Fascinating piece from Reuters, published in Asharq Alawsat. Even Muslim employers, in the region, prefer not to have women wearing niqab—full face veils—in positions where they need to interact with the public. This stance puts the employers squarely in the same position of several European states that prohibit the veil in certain public situations. It also raises the question about whether Islamic practice (actually cultural practice) is a matter of what someone says or what people actually do.
Definitely worth a glance.
Face Veils an Impediment Even to Gulf Jobseekers
DUBAI (Reuters) – Aysha Obeid is hoping that job prospects in a Muslim country will improve for her now that she’s decided to abandon the veil which usually covers her face.
The 22-year-old says several potential employers in the United Arab Emirates have turned her down because she wore the niqab, a face veil that usually leaves only the eyes uncovered.
Obeid, a national of the UAE, now only wears the head scarf more commonly worn by Muslim women around the world.
“No one takes women with niqab in the retail sector,” said Obeid who unsuccessfully applied for jobs at two retail outlets. She is now looking for back office administrative jobs where she believes she may have more chance of being employed.
Many devout women in the conservative Arabian Peninsula wear the niqab, but most Muslim clerics say women are only required to wear a head scarf.
While objections to the niqab have stirred up controversy outside the Muslim world, women who cover their face in the region also say they have trouble getting jobs, particularly those requiring them to interact with the public.
“Women in niqabs do not sit at the counter. They take administrative jobs,” said Abdullah Naser, a manager at a Dubai post office. “Clients need to know who they are talking to.”
Face veils have been a hot political issue in Europe and parts of the Middle East over the rights of wearers to attend schools in secular societies or become policewomen, teachers and take other jobs which interact with the public while wearing the niqab or similar face-covering veils.
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July:31:2007 - 11:17
That’s why it’s not qualifications or hard-work that are the main reasons to employ women, at least in the ME. It’s an example of how businesses use women’s sexuality, beauty, and femininity, either in advertising, sales, etc, in order to make money, which is very cheap for the businesses and for the women in my opinion.
July:31:2007 - 11:58
I guess that’s one way of looking at it.
Another way might be to see that people want to be able to look at the face of a person with whom they are doing business. Faces give lots of cues about a person’s intent, integrity, honesty. Human brains are very highly developed to note things like expression and body language as ways of avoiding social cheats. Things that block or confuse that information simply aren’t conducive to successful business.
July:31:2007 - 21:09
[...] Face veils have been a hot political issue in Europe and parts of the Middle East over the rights of wearers to attend schools in secular societies or become policewomen, teachers and take other jobs which interact with the public while wearing the niqab or similar face-covering veils. – Crossroads Arabia [...]
August:01:2007 - 02:59
I work at one of the largest hospitals in Riyadh in an administrative capacity. Recently I had a meeting with a Saudi female doctor who chose to wear a face veil. I have to admit I found it awkward in having a discussion with someone who was covered from head to toe for it reinforced to me how much we as individuals also rely on facial expressions and body language to confirm that one understands a discussion. The meeting was held in my private office so it was her choice whether or not to remain covered. What I wondered though if through her choice to be covered from head to toe, what impact if any did that have in the doctor-patient relationship? Was it still easy to acquire that confident and supportive rapport?