نشریه بانوان شیعه
پیاپی 10 (زمستان 1385)

Veil and its kind and religious-cultural boundaries are still among the important and up-to-date issues of Iranian society. Chador is the symbol of women veil in various parts of the world, and the Iranians also have their own definition of this covering. What is this definition and from where does it originate: history, culture or Iranian religion?This paper examines the place of chador in the Iranian culture and religion and its socio-political effects on various strata of people, especially in the era of unveiling. Chador is a dress which, despite of ups and downs, had continued during many centuries.

Veil (hijab) according to the Holy Quran has five aspects: vision veil, speech veil, behavior veil, physical veil of the body and heart veil. According to a mistake belief, veil is only applied to physical covering. As much as veil is observed at the level of the minimum of the first four aspects, at the level of Sharia and in a social norm, the humble (nazel) fashion of veil is gained, but if all the five aspects are observed wholly and by all its perfect Quranic characteristics, there would appear the superior kind of covering and the society would come close to its human values. Chador (jilbab) is the superior veil and scarf (khimar) is the humble veil that, in accordance to civil origins of each geographical part of the Islamic world, had appeared in various and beautiful forms.This paper, by its short chance, first speaks of universal aspects of Quranic veil, and then shortly discusses the mode of Quranic jilbab and humble veil in Iran.

Because of the importance of the discussion of dressing and veil in Islamic society and the legal and canonical necessity of its observance in our society and the direct and indirect effects of propaganda on this issue, this article tries to accord some principles of propaganda psychology on veil problem in order to be made clear the adaptation of these principles in the atmosphere of conceptual and existential religiosity; paying attention to the delicates of the principles of "sense perception", "the kind of propaganda", "the state of annexed behavior", and "desirable continuity", as well as making them operational in propagation of veil, bring about a more suitable psychological field for accepting veil.In any case, by recognizing the principles predominant on propagation in the theories of psychology, we can profit these principles in bringing about the culture of modesty, veil and covering, but we must pay attention to the cases that in which the goal and some practical and theoretical elements in religious propaganda move away from the theories of the psychology of propaganda.In the divine religion's view point, both the goals and the quality of using the means to reach the goals are reminded.

God gave the gift of dress to human beings and put the desire for dressing in their nature. As a result, during various eras and periods, with very few exceptions, dressing is well appearing in many various societies of humans.In the contemporary world, the canon of veil is ignored and, in contrast, self-decoration for women considered as a value, but veil considered as a mark for retardation. Affected by enemie's propaganda, the Islamic countries also regarded unveiling and irresponsibility as freedom.But in Iran, during the Islamic revolution, the revolution of veil, under the title of returning to the origins, became the target of attention. In some countries, like America and France, the issue of veil became a critical problem and crisis. The successful and educated women observe veil in these and other countries. Nevertheless, the foreigners try to expand decay, corruption and unveiling in Islamic countries including Iran, and unfortunately they were successful to some extent.This paper examines the various causes of decayed veil including inner and outer causes such as economic, political, cultural and social causes and by using Quranic verses and traditions, tries to present some solutions.

Feminism is not a single stream, but it divides, in accordance to different philosophical sources, to different branches. The post-modernist feminists, on the basis of their special philosophical approach to the identity of man and woman, consider for these two sexes different mind, knowledge, world and ideology. On this basis, they believe that segregating manly and womanly environments brings about the development of women, but the moral theory of Islam has different principles and sources about not mixing manly and womanly environments. According to Islamic religious principles, security, modesty and sharing men and women, along with observing precincts of environments, have special philosophical foundations. The present writing challenges this theory in a comparison the principles of Islam and post-modernist (new) feminism.

This paper, by explaining the meaning and concept of modesty (effah) and security as well as by explaining the effects of modesty on individual's psychological security from the view point of western psychologists, recounts the relationship between the disturbance of sexual precincts and disruption of psychological security of the individual and society as well as the consequences of this issue.Among the negative results of lacking modesty in societies are the sense of lacking identity and character, tendency toward nihilism and positivism, inner anxiety, untimely maturity of the teenagers, growth of divorce rate, ignorance of God's remembrance, heavenly disasters etc.In contrast, growth of man's trust in his wife, preventing from man's sexual perversion, growth of love within the family are among the positive results of women modesty.

Women's sharing in various affairs is one of the valuable achievements of Islamic civilization. In many territories conquered by Muslims in the early Hijri centuries, before the entrance of Islam, the women had not the suitable place and character, but the Quranic teachings and the rich and dynamic Islamic culture gave them a special place. In this regard, Iran, especially Isfahan, was not an exception.This paper, by a short review of the high place of women in Islam, especially in Shiism, wants to introduce the mystical, spiritual and scientific campaigns of Isfahani women from the early Islamic centuries to the contemporary age.

The real face of veil is the presence in a dress by which woman can perform her religious-social duties without any socio-psychological problem and damage. Intellectual reasons for the benefits and positive effects of veil and modesty are numerous, and in the religious texts there are many authentic traditions that explain the quality and quantity of the benefits of veil and modesty that from them one can refers to social security, spiritual transcendence, sexual and psychological health, tranquility and strength of the family etc.Veil in addition to having effects on moral health of the society, purity of woman and transcendence of her character, not only do not limits her freedom, but also gives her a defensive means against the individual and social damages.