@Proxy - You're gross!And how would you like people to see you as you get older? If you're lucky to survive too many years with a mouth like yours - it will happen! Age that is! Remember, what goes around comes around! You might end up real ugly - outside as well as in!

No disrespect intended Liz but Proxy's comment made me laugh. Thanks also to Rusty Catheter for the clarification.

It is even funnier to think that the Mufleh Mohammed of Saudi Arabia could ID his camels and goats but not his missus.

I feel that the custom of hiding the face has been insufficiently theorised. What does it mean? What is it's purpose both stated and implied?

Face hiding is generally an expression of shame across cultures - a kind of existential denial of one's existence out of a sense of unworthiness.

Is it intended then for women whose cultural beliefs (not Islam) require them to hide their faces that they must submit to and live daily with this most extreme form of loss of the self and loss of individuality?

If one just considers face hiding on its own as a separate issue from religious practice it seems even more cruel and inhumane. To associate the practice with Islam gives it a legitimacy that it does not appear to deserve. That people still feel a need to do this in modern society is frightening, in terms of the kinds of mentalities that lead men and women to believe it is necessary.

I wonder how face hiding originated. Perhaps it was an issue over bride price where there was much competition for attractive brides leaving the ugly ones unwed and childless, thereby risking survival of the group. The tribal elders may have originally required it in order to ensure that ugly women were also married off. If so, it would be interesting to investigate the effect this breeding practice has had on the quality and attractiveness of offspring. The practice appears intended to defy nature.

I imagine the practice is particularly offensive to Westerners because of the high value they place on individuality and free choice.

One might argue in its favour that the practice is fairer to those not blessed with beauty - or is it, if it increases the incentive to live their lives in hiding, ashamed to be seen for who they are? People who are not beautiful also love and are loved and live fulfilling and meaningful lives. To emphasise beauty as a value in reverse, as with modern advertising, is just as dehumanising - the other side of the coin perhaps and possibly arising from similar motives.

JanF,

I'd go with the simple, obvious reason.

Some wanted the bag to cover everything with just enough opening so the woman could keep the obligatory five paces behind, that is all.

As an Australian politician was fond of saying, 'You can always bet on self interest' (or words to that effect) and it wouldn't have been the self interest of the woman, who rated below her owner's goat or camel.

From Proxy's link, nothing has changed,
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11291&page=20

Interesting thoughts, JanF.

From memory, there's actually quite an extensive
theoretical literature about the 'veil' and its
cultural significance. You're quite correct that
such perspectives rarely find their way into popular
discussions about the burqa etc.

I read this book when it came out about 10 years ago, and
found it very enlightening about these issues, at least as they
pertain to Arab Muslims. Of course, the burka is worn by
various non-Arab ethnic groups:

**Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society,
[Paperback]
Lila Abu-Lughod**

Review:

"A fascinating, fresh interpretation of the mechanics of the twin codes of Bedouin behavior: the 'code of honor' against which 'real men' are tested and the 'code of modesty' which [Abu-Lughod] sees as a means for those falling short of 'real manhood,' whether men or women, to attain moral worth. The argument is compelling--it makes sense of honor killings, the veiling of women and a seemingly excessive sexual modesty. There is a certain excitement here, as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place." -- Inea Bushnaq, New York Times Book Review

http://www.amazon.com/Veiled-Sentiments-Poetry-Bedouin-Society/dp/0520224736

The Bibliography is particularly useful.