The Veil Women Writers on Its History, Lore, and Politics By Jennifer Heath, editor (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. 346 pages.)

Abstract

Taking an expansive notion of what is a “veil” and recognizing its immemorial
relationship to sacredness, Jennifer Heath has put together a wonderful
collection of essays about it. The twenty-one female contributors consider
the veil from a variety of viewpoints: academic, personal memoir, and artistic.
Her introduction and epilogue presents the book’s overall goal and a
summation. The main argument is that “the veil” has been (and will remain)
part of human society, in countless cultures and religions, for thousands of
years. It can be a piece of cloth, a mask, or even related to the mystery of nature (as in the ancient Greek goddess Nyx [Night], drawing the veil of
darkness across earth, while Selene [Moon] rises wearing a veil [p. 5].).”
Current debates over veiling focus only on Islamic veiling and its relationship
to women’s oppression, which politicizes and narrows the understanding
of this practice.
There is no singular truth to “the veil,” Heath suggests, and that is precisely
the feeling one gets, for after reading the entire collection, one is no
wiser to “the” meaning of “the” veil. The “truth” of the veil, rather, is that
the current debate over it (does it or does it not oppress women?) detracts
from the real issues women face: ...