Why do you think the concept of female modesty is controversial in gender rights debates? There has been great recent concern about the position of women in Muslim society, a concern that may have been triggered by the current wave of Islamic revivalism. Female modesty has been at the center of this concern. While Muslims generally argue that there is an ideal gender prototype in Islam, non-Muslims tend to disagree and point out that Islam generally oppresses women. I will attempt to study the tradition of the veil as it relates to the modesty of the female body, with particular emphasis on the new development of feminist notions within the Islamic framework, and attempt to understand why there is such a clash between the Western feminist positions ideology and the Muslim role of women. It should be noted, however, that the amount of external influences on modern thought as well as the personal concept of faith means that it is virtually impossible to give a conclusive answer as to why the concept of female modesty is controversial in debates. on gender rights. I will examine why the West may view the hijab as a sign of women's oppression using anthropologist Mary Douglas' cultural boundaries theory. I will then show that self-identifying Muslim women are just beginning to propose new readings of the Quran to re-justify the veil within the Muslim faith. Muslim behavior stems from the basic concept of hay'a, or modesty. The concept of modesty in Islam covers many different intersocial acts and is discussed in Islamic teachings from different angles: physical modesty, marriage, humility and clothing, all of which refer to the use of clothing discussed in the Quran and Hadith. Modesty in the middle of paper ......6): 134-156. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies. Internet. February 13, 2014. Bullock, Katherine. Rethinking Muslim women and the veil: challenging historical and modern stereotypes. Herndon, VA: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2002. Print. Douglas, Mary. Purity and danger; an analysis of the notions of pollution and taboo. New York: Praeger, 1966. Print. Guindi, Fadwa. Veils modesty, intimacy and resistance. Oxford, UK: Berg, 1999. Print. Haleem, MAS Abdel. The Quran. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print. Kamalkhani, Zahra, Women's Islam: Religious Practice among Women in Today's Iran, London: Kegan Paul International, 1998 Makhlouf, Carla. Changing the Veil: Women and Modernization in North Yemen. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979. Print. Safi, Omid. Progressive Muslims: on justice, gender and pluralism. Oxford: Oneworld, 2003. Print.