Headscarves

As I enjoyed a bowl of Carrot and Coriander soup the other day at Avanti in Windsor, I was aware of a middle eastern family of three seated at a table near by. She was dressed in the loose pants and knee length long sleeved top and was wearing a patterned head scarf. The husband wore regular western style clothes. Their toddler was in a stroller and dressed in all pink - an outfit along the lines of Baby Gap. They looked to be a very happy family.

This is what I don't understand: why does it seem that often in family groups like this, it is only the women who are dressed in the traditional manner? Rarely do I see families strolling along together where they are all dressed traditionally. (Except perhaps when they are going to the mosque.)

Sitting at Heathrow in the arrivals lounge there are many opportunities to see women in various stages of veiled-ness: from the teenaged girls in modern clothes with headscarves, all the way to women completely encased in burqas. What bothers me, especially about the women who are so completely veiled, is the men with them in western clothes. It makes it seem more sexist than cultural.