As a feminist of Egyptian and Muslim descent, my life's work has been informed by the belief that religion and culture must never be used to justify the subjugation of women.
Mona EltahawyRead
I'm no fan of Sarkozy, but I support a ban on face veils because they erase women from society and are promoted by an ultra-conservative ideology that equates piety with the disappearance of women.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the face veil as a symbol of women's oppression under ultra-conservative ideologies.
Mona Eltahawy argues that face veils serve to marginalize women from society, viewing them not as individuals but as symbols of piety dictated by a conservative agenda. In her perspective, the acceptance or promotion of such veils runs contrary to the ideals of gender equality and societal visibility, condemning practices that erase women's presence and contributions in public life.
Themes
Face VeilWomenSocietyOppressionIdeologyPiety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on women's rights and freedoms in modern societies.
More from Mona Eltahawy
All quotes →It is the harassers and assaulters who make us 'look bad,' not the women who have every right to expose crimes against them.
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I can write about my culture and religion because I am a product of both. Even when I'm accused of giving ammunition to the Islamophobic right, in the struggle between 'community' and 'women,' I always choose the women.
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I believe at the heart of any revolution for social justice and human dignity are consent and agency, the unequivocal belief that I own my body - not the state, not the church/mosque/temple, not the street and not the family.
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I will never ally with Islamophobes and racists. But in the choice between 'community' and Muslim women, I will always choose my sisters.
Mona EltahawyRead
I detest the niqab and the burka for their erasure of women and for dangerously equating piety with that disappearance - the less of you I can see, the closer you must be to God.
Mona EltahawyRead
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