Much has been said and written about the political, economic, religious and cultural significance of veiling. Both non-veiled and veiled Muslim women have all been involved in the debate, each with differing views on the reason for, the advantages and disadvantages of veiling. "Muslim women's reasons for veiling are quite complex, usually rooted within their own, personal belief and habits. Opinions may vary according to their specific class, regional, national, and cultural backgrounds."

The practice of veiling and of body covering is perhaps one of the most cont

The patriarchal structure of society has been grounded into our communities since the beginning, women will naturally be new at attempting to take over roles of ruling, governance and assertion, women need to be given chance to grow and learn, just like Plato called for a paradigm shift in the ways we view women's roles and rights in society. The prejudices against Muslim women in the Philippines have less to do with the Koran than with the rigid structures of the Islamized groups in the southern Philippines. Such rigidity has its origins in history, even before the coming of the Spaniards, the people of Mindanao and Sulu already maintained an advance social and political organization in the form of the sultanates. This rigid social structure also spelled out how each member of society should behave in relation to others. The rigidity also extended to gender. Males were generally perceived to be superior to females in many aspects like leadership and decision-making. This explains the absence of women in local leadership roles. If the women are barely allowed to leave the privacy of their homes, how can they even aspire to join the ranks of rulers? Few women in Muslim countries are professionals (doctors, teachers, lawyers), and even in their practice, they are restricted to interacting only with female clients. In the Muslim communities in Mindanao, there are a handful of female mayors and vice mayors, few councilors and provincial board members. If a woman does acquire a higher seat of power, it usually is for the reason that her husband is incapable of performing the duties himself, and she has been slated as a temporary replacement.

Muslim women are "caught between two conflicting roles, one was the traditional role reinforced by their families and religious standards prescribing marriage, motherhood, and other domestic functions, which were fast losing its status for the educated, younger generation. The other role is that of the modern image of womanhood, a more liberal, open influence." Despite the career success and independence gained by some women in the past, male dominance still deters the majority of women from being independent. Males dominate even the legal profession, especially in the Muslim areas. And in the Shariah courts, female practitioners are only a handful.

We live in a society wherein the device of sexuality is used as a means in distributing power. The veil has limited women's presence and movement to a significantly low percent of the available physical boundary of society. The veil has also signified the Muslim's perception of women's sexuality as potentially subversive. "It has reduced a woman's place and role to her sexual and reproductive dimensions. The veil has thus become a mechanism of patriarchal control, as well as a political device." Returning to the issue of Western contamination, a woman who unveils herself and engages in 'subversive' activity, could be accused of failing to safeguard the honour of her family and the cultural heritage of the country. A woman's failure to conform to the traditional norms involving veiling "could be labeled as a renunciation of indigenous values and a loss of cultural identity."

We only need to look at Muslims in the Philippines as an example of role assimilation. In the Philippines where the Muslim minority is still marginalized, Muslim Filipinos enjoy more privileges and are significantly uncontrolled as compared to their Middle Eastern counterparts, but some still choose to carry a form of veiling. In some cities in Mindanao, you find women covered from head to toe almost like Afghan women under the Taliban. But walking side by side with such women are other Muslims who only use the hijab, a veil covering the head and neck. This is a prime example of veiling becoming a choice, since it is not imposed on the women as a rule of law. In other countries with a significant Muslim majority, some women still choose to veil themselves and are treat

Some common words found in the essay are:
Philippines Muslim, Mindanao Sulu, Islam Muslims, Islam Christians, Middle Eastern, Modern Muslim, Muslim Shariah, Philippines Koran, Local Muslim, Islam Unfortunately, public space, muslim women, practice veiling, cultural identity, muslim woman, women chance, private public space, private public, city wherein, dress muslim woman, philippines muslim, woman's role, woman public space, boundaries private public,
Approximate Word count = 2878
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)