The Sarah Isom Center for Women's Brown Bag Lecture Series featured a talk about women in Islam Monday at the Johnson Commons.
Mary Thurlkill, assistant professor of philosophy and religion, talked about several important aspects of Islamic culture and religion as relates to women, discussing the portrayal of Islamic women in western media.
She explained the link between Muslim women and the changes taking place in the various governments. As some governments change, the veiling of women changes.
"Women become the billboard on which to inscribe the political goals of the government," Thurlkill said.
Modesty was also a theme of Thurlkill's lecture. The lecture centered on the modesty of Muslim women portrayed by the wearing of veils and women in marriage. The veil is not a symbol of oppression, but a symbol of a woman's religious beliefs, Thurlkill said.
Thurlkill described a Muslim friend who lived in America and continued to wear her veil.
"By covering herself, she believed that she bypassed any objectification and forced her coworkers to deal with her mind, her intellect and her creativity. To her, the veil did not oppress, it liberated," Thurlkill said.
Lara Oyetunji, a junior biochemistry and medical technology major from Nigeria, said she believes the media look at Islam with a decidedly Western perspective.
"(The media) don't understand the reasoning behind those beliefs," Oyetunji said.
Oyetunji, who spent time in Saudi Arabia and wore a veil there, said she recognizes both sides to wearing the cloth.
"While I see some benefits and the sense of identity, I see the constraints, too," she said.
The Isom Center sponsors the Brown Bag lecture series every other Monday. Each lecture focuses on a different topic, and is often headed by a new faculty member.
"We sponsor the lunch lecture series to feature interesting speakers on subjects that feature both women and gender," said Isom Center Director Jennifer Nelson.
"We think it's a valuable contribution to the campus community because no other center or department focuses on women's issues exclusively, although a lot of other departments do have faculty who do important research on women."