Veiled identities

Living and working in a place where I am a minority because, among other things, I do not cover my head has set me thinking about the concept of veiling. Years ago, when my knowledge of the Middle East came from books like Princess by Sassoon and movies like Lawrence of Arabia, I thought of the veil only as a symbol of male dominance and female oppression. I was ignorant to the reasons behind women wearing the veil and to the fact that not all of the countries in this reason force women to wear the veil. Even when I knew that it was claimed to be the women's choice to wear the veil or not, I still believed that family and social pressures would make it difficult to go unveiled. I still think that this is an issue especially now that the veil is once again gaining popularity and the percentage of women wearing it has increased dramatically in the last half decade. However, I have gained a new perspective here in Jordan; I really respect the women who decide of their own free will to don the veil as an expression of their religious devotion.