Thought for the Day for Radio Bristol

Now you see me, now you don’t

                                Is it acceptable for a woman to give evidence or be cross examined whilst a veil hides her face from the jury? It strikes me today that an awful lot of communication goes on where we cannot see who we are talking to.  We chat on telephones, we write letters, we text. Our communication involves reading, hearing and speaking, but not always meeting face to face. But that is not always acceptable. I well remember being told as a boy to, ‘stand still and just look at me.’ Whilst being berated for some crime of which I was normally completely guilty.

                                And so we come to the sensitive and delicate area of the hijab. Is it acceptable before a jury or for a health professional to address her patient whilst hiding a large proportion of her face? These are difficult questions; we face a clash of cultures and values. I would argue both have merit, but can’t easily co-exist.  A woman’s absolute cultural modesty is not an easy bedfellow with a culture of complete equality.

                                My favourite Jesus stories often involve women; his ‘inappropriate’ meeting with the Samaritan women at the well. He shocked his disciples by simply talking to her, a Samaritan and a woman, he shocked her by revealing that he knew all about her life and yet still asked her for a drink, and perhaps she shocked him by being so moved by his acceptance of her that she went and told the whole town, despite her modesty.   So that’s my thought today; whatever your view on this matter always remain prepared to be surprised, to learn something new from someone who, face to face, may seem very different from you.