The Veil Unveiled

Finally, the study ofhijab has come of age. After Shirazi's book, no one willbe able to argue that "the" hijab means any one thing divorced from its context.In six chapters, Shirazi investigates the "semantic versatility of theveil" in western popular culture, Saudi advertising, Iranian and Indian poetryand films, and for Iranian, Iraqi, and UAE women soldiers. Not surprisingly,the veil means different things in different contexts, and Shirazi'sbook is a rich study of this diversity. She reinforces her arguments by thewealth of photographs that depict veiled women in multiple contexts.Just how different the veil's semantics can be is highlighted in chapter I:"Veiled lmages in Advertising." ln this fascinating comparative study of theveil's use in western and Saudi advertising, Shirazi shows that its meaning inan ad depends on the target audience. So when advertisers target westernmiddle-class male consumers, the veil is presented as an exotic and sexualizingpiece of cloth. In a 1996 commercial for Chrysler's Jeep Cherokee shotin Morocco, a veiled woman is seen smiling and admiring the Jeep-sendingthe message that "if he buys the Jeep . . . He may even win the admiration ofthe most inaccessible of women, the woman with the veil." Western exotica, ...