Veiling: Tradition, Identity and Fashion - for iPod/iPhone

The Open University

Why do Muslim women wear the hijab? How do they reconcile different approaches to veiling between generations, across different geographical regions and in different cultural and social environments? How do they negotiate diverse social and cultural influences, pressures and expectations, legal constraints, practical challenges and fashion trends? In this collection we explore the extraordinary range of different styles of Muslim dress and the emotions people can invest in them. Track 1 looks at different attitudes towards veiling in the Southern Indian city of Calicut (also known as Kozhikode), and in tracks 2, 3 and 4, Stefanie Sinclair, Open University Lecturer in Religious Studies, talks to the anthropologist Emma Tarlo, of Goldsmiths, University of London, about different attitudes among British Muslims towards veiling, fashion and the commercialisation of the hijab. This material forms part of the Open University course A332 Why is religion controversial?

  • 19 minutes 22 seconds
    Veiling in the Southern Indian City of Calicut
    Exploring the many varieties of religious veil worn by the Muslim women of Calicut (Kozhikode).
    22 February 2013, 8:35 am
  • Transcript -- Veiling in the Southern Indian City of Calicut
    Transcript -- Exploring the many varieties of religious veil worn by the Muslim women of Calicut (Kozhikode).
    22 February 2013, 8:35 am
  • 4 minutes 31 seconds
    Why do Muslim women adopt hijab?
    What are the factors that affect a Muslim womans decision to cover their hair, and even their faces, with the hijab?
    22 February 2013, 8:31 am
  • Transcript -- Why do Muslim women adopt hijab?
    Transcript -- What are the factors that affect a Muslim womans decision to cover their hair, and even their faces, with the hijab?
    22 February 2013, 8:31 am
  • 4 minutes 58 seconds
    Attitudes towards the hijab as a fashion item
    Has the hijab become an expression not just of tradition and identity, but of fashion?
    22 February 2013, 8:30 am
  • Transcript -- Attitudes towards the hijab as a fashion item
    Transcript -- Has the hijab become an expression not just of tradition and identity, but of fashion?
    22 February 2013, 8:30 am
  • 3 minutes 51 seconds
    Commercialisation of the hijab
    Is Muslim dress becoming its own form of commercial fashion? How does the Muslim modest fashion industry differ from the mainstream fashion industry?
    22 February 2013, 8:29 am
  • Transcript -- Commercialisation of the hijab
    Transcript -- Is Muslim dress becoming its own form of commercial fashion? How does the Muslim modest fashion industry differ from the mainstream fashion industry?
    22 February 2013, 8:29 am
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