• Corpus ID: 158787325

Interpretations of Hijab in the Middle East: Policy Discussions and Social Implications toward Women

@inproceedings{Razak2017InterpretationsOH,
  title={Interpretations of Hijab in the Middle East: Policy Discussions and Social Implications toward Women},
  author={Rafidah Abdul Razak and Rohaiza Rokis and Bazlin Darina Ahmad Tajudin},
  year={2017}
}

• Rafidah Abdul Razak, Rohaiza Rokis, Bazlin Darina Ahmad Tajudin
• Published 18 December 2017
• Sociology

Discussions on IijEb or veil in the Middle East is highly controversial and debatable even until
today. Although the majority of the population in the Middle East countries are comprised of Muslims, yet
the policies and laws regarding the wearing of IijEb by women, vary. Except for Iran and Saudi Arabia,
other Middle East countries did not set the clear rulings for IijEb, in fact some governments restrict its
wearing in certain occupational sectors like what had been practiced in Turkey. This article aims at
examining the implications of IijEb policies in the Middle East in terms of the reactions and interpretations
the societies make including the Western analysts towards IijEb. While the famous assumption about IijEb
often lies at its symbolic representation as a form of men‟s oppression against women, many Muslim
women in the Middle East see it as a symbol of power and freedom. In order to achieve the objective, a
secondary research that involves collecting of information and data from existing resources on the topic of
IijEb was applied. As found, the different implementation of IijEb policies in the Middle East led to
various interpretations and influenced women – Muslimah or not – around the globe.

************************************************************Isu IijEb atau tudung kepala di Timur Tengah sering menimbulkan kontroversi dan hangat
diperbicangkan sehingga hari ini. Walaupun majoriti masyarakat di Timur Tengah adalah beragama Islam,
namun polisi dan undang-undang berkaitan pemakaian IijEb berbeza diantara satu sama lain. Negaranegara
di Timur Tengah, kecuali Iran dan Arab Saudi, tidak menetapkan perundangan yang jelas tentang
IijEb, malah sesetengah negara mengehadkan pemakaiannya di beberapa sektor pekerjaan sepertimana
dipraktikkan di Turki. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk memahami implikasi daripada pelaksanaan polisi IijEb di
Timur Tengah dari segi reaksi dan penilaian masyarakat termasuk penganalisa barat terhadap IijEb.
Biarpun ia sering dikaitkan sebagai satu simbol penindasan oleh kaum lelaki ke atas wanita, ramai di
kalangan wanita Islam di Timur Tengah menganggap IijEb sebagai satu simbol kekuatan dan kebebasan.
Bagi mencapai objektif, penyelidikan sekunder telah dijalankan melalui pengumpulan maklumat dan data
daripada bahan bacaan berkaitan IijEb. Hasil daripada penyelidikan mendapati pelaksanaan polisi IijEb di
Timur Tengah telah mengundang pelbagai reaksi dan mempengaruhi wanita – Muslimah atau tidak – di
seluruh dunia.