Week 6 Reading

I really found the chapter from Louise Cainkar’s book to be a very interesting read because we have read a lot about the cultural and religious significance of hijab in Afghanistan, Egypt and Iran, and this chapter gives us insight into how women in America perform their religious obligation to wear hijab in the face of victimization. Unaware of the extent of the implications of 9/11 on the Muslim` population in America, I found it interesting to read why women in hijab were being attacked while it was the men who were accused for being violent and terrorists. The process of de-Americanization stood out to me as an important tactic of attacking women because they were more vulnerable. Moreover, I found it amusing when some people put forth the argument that Muslim women were to blame for violent men because not only is the upbringing of children questionable, but men and women do not show affection openly, which can cause psychological damage, thus create violent tendencies. The hijab was construed as a challenge to American efforts of liberating women in Afghanistan and that was a new perspective for me.