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       #Post#: 10754--------------------------------------------------
       Women in Gaza Shed the Veil
       By: Kerry Date: April 25, 2015, 7:37 pm
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       I did not know that women wearing the veil was a big issue
       anywhere in Palestine.  I had naively thought some did and some
       didn't.   But it seems that more women are abandoning the veil
       in the Gaza Strip.
       Two weeks ago, journalist and film director Razan Madhoon took
       off her veil and posted her picture on Facebook. The move
       stirred a fierce backlash of comments against her and her
       husband, who supported her decision.
       Some people even called on to return to Islam, as though taking
       off her veil were on par with forsaking religion. Madhoon and
       her husband are known for their Muslim background in the
       journalism world.
       Madhoon’s decision came as a shock for the Gaza public, given
       the region's rising religiosity. Women wearing the veil or niqab
       and frequenting mosques have become commonplace in the Gaza
       Strip. This phenomenon calls for an analysis of its underlying
       reasons. Is it because society is conservative that people are
       prone to be more religious, or because a movement affiliated
       with political Islam is in power? Have the wars and experiences
       with death drawn people closer to religion?
       Sheikh Abdel Aziz Aoude told Al-Monitor, “Our society has always
       been religious, whether it was ruled by an Islamist party or
       not.” He added, “Perhaps religiosity in Gaza is only in form and
       does not include real social and cultural indications. For
       instance, praying is related to decency and order, but
       unfortunately the lives of religious people are chaotic, and
       this religious notion is not reflected in the rhythm of their
       [daily] lives.”
       Though it may be widely believed that Gaza is a conservative
       society by nature, no one knows where this idea came from, as
       society was not as it is now in the 1960s and 1970s. Most
       families keep photos of their female members in their homes,
       unveiled and sometimes even wearing revealing clothes. The trend
       toward conservatism came about with the first intifada in 1987—
       and the birth of political Islam in Palestine, represented by
       Hamas.
       Currently, religiosity seems to have returned to the pre-Hamas
       era. It is hard to say whether this indicates an inclination
       toward atheism, although there are many undeclared atheists in
       the Gaza Strip.
       Read more:
  HTML http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/04/gaza-religious-society-women-unveiled.html#ixzz3YN4Q1fF4
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