An Instagram post, posted by the account @muslim 

Women in Behind the Veil

The meme above is supposed to demonstrate how Omanian women are expected to act in public and in private. In the book, Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman, the cover is two women sitting outside all covered up. They are wearing a burqa, but also a niqab ( the book does not use correct terms). Although islamically a niqab is not required, the rules in Oman and specifically Sohar have most women in that dress code. Even if the women do not go out so often, when they do go outside, they are expected to cover up (modest clothing).

The context of the original is more of a combination of images together from a Disney movie. Especially when it comes to the image of Mike Wazowski, the original meme captions were more sarcastic ones. For example, “The teacher is so funny”, but it’s a picture of Mike Wazowski with a straight face. I used the picture of Wazowski to describe the Omanian women because that is how they really are. I chose not to do it in a sarcastic way because many people who might not be in our class or the professor might not understand that Omanian women actually were like Wazowski in public. I said were due to the fact that times have changed. The meme represents most Omanian women back then. The little girl in the meme, Boo, was used to match the overall Monster Inc. vibe to the meme. Wazowski and Boo have very different facial expressions throughout the movie. Boo was more an excited girl, until all the monsters had to scare her. On the other hand, Wazowski was nervous and more worried all the time. Overall, I chose Boo to match the theme of the meme and her emotions is a good to generalize how the Omanian women are at home.

The argument of the meme is to imply that Soharian women outside have no character to themselves because they are expected to be more reserved and quiet. On the other hand, when Soharian women are in private (at home with family) they are allowed to be themselves. Whether that be not having to wear a burqa or niqab, to even just speaking out loud. When they are with the society not only do they have to dress modestly, but also act modestly. Wikan speaks about this in chapter 1 of the book, as she introduces the “rules” in society that she is trying to adapt to. For them, acting modestly is speaking and acting with decorum; being soft-spoken with the tone they speak in. I chose this argument because the author mostly observed women, since she was not able to observe the men due to the rules in the society. Some of the women in Sohar are expected to act the way my more conservative aunt acts. It just goes to show that not only is the way they act a cultural thing, but also intertwines with the Islamic culture.

My intended audience is our class and the professor. Specifically people who are more gen Z and can understand memes overall. I chose the class and professor to be my audience because I know they have read some parts of Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman, so they have a better understanding of the meme. I decided to make a meme because it takes a sensitive complex issue into something much simpler that people can understand. Although people might laugh at the meme, it still brings awareness about the women in Sohar. Choosing a speech rather than a meme can also make my intention unclear of what my argument is. In this day and age, memes catch many peoples eyes. It grabs ones attention, so it is a great way to bring awareness about the life of women in Oman.

One rhetorical strategy I decided to use was imagery. Imagery is when you try to use vivid descriptions to create an image in your mind. When it comes to using imagery it is not just to make an image in your head, it is also to convey emotions in a different style. I was able to use imagery in my meme by being able to convey two different emotions. On the top, Wazowski was portraying a more neutral and dispassionate tone. I decided to use that image of Wazowski to protray the Omanian women because it is within the custom of Oman for the women to be more on the quieter side in public. It is not commonly seen for them to be loud and outgoing in public, it is something that is frowned upon. On the other hand, Boo is what represents the women at home. Omanian women are able to be more “free” at home. They are able to be themselves and show more emotion. I included the image on the bottom right because maybe sometimes they yell at their children which comes with every parent.

Another rhetorical strategy I used was humor. Humor is a literary tool that makes the audience or reader laugh. The meme is doing that by having two different emotions on top of each other. This can be considered funny because of the images I chose to use and the context of the images. The meme is comparing how the Omanian women are in public and how they are in private. In private, they are able to be more free, while in public they are more served. I decided to compare them with humor because people digest emotions like that easier. The meme also uses pathos because it is highlighting the hard truth spoken about in Behind the Veil in Arabia: Women in Oman. The meme is using emotion to show how empty Omanian women have to act and be outside. Pathos is used here to appeal to the audience’s emotions by trying to visually show how the Omanian women might feel. In a sense it can connect to the audience because sometimes those emotions portrayed on the meme can rub and impact the audience.

My background knowledge of Omanian women has to come from my daily life as a Bengali woman (the similarities are due to the Islamic culture). Back then due to many of the Omanian women following the overall Islamic culture, it is very similar to how many of the women in my family, including me act today. As many of you know Omanian women have to dress modestly. Dressing modestly includes wearing today’s version of niqab and burqa. Many tend to forget that when you wear modest clothing, you are also expected to act modest. When acting modest, you are speaking in a respectful manner and tone of voice. This involves not cursing or even speaking too loud as a woman. That is something many of the women in my family have to abide too, but I do not follow that.

In conclusion, the life of Omanian women is definitely different from American women. Although it might be familiar to me due to my cultural and religious background, it might not be to other people. Hence why I did a meme, so people can visually understand and digest a complex issue. My argument is that Omanian women are able to express themselves more at home than when they are outside.