As a growing number of professional women take the veil, their

right to practice their religion is clashing with employers’ right to

hire whomever they want. Is it just a workplace issue? Or a symp-
tom of deeper social tensions between the adamantly secular and
an increasingly religious majority?
erin Salem is the kind of woman who turns heads, it off. She refused. The flight operations officer settled the

N whether in a bathing suit, a uniform — or an old flour

sack, for that matter.
The audience couldn’t take their eyes off her flawless fig-
dispute in favor of the captain, appointing another co-pilot
in Salem’s place.
Salem tried to appeal up the chain of command to the
ure as she was crowned Miss Egypt 1989, but what those chief pilot, but hit a dead end: “He wouldn’t have anything
admiring the way she could fill a tiny bikini didn’t know to do with me,” she alleges, claiming he told others Salem
was that Salem’s ambitions ran higher than a beauty pag- shouldn’t consider herself “part of his crew” as long as she
eant stage: 35,000 feet higher, in fact. After training in the wore the veil.
United States, Salem returned home to become one of With no way out, Salem agreed to a meeting with the air-
Egypt’s first female commercial pilots. In a sea of beards line’s administration manager. After jousting back and forth,
and mustaches, her long black hair marked her as the only the admin manager finally lost his temper, shouting that it
woman among Shorouk Air’s pilots. was the company’s policy not to allow veiled women to fly.
But in 2001, the 35-year-old aviator turned the heads of “I asked for a copy of the policy. He refused, of course, be-
even those who had come to expect the unexpected from her cause they would be in trouble — it’s illegal,” she alleges.
when she took hijab (the veil) after watching a religious tele- But Salem was the one in trouble: Shorouk gave her one
vision serial. Salem’s decision to put on the veil left her hus- last chance, she says, suggesting she might find it hard to
band scratching his head — and her supervisors having fits. make ends meet without a job. “By the end of the conversa-
“They kept urging me to turn back to my normal life, not tion, I expected something like, ‘Renounce your beliefs or
to walk down that path — as if I was working as a pilot in we’ll ram a red-hot iron through your ear,’” she laughs,
the morning and a belly dancer in the evening. It wasn’t as quoting a favorite movie.
if I was caught in a whorehouse! When you’re in a bikini, In December 2001, 15 days after Salem took the veil, the
people see you as an open-minded, modern, independent chairman of Shorouk’s board of directors chose to fire her
girl; but put on the veil and you become backward, igno- instead, touching off a legal battle that continues to this day:
rant, submissive.” Salem headed straight to her lawyer, who filed a complaint
Salem claims Shorouk officials didn’t take her decision to with the Labor Office.
wear hijab seriously at first, urging her several times to take “[The Labor Office] couldn’t force them to take me back,
off the veil, but realized she wasn’t kidding the day she but we filed for compensation. And as you know, court
turned up on the flight line wearing a dark blue one under cases take a little bit of time — something like seven or
her uniform cap. The flight’s captain demanded Salem take eight years,” she smiles.

by Azza Khattab • photography by Mohsen Allam

DAMNED DAMNED
IF YOU DON’T?
IF YOU DO,
80 E G Y P T T O D AY I SEPTEMBER 2003 I www.egypttoday.com
 Today, Salem puts herself at the vanguard of a new gener- “We can’t pretend that society is breeding only moder-
ation of women out to change old stereotypes. You know ate, professional, career-oriented veiled women,” says
the ones, she says: Good Muslim men have to grow beards Noha El-Sewed, a mass communications student at Cairo
and wear short trousers; women have to wear hijab, stay at University. “How many times have you been stared at by
home and not speak to men because their voices are awra (a a veiled woman in the street for what you’re wearing?
defect that must be hidden or covered). How many times has a veiled student lectured a female
“This isn’t our Islam,” she asserts. “Today, there’s kind of colleague about how good Muslims should take the veil?
a reformist move. Your morals and behavior count more Some are still debating whether a Muslim woman can
than your appearance. We have to be better people, be it in wear a bathing suit in the presence of a non-Muslim
the workplace or at home. Besides, wearing the veil doesn’t woman in a women-only swimming pool.”
mean neglecting your appearance. I just happen to believe “There’s this cultural and political fear that the extremists
that I don’t have to show my tummy anymore to look at- might turn us into another Algeria,” adds El-Sewed.
tractive or chic.” But Afifi asserts that the increasing number of women
Zeinab Afifi, a respected journalist with Akhbar El-Youm, taking the veil doesn’t mean society is becoming more
couldn’t agree more. But unlike Salem, it took Afifi eight fundamentalist.
years of deliberations before she first put on hijab. In the Nihad Abu El-Komsan agrees. The head of the Egypt-
end, her husband decided for her. ian Center for Women’s Rights, Abu El-Komsan is far
“I thought he was trying to tie me down, that he was lim- from sure that society is becoming more religious. Reli-
iting my success as a modern, open-minded woman, so I gion, she notes, has more to do with behavior than ap-
used to put it on before I left home and, once in my car, I pearance.
took it off until I was back home. I even read the Qur’an and “I want to clarify that the recent phenomenon of the
hadiths for ways to get off the hook by saying hijab isn’t veil doesn’t indicate religiosity as much as it is a political
mandatory. Now, I remember that and laugh,” she says. trend,” Abu El-Komsan says. “The government, by de-
Like Salem, Afifi was less worried about how wearing the fault or intentionally, closed down some political paths,
A Shorouk official contacted by telephone de-
clined to comment on Salem’s case, noting that it
“The picture has changed now. veil might affect her job security than about how it would
change her appearance. (Not that Afifi worried about miss-
but it didn’t shut down the mosques or churches.”
In the 1960s, she continues, veiled women were less
was still before the courts. Court papers show the Moderate veiled women are the ing her bikini: She never wore one. Jeans and baggy shirts common, but the nation was more religious. “My mother
airline has filed a countersuit against Salem, de-
manding she pay $45,000 in damages for breaking
majority today. They’re on the were her thing, she explains, saying the look is comfortable
whether you’re modern or conservative.)
wore the veil late in life. Being a good Muslim was re-
vealed more by your behavior. People weren’t corrupt,
her contract. “They claim I forced them to fire me,” rise. We can’t deny their “Hijab wasn’t as popular eight years ago as it is today. So- they didn’t steal, lie or take bribes. Now, we’re witnessing
Salem smiles. Although the airline’s policy manual
at the time made no mention of hijab, Shorouk’s
existence or pretend they’re ciety wasn’t that tolerant towards it,” Afifi says. “The per-
ception was that a veiled woman was covering bad hair or
a rise in the veil, but also rising incidences of corruption
and moral crimes. We’re minimizing religion through ap-
lawyers allege she had to be fired because of her per- not there.” Maha Samir neglecting her appearance. Since she wasn’t presentable pearance. That’s not Islam.”
sistent violations of the company’s uniform code. enough, she wasn’t eligible to be in a top job — especially Too often, the veil is not even about modesty: “How
Asked about the allegations, Salem first counters one that required elegance and style. many times,” she asks, “do you see a girl wearing tight
that she was always in uniform, even down “to the socks.” cratic state. Feeling torn in an increasingly confusing world, “My stories were always my passport to my readers, not jeans and a short shirt covering her head? Isn’t that a
Later, though, she admits she didn’t always wear her uni- a growing number of Egyptians are turning to religion to try my looks. My hair didn’t help me write, so when I got veiled strange formula?” In fact, she adds, wearing hijab some-
form cap before she took the veil. and impose some semblance of order in their lives. I didn’t worry that it would change my direction at work.” times has more to do with social pressure than religion:
“Part of my appeal was the Miss Egypt title. Miss Egypt Veiled women have become pawns in the game. Is- But the transition wasn’t so smooth, Afifi reluctantly ad- “You can be living in a neighborhood that gives more re-
learned how to fly and they, unlike other companies that lamists and secularists alike agree the number of muhajibet mits. “I’d rather not get into the details,” she says. Let’s put spect to ‘covered’ women. To avoid harassment, many
don’t accept female pilots, took her on crew. How open- is growing; some on both sides of the debate interpret that it this way: Afifi used to cover the tourism beat, now she women, especially those who live in conservative neigh-
minded and progressive! I used to let my long hair flow fact as a sign of the public’s desire for an Islamic state — a writes for the women’s section. New friends and sources borhoods, take it as protection.”
down my back and nobody dared talk to me,” she claims. suggestion that infuriates Salem and others like her. How- have replaced the ones she lost.
“I asked several people at the company if it was okay, and ever they may wish it were otherwise, the workplace re- “I was disappointed by many colleagues and friends who Veils come in different colors…
they were very welcoming, telling me, ‘Sure! The manual mains one of the stages on which social tensions are play- were supposed to be very well-educated, cultured and Abu El-Komsan traces the clash of employer and em-
doesn’t say anything about female pilots, do whatever ing out — tensions unlikely to ease soon regardless of open-minded. They call themselves intellectuals, but when I ployee rights to Egypt’s shift since the early 1990s toward a
you want.’” how the court rules in Salem’s case. took the veil, those who call for freedom denied me my service economy.
No longer, it seems. Salem claims her personal decision own. I used to be invited to talk shows before the veil. After “Our labor market is no longer oriented toward indus-
to take the veil has prevented her from keeping the one Not an easy decision I got veiled, I started telling them, ‘For your knowledge, I’m try and production,” she explains. “Instead, we’re leaning
job she’s wanted since childhood: flying. She’s not alone. Salem was never impressed by veiled women, and while veiled now.’ Many were uncomfortable and reluctant to toward a service-oriented economy, and service industries
As a growing number of well-educated women in the she would confess to a grudging admiration for their host me, others said, ‘What’s the problem? There are veiled rely heavily on appearances.” Having a veiled employee
workforce opt to take the veil, their right to openly prac- courage on a hot summer day, she could never imagine her- psychologists and doctors on TV.’”
tice their religion is coming into conflict with employers’ self in hijab. Tanning by the pool was a social norm she Amina El-Said and Iqbal Baraka are two who do
rights to hire whomever they want. never violated in summertime. see a problem: The renowned journalists have been “How many times do you see a
That conflict is just the tip of a much larger iceberg, ana-
lysts suggest. Society has become a ball of contradictions
A Ramadan religious serial changed all that.
“I usually don’t watch those shows. I’m just not a big fan.
highly critical of the rising number of veiled women.
“The desire for progress isn’t there any more. Women
girl wearing tight jeans and
and competing interests. The government is advancing a But I watched this one and, for the first time, I felt a com- now carry the image of their grandmothers inside short shirt covering her head?
secular agenda, brushing away suggestions that a Muslim
nation is by definition a backward breeding ground for ter-
pelling urge to wear the veil. I just acted. My husband, like
everyone else, thought it was just ‘Nerin acting on a whim.’
themselves,” Said was once quoted as saying. Baraka
was recently on a popular satellite television show
Isn’t that a strange formula?”
rorists. International pressure plays a role here, as does the But it is the only decision in my life I took instantly and saying those who put on the veil are actually drawing Nihad Abu El-Komsan
state’s need to control groups pushing to establish a theo- never regretted.” a curtain over their abilities to reason and analyze.

82 E G Y P T T O D AY I SEPTEMBER 2003 I www.egypttoday.com SEPTEMBER 2003 I E GY P T T O D AY 83

in a customer service position, she says, “is different than my hair is a sin that I have to cover up. I don’t think I could
having an attractive woman who attracts clients.” ever supervise someone who looks at me that way. We’re
The job market for women has also become more compet- facing enough problems the way it is. The West thinks
itive: The government is no longer employing every univer- we’re a bunch of people who blow ourselves up to go to
sity graduate, Abu El-Komsan says, while the nation’s heaven. People are confusing religion with old traditions. I
young private sector doesn’t have the same principles as the don’t want to walk by a desk and see someone holding his
private sector abroad. Qur’an and feel embarrassed to tell him to read it at home,
And multinationals aren’t always safe havens. A cus- because if I do, he’ll label me a ‘Bad Muslim.’ And I cer-
tomer-relations manager in an international company tainly don’t want to wake up one day and find myself liv-
watched as a friend’s contract wasn’t renewed after she ing in another Iran.”
took the veil. “I’m scared to lose my job,” she says, “espe- “Unlike Iran, we’re not a religious state,” Abu El-Komsan
cially since I fought hard to get this position. I’m praying counters, “but they have a vice president, and she’s veiled.
regularly and try to make up for not wearing the veil. I’m They have female judges, TV announcers, movie directors
not ready to risk my job, honestly: I sacrificed my social life — all veiled.”
to get there, for God’s sake.”
Private-sector employers, Abu El-Komsan claims, “want Can the veil be restrictive at work?
the maximum out of you for the minimum possible. There Of course it can. Some jobs demand uniforms that in-
are no longer things like fixed hours and overtime pay for clude short skirts or tight pants that just don’t suit the veil.
overtime work. If they could force you to work for 24 hours
a day, they would do it. In this battle, women often don’t live
up to the test. They have social obligations. If they’re wives,
they have families to look after. If they’re single, they have
reputations to uphold and social pressures to consider.”
Perhaps veiled women should simply accept that certain
jobs just aren’t for them. After all, says Montasser El-Zayat,
a prominent Islamist lawyer, veiled women aren’t usually
expected to stay away from their homes late at night, or be
alone in the office or on the road with male colleagues when
working on a project.
“Some see the veil as an obstacle to women’s liberation,”
El-Zayat says. “It’s a mindset that has always been there.
Those who don’t employ veiled women usually look at
women as a commodity to attract clients and market prod-
ucts, so they prefer their female employees modern and
un-veiled. It’s the everlasting conflict between secularism
and Islamism.”
Mostafa Murad, the manager of an import export com-
pany he would prefer not to name, makes it crystal clear
that both his wife and daughters are veiled. So really, he
says, he’s got nothing against hijab — even though he won’t
hire veiled women.
“I used to, but veiled women come with trouble, at least
in my experience,” Murad says. “They dictate their own
conditions. They have a list of don’ts: They don’t stay late.
They don’t attend functions where liquor is served. I don’t
drink myself, but it seems the nature of our work doesn’t
suit them — and that’s okay. But what’s not okay is to leave
my place and spread the word that I’m against the veil. We
don’t have public hangings for those who are looking to
marry an unveiled woman; we respect it as a personal
choice. At the same time, we don’t frown on men who will
only consider a veiled woman as a prospective bride. We
don’t sue them because they denied the unveiled a fair
chance, do we?”
For Murad, the decision not to hire muhajibet is based on
what he thinks are reasonable predictions about job per-
formance. For Mona, a marketing department manager and
Muslim who won’t hire veiled women, the objection is far
more visceral: She herself doesn’t believe in hijab.
“I believe that the veil was dictated only to the wives of
the Prophet (P.B.U.H.). I can’t listen to those who claim that
 Akhbar El-Youm’s Afifi is similarly adamant that despite radio’s gain, Maha.”
early problems, taking the veil hasn’t affected her work. She El-Zayat couldn’t agree more. Unlike many, the Islamist
still attends conferences, interviews high-profile personali- lawyer, is not a fan of specialized religious channels that em-
ties, discusses intimate relationships, and doles out advice ploy primarily veiled women. “Why are we insistent on
on how to manage one’s life. being schizophrenic? We want society to be balanced, to be
“What does the veil have to do with how I think? Do I fairly represented, to have the veiled and the non-veiled.
have to be half-naked to cover the Cannes Festival?” she And a TV announcer shouldn’t be working because she’s
asks. After an up-hill struggle, she is more optimistic today veiled or not, but for her qualifications. This is true freedom.”
about the status of veiled women at work, saying, “I re-
member when you couldn’t have found a veiled woman
working as an editor. Now you can.”
But not every media outlet is that understanding.

Picture perfect?
Veiled women most often pop up on television not as
hosts, anchors or reporters, but as guests — with the excep-
tion of specialized satellite broadcasters such as Iqraa and
explicitly religious programs on non-religious networks.
Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), the state-
run television system, has particularly strong reservations
about veiled women, Afifi complains.
“Look at Iqraa’s announcers: They’re so pretty, chic and
smart. Hijab doesn’t veil their thinking. They’re more pre-
sentable than some TV announcers with artificial hair col-
It gets more complicated when veiled women won’t sing to hiring veiled women because those wearing hijab be- ors and tons of make up that make them look like aliens,”
the same tune as the rest of the team. Last month, the Cairo come a majority in our society. The hotel also receives she says.
Opera House issued a warning to members of its a cappella tourists, most of whom are foreigners who are unaware of No one knows that better than Maha Samir. You probably
chorus, informing them that wearing hijab in concerts vio- our culture. The hotel may have to worry that its image know her face: Samir once kept many Egyptian families
lates dress code. Anyone who insists on wearing it during will be [too religious]. It’s another obstacle — a fact we company every day. A graduate of Cairo University’s Fac-
performances will be banned. can’t underestimate.” ulty of Mass Media and Communications, Samir always
Amid the chorus of shrieks and condemnations visited Salem, though, says the notion that veiled women have wanted to be a TV announcer and was among the first to
upon the head of the Opera House, some have risen to his no place in the hospitality industry is nonsense. “There are apply to Channel 3 when it launched. She got her start
defense. Hamada Hussein, a noted journalist with Rose El- around 297 hostesses working for EgyptAir who take off when the state-run broadcaster hired her to host entertain-
Youssef magazine, is chief among them. the veil when they’re on board the plane and put it back on ment and service programs.
“They have the right to wear the veil, but they don’t when they land. They’re pleading with the national carrier But Samir also wanted to be veiled.
have the right to sing with it on,” Hussein says. “How to adopt a new uniform like Emirates, but to no avail. “For a while, I forgot about the hijab, but never neglected
can an opera singer stand on stage, wearing historical “Emirates isn’t losing passengers because its hostesses are my relationship with God. To those around me I seemed
costume to participate in the opera Aida, for example, wearing [new-style] veils under their hats. It’s one of the schizophrenic: I went to work in full make up and with my
while wearing the veil? We don’t condemn the Opera best and most respected carriers worldwide. If the veil re- hair on my back, and then asked my bosses during Ra-
House for trampling someone’s personal rights and free- stricted air hostesses from doing their jobs, the IATA would madan, ‘Please don’t give me assignments in the evenings
doms by requiring a formal dress code for anyone who have forbidden them from serving,” Salem says, referring to because I’d love to go to the mosque for prayers.’”
wants to watch an opera, do we? No, we respect it as the international body that regulates air traffic. Eventually, Samir waded into troubled waters. She
part of the Opera House’s tradition. We expect those Abu El-Komsan herself faced similar challenges for having started wearing hijab behind the cameras, whipping it off
who work there to show the same respect. They should taken the veil: “There’s this image of a shallow, narrow- before she went on air, a practice she stopped after being
know better: Every job has its requirements, and every minded woman who took the veil because she thinks she’s summoned for a chat with a senior television official. In
place its traditions. awra. Those who meet me for the first time are usually 1989, she returned from hajj wearing the veil — and cling-
“More than 80 percent of the Opera’s chorus is veiled, shocked after an hour of chatting: ‘We’re so impressed you ing to the hope that ERTU would reconsider its policy about
but they take it off during concerts,” Hussein continues, think this way,’” she says of their reactions to her liberal views. veiled women, or at least accept her.
“replacing it with a wig. Nothing justifies them trying to Still, she has some sympathy for those who feel uncom- She quickly gave up her entertainment program. Her re-
show up for work in a veil. And now we’re hearing about fortable with veiled women at work. At her own center, quest to stay with the service show was promptly
a singer who resigned because she’s against the singing of most applicants for job openings tend to be veiled. “The turned down. Could she at least host a religious
a cappella material. Do we really want to open that door?”
Although she’s adamant there is no job a veiled woman
majority here are veiled, so I tease them: ‘Whoever walks in
here will think he’s dropped into Muhajiba Land.’ But we
affairs show? That didn’t work out, either. Finally,
she asked to be allowed to do voice-overs for on-
“Some see the veil as an
can’t do, Abu El-Komsan does admit that employers’ deci- welcome anyone who can take us the way we are.” air commentaries. No deal, though veiled women obstacle to women’s liberation.
sions on whether or not to hire muhajibet are often based on
considerations of image.
Abu El-Komsan says it took time for the donor commu-
nity — most of whom are foreigners — to judge her center
are allowed to do voice-overs today.
“I love my work, it’s part of who I am. Yet I
It’s a mindset that has always
“Some private sector companies, especially those who on the basis of its work, not on the outward appearance spent a year getting paid to do nothing. It just been there. It’s the everlasting
deal with foreigners, prefer not to employ veiled women,”
she says. “Even the government prefers unveiled women
generated by having such a high proportion of veiled
women. “At first, people were suspicious and worried —
didn’t feel right.” Eventually, she applied for a
transfer to ERTU’s radio arm, where division
conflict between secularism and
for some leading posts, be they political or bureaucratic. and I’m totally understanding. They have a right to know chief Helmi El-Bolok was happy to take her on, Islamism.” Montasser El-Zayyat
“Besides, let’s say five-star hotels slowly become open where they’re sending their money.” declaring, “Don’t be sad! Television’s loss is

86 E G Y P T T O D AY I SEPTEMBER 2003 I www.egypttoday.com SEPTEMBER 2003 I E GY P T T O D AY 87

 El-Zayat looks highly upon Kariman Hamza, the deny their existence or pretend they’re not there,” she says. son. ‘Oh! You’re veiled!’ I can see the disappointment in Except that they are not, strictly speaking. Many reject
renowned Egyptian TV announcer who won her battle to El-Zayat chuckles at Samir’s naiveté. The situation is their eyes. Usually, they tell me that they’re really im- Iman’s innocent defense, claiming women who take off
stay on air and has been hosting a religious program for worse today than when Egypt was a battleground for fanat- pressed, but they never get back to me.” their veils at work are somehow weaker in their faith. As
some time. Others, he says, lack the courage to fight. ics in the 1980s and early 1990s: What was once an internal El-Morshady takes it in stride. “I really can’t blame them! Afifi and Salem both say: “Who are we obeying and pleas-
“A pilot used her legal right and sued the company,” he problem has become an international one. With many Look at my mother, she’s been boycotting me since I took ing here? God — or a manager?”
says, referring to Salem, “but no TV announcer has done American officials now linking terrorism and violence with the veil. It feels like there’s something cultural against the But Afifi notes that some women have indeed been
the same. They’re worried about ruining their careers. After Islam, the problem has only gotten worse. hijab, even among those who fast and pray. They don’t granted a ‘license’ to take it off. “The mufti allows Mus-
all, they can hold administrative jobs there or work for an “Since decision makers don’t want to nurture this so- want to express their belief through their outward appear- lim women in the US to take their veils off if they feel it’s
Arab channel. They don’t want the headache or trouble.” called ‘culture of violence,’ they’re working hard to down- ance. They have the same stereotypes as the West and don’t resulting in persecution. We can’t demand that American
The root of ERTU’s reluctance to put veiled women on air size the ‘veiled’ image,” El-Zayat suggests. want their daughters to be stigmatized. My mom thinks I society understand right away that our Islam has noth-
goes back at least as far as the assassination of President Although a little less blunt, Azza Koriam agrees. A re- won’t get married because the veil is taking so much of my ing to do with terrorism. This needs intensive media and
Anwar Sadat by Islamic extremists in 1981. Then, fear of searcher at the National Center for Social Studies, Koriam beauty. But what’s really driving me crazy is that no em- PR campaigns.”
“Islam and terrorism” was an internal fear, not an interna- says the dearth of veiled women on terrestrial television has ployer is honest and brave enough to look me in the face Salem sees it the other way. “I can’t tell God, ‘Sorry, I took
tional one, making it hardly surprising that state-run televi- everything to do with officials’ desire to reflect “global fash- and tell me, ‘It’s your veil.’” it off for the sake of my company.’ And I’m sure as hell my
sion had a zero-tolerance policy for anything that legit- ion and Western trends” of appearance and behavior. The But as El-Zayat could tell her, few employers are willing company won’t settle that little dispute with God on my be-
imized an Islamic image. The least desirable of them all government, she says, has adopted a liberal, secular attitude to publicly announce that they won’t hire or promote a half. There are many jobs out there. If some won’t take you
would have been that conjured by feeding viewers a steady — one that clearly appeals to the United States. “There’s woman because of her veil. Those who were once that for your veil, others will. May God bless your new job even
diet of veiled women, Samir explains. also the belief that the veil doesn’t portray progress and de- open have learned to be smarter after a handful of women more, even if it doesn’t pay as much.”
“But the picture has changed now. Moderate veiled velopment but presents suppression and backwardness,” began filing lawsuits against their employers. El-Zayat Iman, the sole breadwinner for a family of six, doesn’t
women are the majority today. They’re on the rise. We can’t she says, “The fact stands: there is resistance to veiled has represented some of them, successfully suing the Min- have the same luxury of accepting a pay cut as God’s will.
women from the official side” in broadcasting. istry of Education on behalf of veiled teachers who lost “Some call me a hypocrite and say I shouldn’t take it off
The irony of it all, Abu El-Komsan says, is that while their jobs as well as on behalf of those who wear the niqab if I’m a good Muslim,” Iman says. “Even non-veiled friends
ERTU minimizes the number of veiled announcers, it has in public schools. at work say this. I read the Qur’an, and I know that as a
increased its volume of religious programming and is in- El-Morshady isn’t ready to sue — yet. Instead, she says, Muslim I have to be veiled. I wish I could wear it at work,
creasingly showcasing sheikhs on social and religious “I’m teasing my dad, urging him to open a business for ‘us.’ but I can’t.”
programs alike. “It seems they don’t have a single official We’ll have a big sign: ‘Veiled Women Only,’ and you won’t God, she says, shows mercy in this life and the next.
line. So they’re not against religion, but they’re against even be allowed to visit unless you’re veiled. No worries: Those who condemn her here and now never do.
veiled announcers. This is a little bit confusing and con- We’ll hand them out at the door,” she laughs. Where does all of this leave muhajibet and their prospec-
flicting,” she says. The idea may not be as crazy El-Morshady thinks. Some tive employers? Perhaps it’s best to live and let live, as
Samir and other veiled ex-broadcasters aren’t demand- private sector companies are carving out a religious image Salem says.
ing that muhajibet take over the airwaves, but that they be by hiring only veiled women and bearded men.
fairly represented. “Let’s have one veiled announcer for The non-veiled and the clean-shaven need not
every 10 un-veiled,” she suggests. “Let them do it on a trial apply as these companies seek profit from the out- “How can an opera singer stand
basis and see how it turns out.”
But she isn’t optimistic.
ward image of religiosity.
“The owner of the Tawheed We El-Nour, the
on stage, wearing a historical
“In my day, there were more restrictions in TV than household and clothing chain, [might as well declare costume to participate in Aida
today,” she says. “We used to follow a strict dress code: no
one was allowed to wear short sleeves or revealing clothes.
that he is] Muslim Brotherhood with his hiring prac-
tices,” Abu El-Komsan says. “He’s attracting a cer-
while wearing the veil? ... Every
Today, it’s different, it’s more lenient and liberal. It’s a trend tain segment in the market by employing only veiled job has its requirments, and
that diverts from the hijab. But on the other side, there’s a
wave of newly veiled women. It epitomizes the contradic-
women and long-bearded men. He wants to convey
that particular image to appeal to a certain group,
every place has its traditions.”
tions in our society.” and it’s working out really well for him.” Hamada Hussein
Yet some employers prefer the veiled woman less
Some prefer her veiled for public relations reasons than for reasons of work-
To many employers, Layla El-Morshady must be the em- place harmony between the sexes. “Conservative as she is, “If society is restricting my ambitions because of how I
bodiment of those contradictions. On the phone, she’s easily the muhajiba doesn’t make problems for the employer by look, then it’s the one that needs to lift the veil of ignorance,
mistaken for an American. The 29 year-old was raised and wearing revealing clothes, even in the absence of a dress code not me. I’m just trying my best to do the right thing the way
educated in the United States. Her impressive CV lists an — that’s how some employers look at it,” Koriam notes. I see it. I’m not pushing those around me to take the veil, so
MBA and leisure activities that include horseback riding why should they force me to take it off?” she asks.
and swimming. Lifting the veil of silence “It will take time and won’t be welcomed easily,” Afifi
And she has a cool new hair cut. After an hour under the I never had a clue Iman was veiled until I ran into her in the adds. “Things won’t change until people accept that the
steamer with a nourishment mask for her hair, El-Mor- street. This time, she was wearing a big, white veil. veil doesn’t automatically turn you into this insane woman
shady’s phone rings. Her mother’s voice comes through, “Mabrouk,” I told her. chasing after your co-workers with a stick, bellowing at
worried as usual: “How was your job interview?” “I’ve always been veiled,” she said with a defensive look. them to pray on time or else. Wearing the veil is like praying
“They loved me!” El-Morshady says, still commanding Iman, who works as a manicurist at a Maadi hair salon, and fasting. Have you ever heard of someone not being
attention (even that of the female hairdressers) as she says she has to take off her veil at work to keep her job. hired because they pray or fast?”
reaches for her veil. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m working to feed four Not really. But as analysts point out, society as a whole is
“I didn’t realize the power of my hair,” she teases. “It’s kids and their father. This can’t be wrong. Besides, my locked in a conflict that needs to be resolved.
like Samson and Delilah: Once you lose your hair, you lose work is mainly with women. If you’re wondering about “Society appears to accept girls baring their belly buttons
your power. People love me over the phone, and they brag the monsieur and the three other men at the shop, they’re on the street next to women in niqab,” says Abu El-Kom-
about my CV. But they’re shocked when they see me in per- like my brothers.” san, “yet tensions are still boiling beneath the surface.” ET

SEPTEMBER 2003 I E GY P T T O D AY 89