I just saw an interview with a woman on the news. She was an Arabic Muslim wearing a head scarf type hijab. But, she clearly had on makeup and lipstick. Far be it from me to demand absolute consistency from people, but I don’t understand someone who tries to minimize her sexuality by wearing a headscarf, and them puts on makeup. Am I missing something? (I don’ think this was typical “TV” makeup that even men wear to look a certain way on TV. This looked like std female makeup.)
So, her culture requires women to cover their heads, but she personally prefers a more Western look, hence the makeup, and she apparently has male relatives who don’t mind.
I saw that interview. Her husband is the head honcho of Qattr (or however that’s spelled). She was very pretty and they are very into westernizing their nation and education for everyone. They want women to play a role in their communities. They vote and speak publicly and everything. It was a good interview.
Well, the hijab signifies a few things–one is to set one’s self apart and be known on sight as a muslim. It’s also about covering sexuality, at least as far as the role of hair & neck plays in that. But there’s a difference between sexuality and femininity. I’d wager a guess that scarved women who wear makeup see it as enhancing one’s femininity, rather than sexuality.
The muslim women around here wear fabulous shoes, too. I guess you express yourself in the things that show, since the hijab and robe covers so much.
When I lived in Colorado, there were three women in our building who wore the hijab with or without a partial veil (you could always see their eyes. All three wore dramatic eye makeup, regardless of age. Lots of kohl liner, etc. It looked great.