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 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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes the niqab and burka for obscuring women's identities and promoting the dangerous idea that modesty is synonymous with virtue.
Mona Eltahawy expresses her strong opposition to the niqab and burka, arguing that these garments contribute to the erasure of women's identities in society. She highlights the troubling notion that diminishing visibility equates to greater piety, suggesting that such beliefs are harmful and reduce women to mere symbols of virtue rather than recognizing their individuality and complexity.
Themes
NiqabBurkaWomen'S RightsIdentityPiety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about women's rights, this quote can emphasize the importance of visibility and self-expression.
More from Mona Eltahawy
All quotes →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.
Mona EltahawyRead
It is the harassers and assaulters who make us 'look bad,' not the women who have every right to expose crimes against them.
Mona EltahawyRead
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.
Mona EltahawyRead
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.
Mona EltahawyRead
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
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