Women in the Middle East: A Veiled Revolution

When thinking about representations of the Middle East in United States media I was immediately drawn to thinking about the constant war films we see in which this distant threat is presented. This representation is a way to not only make the “threat” closer to home as it is brought to the screens of U.S. consumers, but it is present in a way that the characters are affected by this threat in personal and global ways. These films however always give the viewer the conclusion of this narrative that restores the structures of U.S. society that has been disrupted by this distant enemy. However, aside from depictions of war and soldiers this similar narrative is represented through the need for protection of the female body and spirit that is also constantly portrayed as being at risk of Middle Eastern values. There is a constant cry and debate over the rights of women that need to be protected in the Middle East by Western values and conceptions of gender, for the safety of women everywhere. Through constant focus on the physical attire and dress of women in the Arab world, the U.S. news and entertainment media created this narrative of the women of the Middle East are in need of white male American help. These stories oversimplify a complicated story infused with tradition, culture, politics religion and so many other axes of identity that cannot be made to merely conform to dominant hegemonic Western culture.

I think it is interesting then to explore the short documentary A Veiled Revolution (1982) while I have not seen the film so I cannot speak to its merits or shortcomings, I still think that it provides an interesting perspective to this issue. While it is not a mainstream representation it is evidence of alternative forms of media that attempt to address this situation head on and considers the dress of these women as a form of resistance and a transfer of agency back onto Middle Eastern women. This film is also interesting for me to think about because of when it was created and how things have changed since the film was made – in terms of available media for independent film making but also within the political and cultural climate of the U.S. and the Middle East.

I don't have a clip because its really hard to find but here's a link about it (there's a study guide and an option to buy the dvd on this site: http://www.icarusfilms.com/cat97/t-z/veiled.html