Women scurrying through the backstreets of a Middle Eastern city, the curves of their bodies covered in up to 10 layers of thick cloth and only their eyes visible to the outside world.
But these women are not Muslims choosing to wrap themselves in full length niqabs or burqas, these are a small group of ultra-Orthodox Jewish women in Israel who have taken to wearing quite possibly one of the most austere forms of "Jewish hijab" available.
A report in this week's Jewish Chronicle reports on the 100 or so followers of Rabbanit Bruria Keren, a mother of 10 from an ultra-Orthodox Charedi community who tells her followers to wear clothing strikingly similar to the Afghan burqa in order to keep their bodies under wraps and thus ensure salvation. (You can see a pic of what these women look like here.)
According to interviews she has done with the Israeli Ma'ariv and Haaretz papers, the reclusive Keren believes that the usually modest form of dress that many Orthodox women chose to wear is simply not modest enough. "The Holy Mothers and the women of Jerusalem used to wrap their bodies and to hide their faces," she said recently. "The face and body shape of a woman might be an obstacle to men. The more layers of clothes, the woman's modesty is higher regarded."
Apparently her interpretation of tzniut (a sort of Jewish version of the Islamic concept of hijab) is so strict that her followers do not wear high heels lest their loud footsteps should attract unwanted male attention.
The Jewish Chronicle's comment editor Miriam Shaviv is pretty appalled by this. "By donning the burqa, [these women] are making themselves invisible, effectively non-persons. Modesty, for them, is not participation in the world, while de-emphasising their physicality - as it is in halachah [Jewish law based on the Torah] - but complete self-effacement, to the point of self-obliteration."
What is remarkable to me is just how similar the extremely austere and strict interpretations of the Abrahamic religions are.
All the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - have long-standing traditions of veiling their women in order to protect their modesty or mask their sexuality. But while most adherents choose a variety of simple and unobtrusive coverings, there are still those that insist on nothing but the absolute destruction of sexuality.
There are a number (albeit small) of ultra-Orthodox towns in Israel that, like the Wahabis of Saudi Arabia, insist on separate shopping times for men and women. Asides from their doctrinal and theological differences I'm sure Keren's followers, the Wahabis and some of the world's more wacky Christian evangelicals would in fact have a lot of common ground when it comes to their interpretation of modesty. Although no doubt they'd be too busy condemning each other to the eternal hellfires to realise.
It will be interesting to see whether the Jewish burqa remains an obscure item of clothing worn only by a tiny minority or becomes increasingly popular just like the various forms of hijab have across much of the Islamic world in recent decades.
After reading couple of articles in JC News, I found few interesting points there.
1- This is a religious movement leading by a woman.
2- Apparently, these ladies have many children. Again, according to the same articles, it seems it is one of their holy goals.
3- They cover themselves secure and avoid direct contact with other men.
4- What I found ironic is that many people of their greater communities (Orthodox and moderate Jewish) somehow look down to them. Even in extreme cases consider them as mentally extremely disturb. I don’t think it is a fair judgment.
However, it seems to me that these ladies are making a social/political statement i.e. a protestation against their larger community concept of womanhood.
Unfortunately, it maybe true, many men by instinct or whatever reason, in depth of their mind consider woman as a commodity, someone that should be kept hidden at home doing the housework, bringing up and taking care of children, etc.
Please bare in mind that there is a great difference about this movement, it is these ladies who are running the show, not their spouses.
Good luck to them.
Posted by: Mack, London, UK | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 03:20 AM
The way I see it, a woman's body is her personal space which all too often-if not as a rule- men tend to 'occupy' with their gaze alone. It's a problem encountered by women all over the world, regardless of religious affiliations.
If a woman wishes to guard this personal and private space and make it off limits to strangers then she has a right to do so. The problem arises only where this is done forcefully and without both men and women understanding the reasons why the Abrahamic religions all called for modesty in dress for women.
In fact, the irony is that in doing so the religions impliedly acknowledge that men have a 'problem' in their ability to curb their sexual desires which makes men inherently 'weak' in some way.
The hijab/tzniut was probably never meant to be a way of oppressing women, instead a privilege bestowed on them that they have a right to protect themselves from the gaze of men. It's a 'hands off' symbol unlike any other and should be understood properly before these women have to suffer at the hands of society.
If we really want to liberate women, why don't we just let them choose what they want to wear and how.
Posted by: Maria | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 06:08 AM
The above commenters make a point that these standards *might* not be considered oppressive because the women are choosing to adopt them themselves.
My concern, however, is if somehow this standard spreads and is considered to be desireable -- and even becomes the norm. Then it will be forced on ME!
While I find this idea ridiculous and abhorrent (perhaps because I was raised in a western culture?) ...the devil's adovcate in me says "What if they ARE right? What if this IS the way that our foremothers dressed? Does that mean that we must dress this way as well? Perhaps this IS what is meant by 'Sarah is in the Tent?' Ugh...what if they ARE RIGHT after all? I mean, it was hard enough for me to get rid of my jeans, cover my hair and dress by the modest standards of the mainstream Orthodox community. If this is the next step -- and if it turns out to be *legitimate* I don't know what I'll do!
Posted by: Sarah | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 12:57 PM
Beautiful, all those anti-Islamists who keep on raving about the "dominant Judeo-Christian Culture in Western Europe " will now have to accept the fact that Hijab and even Niqab ( here called burqa by a lazy Journalist ) are part of this Judeo-Christian Culture .
Posted by: Nijlgans | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 12:59 PM
The similarity between the hijab of the Jews, Christians and Muslims is not surprising. It was the same Creator who ordered it.
And this command is in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran.
Te only reason some Jews and Christian may find it strange is they have neglected their religious books for a very long time. They disobey God, so find it strange when Muslims obey God and find it stranger when people of their own religion try to obey God.
Islam is just a renewal of what was sent to Moses and Jesus; all those who claim to follow Moses and Jesus Must follow Prophet Mohummad pbh as Prophet Mohummed is the Prophet of this time.
Posted by: Abdullah Rosenberg | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 02:59 PM
As a modern orthodox Jewish woman with many Muslim friends, I agree more with the comments then with the article. If women WANT to cover to respect their modesty, why is the author so troubled by this? it is their body, their choice. nobody is forcing them or subjugating them. let me ask...I am sure these women feel even liberated.
To paraphrase a good friend: In modern culture the ideal is for a woman to be attracting (external)in G-d based societies the ideal is to be attractive (internal, spiritual)
Posted by: Rebecca | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 09:50 PM
i believe that every one has the right to do any thing he like's without hurting others or forcing others to do the same thing if these women are believing in the things they are trying to do and they didn't force any other womens to do the same thing , then it's there right to practise these believes and they don't need to justify that....
Posted by: lamar | Monday, 04 February 2008 at 10:35 PM
"Why is the author so troubled by this?"
Rebecca, ultimately I'm not troubled by this for the moment as the women participating in this type of dress very much seem to be doing so of their own accord - and why shouldn't they if that's their wish?
Equally I have no problem with any form of hijab - including niqab, jilbab and even burqa - as long as it is the express desire of the wearer and not pressure from someone else or society in general.
But at the same time I think there is a fine line to tread. Often extreme or radical interpretations of religious clothing can lead to a great deal of isolation of the wearer from mainstream society. Now for some that may be the express intention of the wearer but it's not always and I think where possible it's probably best avoided.
Things like hijab and other forms of religiously inspired sartorial modesty should enable a woman to integrate and interact with the wider community more, not less. Many of the young Muslims I speak to near where I live say they chose to wear a headscarf because it enables them to walk and talk outside their homes without hassle.
But we shouln't be blind to the fact that often extreme forms of modest clothing inspired by religion can lead to the total isolation of the wearer from mainstream scoiety and when that happens I do think that's a shame.
Posted by: Jerome Taylor | Tuesday, 05 February 2008 at 09:23 AM
You can find a summary/translation of the Maariv article on my blog. Read it and then tell us whether or not you find this disturbing.
hyper-tzniut
http://mominisrael.blogspot.com/search/label/hyper-tzniut
Posted by: mother in israel | Wednesday, 06 February 2008 at 09:45 AM
I don't believe this is a "movement". I think it will die out and the women will wake up and wonder what they had in mind when they started this whole thing.
Posted by: Jewishsoulsearch.com | Sunday, 10 February 2008 at 07:27 PM
You may dismiss these people as crazy extremists, but it in my experience it does not take long for extreme actions like this to drift into becoming "unnecessary but laudable" and then "not necessary but preferable" and then to the norm and "mandatory." (Case in point, it was women who requested that Egged buses be seperated by gender, with women riding in the back -- but is men who have taken to enforcing it -- with abusive words and even their fists on a few occasions -- for any women who do not comply) My friend Heshy at frumsatire.com calls the phenomena "The Chumra-Of-The-Month-Club" Tell me, is Israel on the path to becoming "Talmudistan?"
Posted by: Sarah | Wednesday, 13 February 2008 at 11:43 AM
..more situations where free prescription of MDMA/Exstacy would be indicated. Sad sad little manikin. Essentially patriarchal abuse whether a female individual is 'directing' the trip or otherwise. One thing is real - fertility. Its biologically natural. Why hide it? Why be ashamed of it. Its reality regardless of mans laws and rules.
Having said that I do know a little about Islamic society...and the communal vibrations...energy that you get with that religious senario in Morrocco....(regardless of seemingling inane rules, little bonnets for women etc etc) impressive and truely real and cosmic. Something that the Koran dissectors on the interent no absolutely nothjing about, and would no doubt, have huge fear and paranoia barriers to transcend before they could walk freely and experience Morroccan street reality.
The anti 'idolity' thing must stop though. This is facsism.
However they dress, the Isrealis are totally out of order towards the indigenous people of that area - the Palestinians.
Jah Bless ;)
Posted by: 666 | Thursday, 12 June 2008 at 02:24 PM