While the West may view the veil as oppressive, it also has a history within Islamic countries as a symbol of revolution and a rejection of Western values like consumerism that were themselves deemed to be negative. For example, during the French colonization of Algeria, the French attempt to convert the population to a version of the French culture became centered around women and the removal of the veil. However, this strategy backfired; the population of Algeria, including women reacted not by unveiling but instead using the veil as a symbol of their culture during a revolution against the French occupiers (El Guindi, 1999).
The veil also became symbolic in Iran in the 60’s and 70’s, leading up to Iranian revolution. Once an offense punishable by arrest, revolutionaries protesting the Westernization of Iran began wearing the veil as symbol of faith and commitment to the Islamic revolution. In fact, the more covered and conservative a woman was, the more knowledgeable she was about Islam and the higher up she was in activist groups (Guindi). In many cultures, the veil became or has become a part of a woman’s identity, and government suppression is seen as suppression of that identity.
Today, Muslim women wear some form of the veil for a variety of reasons: modesty, the adherence to a religious precept, and a symbol of religion similar to the cross, for Christians, or the Star of David for Jews. Many women feel that the veil conceals them from the gaze and sexual advances of men, making them feel more comfortable in public. For many women, whether in an Arab, Islamic, or Western nation, the veil may be a cultural norm, much like jeans in the US, and can also be an essential part of the female/feminine identity, as well as imparting a sense of community within and between women from different families or ages. The veil can also impart a sense of privacy within public spaces, and distance a woman from the dictates of consumerism or fashion and from stereotypical views of what a woman should look like.