Download Who Wears a Veil

Who Wears a Veil?
What factors determine the changing roles of women in the Middle East and Islamic
societies?
Can you tell what religion these women are by looking at them?
Check the key on the following pages to find out.
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Top Row, Left to Right:
1. Malala Yousefzai
Muslim
Pakistan, Female Education Advocate; Humanitarian/Activist; Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. As a child, she became an
advocate for girls' education, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against
her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was traveling home from school.
She survived, and has continued to speak out on the importance of education. She was
nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won,
becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 10, 2017, Malala
Yousafzai was named the youngest ever UN Messenger of Peace, with a special focus on
girls' education.
2. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Christian
President, Liberia; First elected female head of state in Africa; Nobel Peace Prize winner;
Women’s rights activist
Born in Liberia in 1938, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was schooled in the United States before
serving in the government of her native Liberia. A military coup in 1980 sent her into exile,
but she returned in 1985 to speak out against the military regime. She was forced to briefly
leave the country again. When she won the 2005 election, Johnson Sirleaf became the first
female elected head of state in Africa. In 2011, she was one of a trio of women to win the
Nobel Peace Prize.
3. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
Christian
Palestinian Spokesperson
Hanan Ashrawi, a Christian Palestinian, has been a prominent spokesperson for Palestinian
statehood since 1988. She holds a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of
Virginia in the U.S. Ashrawi has served in several educational leadership roles in Palestine,
including as Dean of the Faculty of Arts of Birzeit University and Palestinian Minister of
Higher Education and Research. After serving in various capacities in the Palestinian
leadership, she resigned from the government in 1998 in protest of its corruption. As a
Christian Palestinian, Ashrawi does not cover her head.
4. Amira Al Taweel
Muslim
Founder and CEO of Time Entertainment, Philanthropist, Women’s Rights Advocate
U.S.-educated Princess Amira bint Aidan bin Nayef Al-Taweel Al-Otaibi is a member of the
Saudi royal family and Vice Chairperson of the Al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation, a charitable
and philanthropic organization founded by her former husband, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.
Princess Amir has used her celebrity status to advocate a wide range of humanitarian
interests in both Saudi Arabia and around the world. She is an outspoken supporter of
female empowerment and has openly lobbied for women’s right to drive in the kingdom.
Middle Row, Left to Right
5. Mother Teresa
Christian
Catholic Nun and Humanitarian
Mother Teresa was born Gonxhe Agnes Bojaxhiu in Skopje, in present-day Macedonia (then
capital of the Ottoman province of Kosovo). At 18, she joined the Irish Catholic order of the
Sisters of Loreto. After a brief period in Ireland, she was sent to teach just outside of
Calcutta, India, at St. Mary's High School, of which she later became principal. She learned
local languages, including Hindi and Bengali, and in 1946 dedicated herself to serving the
poorest of the poor. She founded her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, in 1950. With a
mission to provide "free service to the poor and the unwanted, irrespective of caste, creed,
nationality, or race," the order operated clinics, homeless shelters, orphanages, and
hospices for lepers and the dying. Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She
died in 1997 at the age of 87. Covering the head has been important in the traditions of
many religious orders, including Catholic nuns.
6. Queen Rania
Muslim
Queen of the Kingdom of Jordan; Community, Health and Education Advocate
Rania Al-Yassin was born and raised in Kuwait by Palestinian parents. She received a degree
in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo after which she worked
briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman.
Since marrying the now King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein, she has become known for
her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, crosscultural dialogue, and micro-finance. She is also an avid user of social media and she
maintains pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. She has two daughters and
two sons and has been given various decorations by governments.
In a September 2008 CNN televised interview with Fareed Zakaria, Queen Rania stated that
she is not opposed to women choosing to wear the Islamic veil hijab of their own volition as
long as it is not compulsory. She further noted that modern Islamic women must make that
choice and not be "pressured" by a traditionalist interpretation of Islamic law in society.
Rania herself has been seen wearing a veil or a styled hat only on televised royal weddings
and during private Papal audiences with the Pope in Rome.
7. Elizabeth II
Christian
Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
Elizabeth II, 90, was coronated in 1953. On February 6, 2017, the Sapphire Jubilee of
Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated, marking sixty-five years of her reign. She is the longestreigning monarch in British history. In public, the queen is known for sporting ornate
decorative hats in lieu of the more typical regalia like the crown.
8. Ibtihaj Muhammad
Muslim
Olympic Fencer, Muslim Women’s Clothing Designer
Ibtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American sabre fencer, and a member of
the United States fencing team. She is best known for being the first Muslim American
woman to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics. In individual
sabre at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won her first qualifying round bout, and was
defeated in the second round by Cécilia Berder of France. She earned the bronze medal as
part of Team USA in the Team Sabre, becoming the first female Muslim-American athlete to
earn a medal at the Olympics.
"When I realized that there had never been a Muslim woman who wore the hijab to
represent Team USA, I wanted it, you know, not just for myself but for my community," she
has said.1
Bottom Row, Left to Right
9. Rebiya Kadeer
Muslim
Uighur Activist and Businesswoman; Prisoner of Conscience
A successful businesswoman, Rebiya Kadeer is among the most prominent members of
China's Uighur ethnic group in the largely Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. As
one of her many efforts to secure women's rights in China she founded the Thousand
Mothers Movement to promote employment for Uighur women. In 1999, the Chinese
government sentenced her to eight years in prison for spying. She is considered to be a
prisoner of conscience, and human rights groups are pressing for her release.
Although they are Muslim, Uighur women may or may not cover their heads. Ms. Kadeer is
often seen wearing the doppa, an embroidered square hat worn by both Uighur men and
women.
10. Amina Wadud
Muslim
Scholar, Feminist
Born into a Methodist African-American family, Wadud became a Muslim at the age of 20.
She was a Professor of Religion and Philosophy at among others, the Virginia
Commonwealth University and one of the founders of the group Sisters in Islam.
In what was for many a controversial move, she delivered a Friday Khutbah (sermon) – a
role traditionally taken by men - in a mosque in Cape Town in 1994. In 2005, Wadud led
Friday prayers in front of a mixed-gender congregation in New York. The service was held at
an Anglican Church building after mosques refused to host the event. She was criticized by
a number of Muslim leaders, who said it went against Islamic doctrine. She has continued to
lead prayers of mixed congregations across the world and is supported by Muslims from all
walks of life.
11. Benazir Bhutto
Muslim
Prime Minister of Pakistan, 1988-90, 1993-96
Benazir Bhutto attended school in Pakistan, later earning higher degrees from Radcliffe
College at Harvard University in the U.S. and Oxford University in England. She took over
leadership of the Pakistan People's Party from her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and spent
years in prison and under house arrest for her controversial political involvement. Just two
years after Bhutto's 1988 electoral victory, President Ghulam Ishaq dismissed her
government for alleged corruption. She regained power in 1993 and served until 1996. Like
many Muslim women in Pakistan, Bhutto covered her hair loosely. She was the first woman
to head a Muslim majority nation. In 2007, Bhutto was assassinated; an Al-Qaeda
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Ibtihaj Muhammad Powerfully Explains How It Feels to Be First Hijabi Muslim US Olympian
commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claimed responsibility for the attack.
12. Huda Sharawi
Muslim
Egypt, Women’s Rights Advocate
During the 1860s in Egypt, various groups in society began to rise up to resist their imperial
rulers. Women’s-rights advocates worked alongside Egyptian nationalists. Huda Sha’arawi,
born in 1879, took a leading role in bringing attention to the rights of women. Sha'arawi
was raised in a traditional harem, a housing arrangement that separates the sexes, and was
forced into an early marriage as a second wife. Perhaps in reaction to these early life
experiences, she created the Egyptian Philanthropic Society, which provided services to poor
women and children. In 1910, she established a school for girls that taught academic
subjects rather than vocational training such as midwifery. Perhaps most notably, she
founded the influential Egyptian Feminist Union, which published L’Egyptienne (1925-1940),
the country's first magazine published by and for women. Sha'arawi served as an elected
official, organized a 1919 protest by women, one of the largest anti-British street protests in
Egyptian history, and in 1923 publicly removed her niqab, (face covering), a bold action
during her time.2
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From TeachMideast Digital Book, Today’s Middle East: Women, Rights, Leadership written by Michael-Ann
Cerniglia.