Camels

An American girl was wearing a skirt at University today. I came out of class behind her, and watched, amused, as every single guy on campus watched her. Not those discreet side glances, but full on stares, like follow the skirt with the head and then turn completely around to watch the skirt sway off. And then the guys would turn to their group of friends and they'd all grin and sling out slang words in low voices. Jemel. Or Ghazel. I learned the other day that yes, they actually do refer to attractive women as camels and gazelles. It has something to do with the eyes.
Which if you think about it makes sense; camels and gazelles do have large, mesmerizing eyes--like most of the women, and men, here. And because of the hijab, ordinarily men only have a woman's eyes to fixate and salivate over. (I've been doing random counts of covered versus uncovered women on the streets during my daily taxi rides, and consistently find that 80 percent of women cover here--the actual figure is probably higher, because many women never leave the home). So I guess it's little wonder that when the pretty American blonde struts down University lane, baring her calves for all, men treat it as a spectacle. Because really it is.

To Westerners, I know, this scene comes off as bit misogynistic or objectifying of women. But my understanding of the thought here is that if a women shows her legs, or arms, or breasts, she intends them to be seen. Most women here, even the beautiful ones, don't get this kind of ogling.

I was talking with my Jordanian friend the other day, and we wandered on the topic of women in America. He told me, like every guy I meet here, the women in America must be very beautiful. I told him maybe, they certainly dress more provocatively, to which he replied "O, so they all must want boyfriends?" I wasn't sure if he was joking, but I guess it made me realize how rigid the gender binary of female modesty must be to a guy who sees most women covering their heads (because woman's hair is seen as sensual, a thing of beauty only revealed in private spaces).

Anyway, while men, and women, can stare and swoon all they want at one another (and guys do get long stares from lots of girls, though more discreetly), it's certainly frowned upon for unmarried men and women to show public physical affection. On campus, I've seen many a-touching couple accosted, either by fellow students or Administration. Because so much of social interaction here is about saving face, about honoring your tribe and your past, and producing an image that says "I am one of you, we can relate to one another on a basic, non-verbal level because we come from the same society." I tend to see the hijab as a manifestation of this traditional social desire to be a member of one community; the cover has little to do with being Muslim, though most tend to associate it with traditional Islam. For women in the Prophet's time wore their hair out, and it was not until three centuries after his death that reactionary Muslim scholars and leaders imposed the head covering. Most Muslims today claim that covering helps ensure people's duty to be modest to one another. Judging by the utter lack of promiscuity here (and I've been in some dingy bars here), I'd say the cover helps with this.

Side note: The concept of human rights is an entirely Western concept; in Islam, each person, regardless of creed or composition, has a duty to "enjoin mercy on one another [Sura 90]". What Americans refer to as human rights of freedom of worship, of speech, of employment and movement etc, people here frame as duties between Muslims and their non-Muslim brethren under Allah. Thus when one denies another of the right to worship, for example, he not abridging a human right but rather committing an un-Islamic action and must face Islamic, and not civil, inquiry. Likewise, people here follow their perceived Islamic duty of modesty toward one another. I don't intend to make any judgments on the merits of human rights and Islamic duties, and realize the hijab/niqab certainly offends many feminists/human rights activists.

That said, the whole modesty issue seems to be a one way street. Men here dress very provocatively, and wear shirts that look about two sizes too small for them. They rarely cover their arms, or heads, they never wear gloves, and in general talk louder, laugh louder, and generally carry on like third graders in a playground. The whole silly ordeal of the huge brawl between male students of opposing tribes last week evidences this.

On the cab ride home today, the driver and I both found ourselves staring at an extremely attractive, dark-haired woman walking down the street. I caught his eye and said "Jemel". He laughed at my slang Arabic, and then asked me what word we use in America. I told him the most popular is "hot" or "hottie", and he looked at bit let down. "hmm", he said, "I think Jemel is more beautiful".