[Avodah] Taliban Women and More

[Prof. Levine]

 From http://tinyurl.com/8x9ztb3

Taliban Women and More

Marc B. Shapiro

A long time ago I was asked to deal with the so-called Jewish Taliban 
women, who completely cover their faces when they go out. I know that 
everyone has downplayed their significance and referred to them as 
crazy. I think that this is too optimistic an assumption. Although I 
am not predicting it, I would not be surprised if this turned into a 
real phenomenon.

<Snip>

The real difference today is that while with the other groups we have 
men telling women how to behave for reasons of tzeniut, the Taliban 
group is completely female driven and led.

The truth of the matter is that the Taliban women make a certain 
amount of sense. They are part of a community that forbids women's 
(and even little girl's) pictures to appear in printed matter because 
seeing this might arouse sexual thoughts in men.[7] Even though these 
women never studied Talmud, we know that one doesn't need to be 
talmid hakham to derive a basic kal va-homer. Even these uneducated 
women can conclude that if men's souls can be destroyed by seeing a 
picture of a woman or a little girl, how much more so can they be 
driven to sexual frenzy by seeing a live woman or girl? As such, it 
makes perfect sense that when they go out on the street they are 
completely covered and only their husband and children are permitted 
see their faces. It is their opponents in the haredi word who have to 
explain why it is permitted to see the faces of real live women but 
forbidden to see their pictures. It doesn't make a lot of sense, as 
the Taliban women have rightly concluded.

I am sure that any rabbinic authorities that come to support the 
Taliban women will be able to find relevant sources to defend this 
lifestyle. I know this will surprise readers, especially as many 
rabbis have declared that the Taliban women are completely distorting 
Jewish rules of modesty. These rabbis have claimed that unlike Arabs, 
Jewish women have never dressed this way (unless they were forced to) 
as the face is not ervah. Therefore, these rabbis have asserted, 
Jewish tzeniut has never, has ve-shalom, seen it as a value for women 
to completely cover their faces.

Lines like this are good for applause in a Modern Orthodox (and even 
a haredi) shul, among people anxious to be reassured that these 
Taliban women couldn't possibly have any sources in our tradition for 
their actions. The truth of the matter is that, whether we like it or 
not, there are sources that are strong supports for the Taliban 
women, and there is no reason to deny that they exist. Sotah 10b is 
clearly praising Tamar when it mentions that she was so modest that 
she covered her face in her father-in-law's house. R. Joseph Messas 
(Mayim Hayyim, vol. 2, Orah Hayyim no. 140) points out that Shabbat 
6:6 refers to Arabian Jewish women going out veiled, which means that 
their entire face was covered except for their eyes. He also points 
to Shabbat 8:3: , which as explained in the Talmud refers to those 
women who were so modest that they were completely veiled, with only 
one eye showing in order for them to see (see Rashi, ad loc. See also 
Rashi to Isaiah 3:19.) Messas tells us that in his youth he 
personally saw Jewish women who dressed like this.  R. Meir Mazuz's 
mother testified that brides in Djerba would only show one eye, also 
for reasons of modesty.

See the above URL for more.  YL

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