Veil
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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- Something hung up, or spread out, to intercept the view, and hide an object; a cover; a curtain; esp., a screen, usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphanous material, to hide or protect the face.
- 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence. p. 4.
- Beckett complains that "in the forest of symbols" there is never quiet, and longs to break through the veil of language to silence.
- 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence. p. 4.
- A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. As a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space.
In Islam
A variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women in accordance with hijab (the principle of dressing modestly) are sometimes referred to as veils. Many of these garments cover the hair, ears and throat, but do not cover the face. The khimar is a type of headscarf. The niqāb and burqa are two kinds of veils that cover most of the face except for a slit or hole for the eyes.
The Afghan burqa covers the entire body, obscuring the face completely, except for a grille or netting over the eyes to allow the wearer to see. The boshiya is a veil that may be worn over a headscarf; it covers the entire face and is made of a sheer fabric so the wearer is able to see through it. It has been suggested that the practice of wearing a veil - uncommon among the Arab tribes prior to the rise of Islam - originated in the Byzantine Empire, and then spread.
The wearing of head and especially face coverings by Muslim women has raised political issues in the West; see for example Hijab controversy in Quebec, Islamic dress controversy in Europe, Islamic scarf controversy in France, and United Kingdom debate over veils. There is also high debate of the veil in Turkey, a Muslim majority country but secular, which banned the headscarves in universities and government buildings, due to the türban (a Turkish styled headscarf) being viewed as a political symbol of Islam, see Headscarf controversy in Turkey.
See also
