How I Came To Love The Veil Analysis

“How I Came to Love the Veil,” by Yvonne Ridley, attempts to expose the common, yet unjust beliefs that afflict Muslim women. They are refused service, mistaken for terrorists and even verbally abused on a daily basis. Ridley, herself, viewed Muslim women as weak and oppressed. Her point-of-view began to change as her knowledge of Islam began to grow. After being taken captive by the Taliban in 2001, Ridley was released after promising her captors she would read the Koran. Although her expectations were filled with pretense—she expected the Koran chapters to be filled with instructions for men on how to beat their wives and oppress their daughters—Ridley was captivated by the principles of Islam. Two years later, Ridley converted to Islam. Within days of being in the shoes of a Muslim woman, she felt the harsh weight of the world’s prejudice fall against her. Ridley documents her sudden transition into the world of a second class citizen. Everything, from her clothing and life choices, were criticized and misconstrued as weak or dangerous. She wasn’t treated poorly by

In the 1970s, women in the United States demanded equality. Prior to that, women were considered to be less intelligent and far more expendable than their male counterparts. The Koran and its verses do not agree with that sentiment. Although often misconstrued as a religion that oppresses women, Ridley asserts that that has never been the case. Muslim women have had the rights women in United States “fought for in the 1970s” over “1,400 years ago.” In Islam, women “are considered equal to men in spirituality, education and worth.” Women in the Islamic religion are constantly portrayed as victims. Ridley proves that isn’t the result of the Koran and its texts, rather cultural issues that exist outside the religion of Islam. A man following the Koran would not view his wife as his property or as an inferior