it seems to me that veiling was also a way of keeping one;s hair and body clean
from dust, especially in areas where water is/was scarce. it may have become a
symbol of female modesty when the male religions took over. dina dahbany-miraglia
Max Dashu wrote:
> Veiling appears to have been an old Indo-European custom. It doesn't
> necessarily involve face-covering, but covering of the head and especially
> the hair. The Greeks, Hittites, Persians, and Romans all practiced it, and
> it spread. Although it's not recognizable to most people today, European
> medieval dress involved a version of it, in the form of required
> head-coverings for married women (some involving considerable fabric,
> others quite abbreviated).
>
> Veiling preceded Islam, but its adoption as a Muslim norm caused it to
> spread further yet (from Morocco to Malaysia, countries where it was
> previously unknown.
>
> It seems to have originally been a marker for married women of high status
> (as it was among the Greeks and Romans). "Lower" classes of women did not
> veil, and in many places this was in fact forbidden to them. But over time
> they too began to adopt veiling, which not only marked status but also
> acted as a shield against street assaults. It has for a very long time been
> a demarcator of "respectable" women. Prostitutes sometimes adopted it (both
> for protection and also as a tool of seduction) but were also punished for
> their unauthorized use of it.
>
> > I think veils (regardless
> >of their representation in art) were a fashion accessory. They were something
> >that were simply worn. As time went on, they became incorporated into
> >religious as well as secular dress. And if you think about our own times, some
> >of our mothers and grandmothers were raised with the notion that one didn't
> >leave the house without some sort of hat on.
> >I don't think anyone was "supposed" to wear veils (or were not permitted to).
>
> Max Dashu <[log in to unmask]>
> <www.suppressedhistories.net>
> 30 Years of International Women's Studies
> <www.maxdashu.net>
> Paintings of bold and spirited women
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