Modesty

The members of the Duggar family, a rising American phenomenon, pride themselves on several things. Obviously, the number of children seems to be the most significant accomplishment of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s life as a married couple. However, a further search into their lives reveals a closely knit Christian family whose main focus is to raise their children to love God. Their conservative ways and interesting take on raising a family has captured American attention. An interesting characteristic of their family captured my attention the other day as I flipped on TLC and witnessed Michelle’s ultrasound of the newest baby. The clan of twenty one individuals crowded into the doctor’s office to witness the miraculous event. But come time to reveal the bulging belly under Mrs. Duggar’s shirt, a large blanket was placed over her belly, the children were shooed away, and only the nurse and Mr. Duggar were allowed to remain in the room. Michelle’s later comment on her ultrasound was that her and her husband believe in modesty; modesty that many Americans see as strict and excessive. Nine of the nineteen children in the family are female, plus Michelle and the wife of the Duggar’s eldest son. These eleven women are always clothed in calf-length skirts and high-necked t-shirts, cautious of what parts of their body they reveal to those not closely related.

Modesty is a topic of debate among many societies, but especially in religion. Typically modesty refers to the actions or dress of women. Peoples’ ideas of what actions are appropriate to make known to the general public, other people, and even their own family varies significantly. I bring up the Duggar family to illustrate just one example of an American family’s moral stance on the issue. I, too, come from a family of mostly females, so modesty is a large topic of discussion in my household. My sisters, mom, and I are always cautious of the length of our shorts and the depth of necklines on our shirts. We aren’t nearly as strict as the Duggar family, but we don’t advertise our bodies or expose vast amounts of skin either. I believe modesty is relative. A person should wear what they are comfortable in. If that means nothing, there are nudist colonies for that.

Many women of the Muslim faith have a similar view on modesty as the Duggars, but instead of covering their legs in long denim skirts, they cover the majority of their bodies when in public. The hijab, literally meaning “curtain” or “cover” in Arabic, can either refer to the head covering many Muslim women wear or to the full body covering that a smaller number of Muslim women wear. There is a seemingly ridiculous debate around the subject of the hijab, stemming from many misinterpretations regarding the purpose of the coverings. Many ignorant of the true reason behind wearing the dressings believe that women are expected to cover themselves for the purpose of suppressing them, restricting their movement with heavy clothing and forcing them into submission. The real reason is actually quite different, as well as liberating for Muslim women.

I wouldn’t have spent the majority of this editorial thus far discussing modesty if there was no purpose for it. The Qur’an instructs both men and women of Islamic faith to dress modestly. Specifically regarding women, the Qur’an states, "And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands..." (Qur'an 24:30-31)

A young Canadian Muslim, Sumayyah Hussein, interviewed several other Muslim girls, asking their opinions on the hijab. Sumayya Syed, aged 16, stated, “…the hijab is not a responsibility, it's a right given to me by my Creator who knows us best. It's a benefit to me, so why not? It's something every woman should strive to get and should want." "You feel modest...and you feel like you're covered up. You have more self-respect. You have more confidence in yourself that you don't need to care about (how) you look," said Rema Zawi, also 16 years old.

In Muslim society, wearing the hijab is seen as an action taken to uphold modesty. In a society where religion and tradition governs, it is natural that the expectation of modesty be supported and enforced by the law. If the women desire to wear the hijab because they want to maintain their modesty, why all the uproar about the hijab being a suppressant to the woman of Islam? The hijab is just another form of modesty, much the same as the Duggar girls wearing skirts and my family being conscientious of the amount of skin we show. If modesty is for the benefit of all, why restrict it?