the Faculty of Arts of Birzeit
University and Palestinian Minister of Higher Education and
Research. After serving in various capacities in the Palestinian
leadership, she resigned from the government in 1998 in protest of
its corruption. As a Christian Palestinian, Ashrawi does not cover
her head.
4. Amira Al TaweelMuslimFounder and CEO of Time Entertainment,
Philanthropist, Women’s Rights AdvocateU.S.-educated Princess Amira
bint Aidan bin Nayef Al-Taweel Al-Otaibi is a member of the Saudi
royal family and Vice Chairperson of the Al-Waleed bin Talal
Foundation, a charitable and philanthropic organization founded by
her former husband, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal. Princess Amira has
used her celebrity status to advocate a wide range of humanitarian
interests in both Saudi Arabia and around the world. She is an
outspoken supporter of female empowerment and has openly lobbied
for women’s right to drive in the kingdom.
Middle Row, Left to Right
5. Mother Teresa ChristianCatholic Nun and HumanitarianMother
Teresa was born Gonxhe Agnes Bojaxhiu in Skopje, in present-day
Macedonia (then capital of the Ottoman province of Kosovo). At 18,
she joined the Irish Catholic order of the Sisters of Loreto. After
a brief period in Ireland, she was sent to teach just outside of
Calcutta, India, at St. Mary's High School, of which she later
became principal. She learned local languages, including Hindi and
Bengali, and in 1946 dedicated herself to serving the poorest of
the poor. She founded her own order, the Missionaries of Charity,
in 1950. With a mission to provide "free service to the poor and
the unwanted, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality, or race,"
the order operated clinics, homeless shelters, orphanages, and
hospices for lepers and the dying. Mother Teresa won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1979. She died in 1997 at the age of 87. Covering
the head has been important in the traditions of many religious
orders, including Catholic nuns.
6. Queen RaniaMuslimQueen of the Kingdom of Jordan; Community,
Health and Education AdvocateRania Al-Yassin was born and raised in
Kuwait by Palestinian parents. She received a degree in Business
Administration from the American University in Cairo after which
she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job
with Apple Inc. in Amman.
Since marrying the now King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein,
she has become known for her advocacy work related to education,
health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue, and
micro-finance. She is also an avid user of social media and she
maintains pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. She
has two daughters and two sons and has been given various
decorations by governments.
In a September 2008 CNN televised interview with Fareed Zakaria,
Queen Rania stated that she is not opposed to women choosing to
wear the Islamic veil hijab of their own volition as long as it is
not compulsory. She further noted that modern Islamic women must
make that choice and not be "pressured" by a traditionalist
interpretation of Islamic law in society. Rania herself has been
seen wearing a veil or a styled hat only on televised royal
weddings and during private Papal audiences with the Pope in
Rome.
7. Elizabeth IIChristianQueen of the United Kingdom, Canada,
Australia, and New ZealandElizabeth II, 90, was coronated in 1953.
On February 6, 2017, the Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was
celebrated, marking sixty-five years of her reign. She is the
longest-reigning monarch in British history. In public, the queen
is known for sporting ornate decorative hats in lieu of the more
typical regalia like the crown.
8. Ibtihaj MuhammadMuslimOlympic Fencer, Muslim Women’s Clothing
DesignerIbtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American
sabre fencer, and a member of the United States fencing team. She
is best known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a
hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics. In
individual sabre at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won her first
qualifying round bout, and was defeated in the second round by
Cécilia Berder of France. She earned the bronze medal as part of
Team USA in the Team Sabre, becoming the first female
Muslim-American athlete to earn a medal at the Olympics.
"When I realized that there had never been a Muslim woman who
wore the hijab to represent Team USA, I wanted it, you know, not
just for myself but for my community," she has
said.[footnoteRef:1]
Bottom Row, Left to Right
9. Rebiya KadeerMuslimUighur Activist and Businesswoman;
Prisoner of ConscienceA successful businesswoman, Rebiya Kadeer is
among the most prominent members of China's Uighur ethnic group in
the largely Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. As one of her
many efforts to secure women's rights in China she founded the
Thousand Mothers Movement to promote employment for Uighur women.
In 1999, the Chinese government sentenced her to eight years in
prison for spying. She is considered to be a prisoner of
conscience, and human rights groups are pressing for her
release.
Although they are Muslim, Uighur women may or may not cover
their heads. Ms. Kadeer is often seen wearing the doppa, an
embroidered square hat worn by both Uighur men and women.
10. Amina WadudMuslimScholar, FeministBorn into a Methodist
African-American family, Wadud became a Muslim at the age of 20.
She was a Professor of Religion and Philosophy at among others, the
Virginia Commonwealth University and one of the founders of the
group Sisters in Islam.
In what was for many a controversial move, she delivered a
Friday Khutbah (sermon) – a role traditionally taken by men - in a
mosque in Cape Town in 1994. In 2005, Wadud led Friday prayers in
front of a mixed-gender congregation in New York. The service was
held at an Anglican Church building after mosques refused to host
the event. She was criticized by a number of Muslim leaders, who
said it went against Islamic doctrine. She has continued to lead
prayers of mixed congregations across the world and is supported by
Muslims from all walks of life.
11. Benazir Bhutto MuslimPrime Minister of Pakistan, 1988-90,
1993-96 Benazir Bhutto attended school in Pakistan, later earning
higher degrees from Radcliffe College at Harvard University in the
U.S. and Oxford University in England. She took over leadership of
the Pakistan People's Party from her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
and spent years in prison and under house arrest for her
controversial political involvement. Just two years after Bhutto's
1988 electoral victory, President Ghulam Ishaq dismissed her
government for alleged corruption. She regained power in 1993 and
served until 1996. Like many Muslim women in Pakistan, Bhutto
covered her hair loosely. She was the first woman to head a Muslim
majority nation. In 2007, Bhutto was assassinated; an Al-Qaeda
commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claimed responsibility for the
attack.
12. Huda SharawiMuslimEgypt, Women’s Rights AdvocateDuring the
1860s in Egypt, various groups in society began to rise up to
resist their imperial rulers. Women’s-rights advocates worked
alongside Egyptian nationalists. Huda Sha’arawi, born in 1879, took
a leading role in bringing attention to the rights of women.
Sha'arawi was raised in a traditional harem, a housing arrangement
that separates the sexes, and was forced into an early marriage as
a second wife. Perhaps in reaction to these early life experiences,
she created the Egyptian Philanthropic Society, which provided
services to poor women and children. In 1910, she established a
school for girls that taught academic subjects rather than
vocational training such as midwifery. Perhaps most notably, she
founded the influential Egyptian Feminist Union, which published
L’Egyptienne (1925-1940), the country's first magazine published by
and for women. Sha'arawi served as an elected official, organized a
1919 protest by women, one of the largest anti-British street
protests in Egyptian history, and in 1923 publicly removed her
niqab, (face covering), a bold action during her
time.[footnoteRef:2] [1: Ibtihaj Muhammad Powerfully Explains How
It Feels to Be First Hijabi Muslim US Olympian] [2: From
TeachMideast Digital Book, Today’s Middle East: Women, Rights,
Leadership written by Michael-Ann Cerniglia.]