Mirror on the Veil

Socrates once said words to the effect that a life unexamined was not worth living. Evoking the politics and voices of the subaltern, Mirror on the Veil – A Collection of Personal Essays on Hijab and Veiling seeks to address previous gaps in the available literature regarding hijab, headscarves and veils as an integral component of feminine identity, autonomy and agency. Of all the customs and traditions passed down to the present era from past civilisations, cultures and religion, none seems to be more heavily contested than that of veiling; for centuries societies of all confessions have obsessed over (and fetishized) the presentation of the female form and debated the precise boundaries of feminine modesty and sexuality. There is an apparent paradox in the phenomenon which singularly concerns females but which obsesses some males around the world. Editor Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi draws attention to this in her carefully worded Introduction: ‘What is an oppressive practice in one context, for example may be a symbol of female empowerment in another’ (p. 17) This complex premise is prevalent throughout the volume. Key questions covered here include who exactly wears the headscarf and why (and why not)? What are the principle features, aspects, factors and who are the key actors in the relevant discussions on this issue? What do recent developments bode for the future?