Polemics On Veiling Egyptian Women In The Twentieth Century

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Polemics On Veiling Egyptian Women In The Twentieth Century

Introduction
.. so much energy has been expended by Muslim men
and then Muslim women to remove the veil and by
others to affirm or restore it .. (Ahmed 167).
This paper explores these efforts in two specific stages: the first and the last
thirds of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of some of the various
arguments on the veil, I will try to induce some general characteristics of the
debate on the issue and on women during these two specific periods of time.
The starting point will be Kasim Amin's Tahrir el Mara'a (Liberation of
Woman) and the counter argument of Talat Harb's Tarbiet el Mara'a wal
Hijab, (Educating Women and the Veil). The debate between those two
protagonists which has become a prototype of the debate on the veil
throughout the century (Ahmed P. 164). Malak Hefni Nassif's and Hoda
Sha'arawi's attitudes towards the veil represent an interesting insight to two
different interpretations of the hijab issue by feminist activists that prevail
throughout the century. The whole synthesis of this early debate is then put
in juxtaposition to the debate later in the century as represented by the
avalanche of literature on the topic in the seventies, the views of some
famous sheikhs like Mohammed Metwally el Shaarawi and others, and the
heated debate initiated by the Minister of Education's decree of 1994 to
prevent school administrations from imposing the hijab on girls as part of the
uniform.
The Early Debate
Kasim Amin's Tahrir El-Mara'a (Published 1899)
It may not be an exaggeration to say that Amin's Tahrir al-Mara'a was one
of the most controversial book in Egypt's modern history. It has ignited a
strong debate and prompted more than thirty reaction articles and books
either to defy or assert his argument against the veil (Ahmed P. 164).
The ideas of the book were not totally new, they echoed the writings of some
writers like Mariam al-Nahhas (1856-1888), Zaynab Fawwaz (1860-1914),
Aisha al-Taymuriah (1840-1902), and Murqus Fahmi's (a Coptic lawyer)
four act play Al Mar'ah fi al-Sharq or (The Woman in the East) (Badran P.
19). Yet, Amin's book double-scored for coming from a Muslim judge and
for his overt proposal to unveiling women's faces. His words were not the
only challenge to the existing notions of the hijab, it was his caliber as a
Moslim judge that has vocalized his call to unveil women and gave his book
importance.
After an introduction loaded with emotional phrase...

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