Women and Human rights - Essay Example

s 02 Dec Wearing of Veils The wearing of veils has not been accepted by a majority of people living in regions that have low population of Muslims or other groups that wear veils. The reasons for wearing veils vary among different people based on their cultural and religious values and doctrines. There are different types of veils that are worn by various people, which entail scuffs covering the hair, those covering the face and those covering the face and the entire body. In most of the Muslim countries, wearing of veils by women is mandatory, while in others, it is mandatory (White 46-55). Since America is represented by people from different cultural backgrounds, wearing of veils is mostly observed among the Muslims. Therefore, mandatory wearing of veils among women is discriminatory in nature. This is because the way of association and dressing of these women is structured and failure to follow the stipulated doctrines leads to various consequences among the offenders. For example, In Afghanistan, women who do not wear veils are stoned, as a way of punishing them and warning anyone who may fail to follow the law. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of how American view people who wears veils, and women’s human rights. In the United States of America, there have been numerous conflicts between government organs and women wearing veils. For example, in the application of a driving license, the face of the applicants should be visible. As such, women wearing veils are required to get rid of the veils in order to have their photos taken. This does not trick very well to them and makes them feel oppressed. In the American education system, photographs are necessary for verification purposes especially during examination. As such, Women wearing the veils are required to unveil to be photographed. During normal school routine, the students gain no special attention from the fellow students and instructors until the examination period arrives. The unveiling of students has brought forth hot debates with some professionals advocating for the use of fingerprints, rather than forcing students in veils to unveil. Due to the numerous terrorist attacks being executed mainly in Middle East by veiled persons, a negative perception has been made to various persons across the globe. As such, veiled persons are not fully accepted by the public, while travelling or doing shopping. This has brought forth numerous debates on the wearing of body covering dressing, which hinders facial recognition. Despite medical personnel wearing masks, they do receive appreciation from the public. As such, request for unveiling women is observed as discrimination against them. Additionally, in the case of an outbreak of flu, patients are allowed to enter business premises without any restriction, which brings in the question as to who should be allowed to wear veils, and under what circumstances. The wearing of veils in the American society receives different recognition. For example, in areas where veiled women have participated in terrorist activities, veiled women usually find themselves discriminated. This is argued to be a defense strategy because; it is argued that they can partake terrorist activities, which would have adverse effects on the society at large. In regions beyond the American borders, for example, in Afghanistan, veiled women were used to bomb the American soldiers deployed to restore peace and political stability. The wearing of veils is recognized as a means of oppression mostly among female Muslims. Therefore, the women are observed to be voiceless and are controlled by the doctrines of Islam. Although this applies to a significant percentage of women in Muslim world, it is not applicable to all Muslim women in America. Oppression is usually linked with low levels of education; the less educated persons usually lack knowledge on their rights, as well as what they should do when their rights are violated. Therefore, since a significant percentage of American women wearing veils are educated, and are not attached to the extreme by the doctrines of Islam, their wearing of veils is a symbol of their cultural and religious background (Fedorak 168). Despite this, they usually receive negative perception from the American citizens. Communication and media channels play a significant role in shaping the society through the information presented. In America, various media networks have been observed to instill negative perception and fear for people wearing veils and Hijab. The media have been presenting information on numerous terrorist attacks executed by people covering their faces as well as body in a bid to hide their identity in America as well as outside the borders of America. As such, the public does not appreciate a person wearing veils, which often leads to discrimination. Since almost all American citizens have access to news and information through different channels of communication, fear against people covering their faces is high. In many shopping places, it is a requirement that all persons should have their face visible. This has brought forth hot debates whereby even the banks impose such restrictions, but may not be upheld depending on the decision of the bank’s management. Despite the discrimination, women wearing veils have received fair recognition in administration as indicated by a veil wearing Muslim, Dalia, who is part of the Presidential Advisory Panel. Despite the security threat associated with wearing of veils, American are accommodative of the issue in comparison with countries such as France, Britain, Germany and Spain among others. In this regard, it is observed that there is a direct correlation between age and discrimination against those wearing veils. The elderly population is observed to be greatly against those wearing veils, while only a small percentage of the youths discriminate against them. The youths interact freely in schools as well as other social places and have come to accept them through frequent interaction. Despite this, their parents play a major role in their decision-making, and may lead to gradual discrimination. Due to the discrimination and oppression experienced by women wearing veils, non-governmental organization have been on the forefront in fighting for their rights, as well as for the less privileged society members (Bunch 486-496). Human rights are upheld in issues such as terrorism attacks, but low recognition is provided when such acts are directed toward women in veils. In the current society, women seem to be discriminated against by various persons due to negativity associated with them and the domineering of men. As such, violation of their rights through various form of abuse is common in many parts of the world, which has led to various human rights group intervention. In various parts of the world, such intervention have been positive to the lives of many women (Grewal 337-341). Conclusively, wearing of veil has not been well accepted in the entire American society due to the societal ills such as terrorism associated with it. On the other hand, since in some cases wearing of veils is a denial of human rights among many Muslim women, human rights intervention have been executed to avoid their abuse. Works Cited Bunch Charlotte. Women’s Rights as Human Rights: Towards a Re-Vision of Human Rights. Human Rights Quarterly. 12.4(1990): 486-498. Print. Fedorak Shirley. Anthropology Matters. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007, Print. Grewal Inderpal.’ Women’s Rights as Human Rights’: Feminist Practices, Global Feminism and Human Rights Regimes in Transnationality. Citizenship studies 3.3(1999): 337-353. Print. White Dinna Gehrke. The Face Behind Veil: Extraord. NY: Citadel Press, 2006, Print. Read More