Film: Covered Girls

I found this film to be very interesting for several different reasons. In one of my classes this semester I examined the family structure in different cultures. When I studied families of Middle Eastern decent (who tend to be Muslim) the women rarely show their independence because their culture is patriarchal. In this culture, the couple's eldest son often has more power and influence in the home than his mother. Therefore, when I viewed the documentary Covered Girls I witnessed that many Muslim women show their independence in many ways. Not only did they participate in sports, but they also flourished in many aspects of traditional American culture. With the documentary being taped so soon after 9/11, I thought that the women would have very disapproving views of America, but they didn't. In fact, the girls were very rational about the situation, and still upheld their beliefs and were very proud of who they were. In fact, they all seemed to be living testaments of the article "Do Muslim Women need saving". All of the girls shown in the documentary were proud of who they were both as a Muslim and as an American. Despite all the people who looked down on them (including one girl's mother) they were still adamant about their religious beliefs and how it contributed to their identity. I found both the article and the documentary to be very insightful and interesting.