Answer the following questions about the videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
ID: 3447128 • Letter: A
Question
Answer the following questions about the videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaxnvwffWbE&feature=youtube_gdata
What is a hijab? What is a burqa?
According to Jafar, is ‘veiling’ oppressive? Explain.
What is female genital mutilation (or female genital cutting)? What are some of the procedures?
What is it about the FGM procedure that makes women look ‘more feminine?’ In other words, what is it about the altered genitals that make them appear ‘more feminine,' in the eyes of the cultures that practice it?
What is female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS)? What are some of the procedures?
Who are the ‘drivers’ behind FGCS, according to Jafar – women or men?
How is FGM similar to FGCS? What are the parallels?
Jafar points out that many people today seem to believe that because women in our society are allowed to wear less clothing, then it must mean that we have made moreprogress toward gender equality, at least when it comes to women's bodies. What does Jafar have to say about this belief?
Do you agree with Jafar that "less clothes" does not necessarily mean "more equality?" Explain.
Explanation / Answer
A hijab is a head scarf which is worn by many women in Islamic societies that is used to conceal the hair. While a burqa is a robe like veil which covers the entire body of the wearer from head to ankle wind only the eyes visible for eas in mobility and is also a cultural accessory worn by women in the Ismalimc custom. Both the hijab and the burqa are referred as veils in English language to determine the cultural Custom of hiding or concealing the body or parts of the body from social and sexual gaze. Culturally, these forms of veiling are rooted in the idea of protection of women from unwanted sexual gaze of their Male locuters.
In the present scenario, These practices have come under sharp debates because of the alleged idea of oppression which is suggested to be present in the codification of women’s clothing according to religious norms. However, in heartland, sociologist Jafar presents a second oipinion. She reminds the audience of reading the burqa and the hijab in the context of its existence rather than interpreting oppression as inherently present in the objects themselves. For instance, ‘skinny’ or ‘skimpy’ clothes are merely weak signs of a progressive society as they nontheless compel women to adhere to the existing ideal of a body type rather than rebel against it. She argues that the hijab is not compulsorily enforced. There are women who ‘choose’ it and it therefore cannot be seen as oppressive. allows women a greater accessibility and mobility in the public places and it cannot be rigidly seen as universally oppressive or backward. According to her, one needs to consider the personal experiences of the women who wear the burqa rather than judge the social practice from one’s own ideological positions such as individualism, and a liberal body economy driven by consumerism.
The video also makes reference to certain other body practices such as FGM or the female genital mutilation which involves cutting or surgical modification of the female genital organs in young adolescent girls in order to make the bodies adhere to the socially prevailing ideal of beauty and femininity or as a rite of passage. the FGM involves a cluster of practices which include: clitoridectomy or the removal of a part or while of the clitoris that is said to be responsible for creating the experience of pleasure in sexual intercourse; excision or the removal of the clitoris and the labia; infibulation or making the vaginal opening narrower by creation of an outer covering, and other harmful procedures performed on the female genitalia such as piercing, pricking,etc.the idea behind these practices is that they are tied to the culture’s notions of hygiene and ‘clean’ appearance by removing the loose memebranes or body parts which are akin to the male genital structures and can thus raise the women as truly the opposite of ‘masculine’ that is ‘feminine’.