Who Wears a Veil?

What factors determine the changing roles of women in the Middle East and Islamic societies?

Can you tell what religion these women are by looking at them?

Check the key on the following pages to find out.

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Top Row, Left to Right:

1. Malala Yousefzai

Muslim

Pakistan, Female Education Advocate; Humanitarian/Activist; Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. As a child, she became an advocate for girls' education, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Malala when she was traveling home from school. She survived, and has continued to speak out on the importance of education. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was nominated again and won, becoming the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 10, 2017, Malala Yousafzai was named the youngest ever UN Messenger of Peace, with a special focus on girls' education.

2. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Christian

President, Liberia; First elected female head of state in Africa; Nobel Peace Prize winner; Women’s rights activist

Born in Liberia in 1938, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was schooled in the United States before serving in the government of her native Liberia. A military coup in 1980 sent her into exile, but she returned in 1985 to speak out against the military regime. She was forced to briefly leave the country again. When she won the 2005 election, Johnson Sirleaf became the first female elected head of state in Africa. In 2011, she was one of a trio of women to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

3. Dr. Hanan AshrawiChristianPalestinian SpokespersonHanan Ashrawi, a Christian Palestinian, has been a prominent spokesperson for Palestinian statehood since 1988. She holds a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of Virginia in the U.S. Ashrawi has served in several educational leadership roles in Palestine, including as Dean of the Faculty of Arts of Birzeit University and Palestinian Minister of Higher Education and Research. After serving in various capacities in the Palestinian leadership, she resigned from the government in 1998 in protest of its corruption. As a Christian Palestinian, Ashrawi does not cover her head.

4. Amira Al TaweelMuslimFounder and CEO of Time Entertainment, Philanthropist, Women’s Rights AdvocateU.S.-educated Princess Amira bint Aidan bin Nayef Al-Taweel Al-Otaibi is a member of the Saudi royal family and Vice Chairperson of the Al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation, a charitable and philanthropic organization founded by her former husband, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal. Princess Amira has used her celebrity status to advocate a wide range of humanitarian interests in both Saudi Arabia and around the world. She is an outspoken supporter of female empowerment and has openly lobbied for women’s right to drive in the kingdom.

Middle Row, Left to Right

5. Mother Teresa ChristianCatholic Nun and HumanitarianMother Teresa was born Gonxhe Agnes Bojaxhiu in Skopje, in present-day Macedonia (then capital of the Ottoman province of Kosovo). At 18, she joined the Irish Catholic order of the Sisters of Loreto. After a brief period in Ireland, she was sent to teach just outside of Calcutta, India, at St. Mary's High School, of which she later became principal. She learned local languages, including Hindi and Bengali, and in 1946 dedicated herself to serving the poorest of the poor. She founded her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, in 1950. With a mission to provide "free service to the poor and the unwanted, irrespective of caste, creed, nationality, or race," the order operated clinics, homeless shelters, orphanages, and hospices for lepers and the dying. Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died in 1997 at the age of 87. Covering the head has been important in the traditions of many religious orders, including Catholic nuns.

6. Queen RaniaMuslimQueen of the Kingdom of Jordan; Community, Health and Education AdvocateRania Al-Yassin was born and raised in Kuwait by Palestinian parents. She received a degree in Business Administration from the American University in Cairo after which she worked briefly in marketing for Citibank, followed by a job with Apple Inc. in Amman.

Since marrying the now King of Jordan, Abdullah bin al-Hussein, she has become known for her advocacy work related to education, health, community empowerment, youth, cross-cultural dialogue, and micro-finance. She is also an avid user of social media and she maintains pages on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. She has two daughters and two sons and has been given various decorations by governments.

In a September 2008 CNN televised interview with Fareed Zakaria, Queen Rania stated that she is not opposed to women choosing to wear the Islamic veil hijab of their own volition as long as it is not compulsory. She further noted that modern Islamic women must make that choice and not be "pressured" by a traditionalist interpretation of Islamic law in society. Rania herself has been seen wearing a veil or a styled hat only on televised royal weddings and during private Papal audiences with the Pope in Rome.

7. Elizabeth IIChristianQueen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New ZealandElizabeth II, 90, was coronated in 1953. On February 6, 2017, the Sapphire Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was celebrated, marking sixty-five years of her reign. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British history. In public, the queen is known for sporting ornate decorative hats in lieu of the more typical regalia like the crown.

8. Ibtihaj MuhammadMuslimOlympic Fencer, Muslim Women’s Clothing DesignerIbtihaj Muhammad (born December 4, 1985) is an American sabre fencer, and a member of the United States fencing team. She is best known for being the first Muslim American woman to wear a hijab while competing for the United States in the Olympics. In individual sabre at the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won her first qualifying round bout, and was defeated in the second round by Cécilia Berder of France. She earned the bronze medal as part of Team USA in the Team Sabre, becoming the first female Muslim-American athlete to earn a medal at the Olympics.

"When I realized that there had never been a Muslim woman who wore the hijab to represent Team USA, I wanted it, you know, not just for myself but for my community," she has said.[footnoteRef:1]

Bottom Row, Left to Right

9. Rebiya KadeerMuslimUighur Activist and Businesswoman; Prisoner of ConscienceA successful businesswoman, Rebiya Kadeer is among the most prominent members of China's Uighur ethnic group in the largely Muslim Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. As one of her many efforts to secure women's rights in China she founded the Thousand Mothers Movement to promote employment for Uighur women. In 1999, the Chinese government sentenced her to eight years in prison for spying. She is considered to be a prisoner of conscience, and human rights groups are pressing for her release.

Although they are Muslim, Uighur women may or may not cover their heads. Ms. Kadeer is often seen wearing the doppa, an embroidered square hat worn by both Uighur men and women.

10. Amina WadudMuslimScholar, FeministBorn into a Methodist African-American family, Wadud became a Muslim at the age of 20. She was a Professor of Religion and Philosophy at among others, the Virginia Commonwealth University and one of the founders of the group Sisters in Islam.

In what was for many a controversial move, she delivered a Friday Khutbah (sermon) – a role traditionally taken by men - in a mosque in Cape Town in 1994. In 2005, Wadud led Friday prayers in front of a mixed-gender congregation in New York. The service was held at an Anglican Church building after mosques refused to host the event. She was criticized by a number of Muslim leaders, who said it went against Islamic doctrine. She has continued to lead prayers of mixed congregations across the world and is supported by Muslims from all walks of life.

11. Benazir Bhutto MuslimPrime Minister of Pakistan, 1988-90, 1993-96 Benazir Bhutto attended school in Pakistan, later earning higher degrees from Radcliffe College at Harvard University in the U.S. and Oxford University in England. She took over leadership of the Pakistan People's Party from her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and spent years in prison and under house arrest for her controversial political involvement. Just two years after Bhutto's 1988 electoral victory, President Ghulam Ishaq dismissed her government for alleged corruption. She regained power in 1993 and served until 1996. Like many Muslim women in Pakistan, Bhutto covered her hair loosely. She was the first woman to head a Muslim majority nation. In 2007, Bhutto was assassinated; an Al-Qaeda commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claimed responsibility for the attack.

12. Huda SharawiMuslimEgypt, Women’s Rights AdvocateDuring the 1860s in Egypt, various groups in society began to rise up to resist their imperial rulers. Women’s-rights advocates worked alongside Egyptian nationalists. Huda Sha’arawi, born in 1879, took a leading role in bringing attention to the rights of women. Sha'arawi was raised in a traditional harem, a housing arrangement that separates the sexes, and was forced into an early marriage as a second wife. Perhaps in reaction to these early life experiences, she created the Egyptian Philanthropic Society, which provided services to poor women and children. In 1910, she established a school for girls that taught academic subjects rather than vocational training such as midwifery. Perhaps most notably, she founded the influential Egyptian Feminist Union, which published L’Egyptienne (1925-1940), the country's first magazine published by and for women. Sha'arawi served as an elected official, organized a 1919 protest by women, one of the largest anti-British street protests in Egyptian history, and in 1923 publicly removed her niqab, (face covering), a bold action during her time.[footnoteRef:2] [1: Ibtihaj Muhammad Powerfully Explains How It Feels to Be First Hijabi Muslim US Olympian] [2: From TeachMideast Digital Book, Today’s Middle East: Women, Rights, Leadership written by Michael-Ann Cerniglia.]