Wearing a mask during the pandemic can be explained through the symbolism of the veil in the text. Since the COVID-19 pandemic was discovered in December 2019, new guidelines were issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The wearing of face masks, which seeks to reduce the rate of infections through droplets from the nose and mouth, is among them. In the beginning, I found wearing a mask weird and embarrassing since I was not used to it. As the days went by, I got accustomed to the practice, and today, I cannot leave the house without a mask.
Wearing the mask has majorly changed how I engage with people. I usually disengage from talking to most people unless they are close members or colleagues. In such cases, I usually drop my mask or speak in a loud voice while wearing the mask so that we can understand each other. Based on the text, wearing a mask, just like the veil, is a situational issue. For example, Tuareg men use the veil to portray their everyday interactions with different people (Young, 2003). While talking to women, strangers, and prestigious people, they draw the veil up to the eyes. On the other hand, they lower their veils while talking to people whom they have less respect for.
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I consider the way I wear the mask a symbol of self-expression. I do not wear make-up while on a mask since the make-up will be covered. Also, my mask covers the mouth and nose to prevent being infected by sick people. Most of my colleagues find it weird since they only cover their mouths while leaving the nose. Just as (Young, 2003) noted, the veil can only be understood from the meaning it has on the local people. Seeing a veiled woman would elicit mixed reactions from the viewer. For instance, for a non- Muslim, wearing the veil portrays subordination and oppression of women. However, wearing the veil symbolizes privacy, kinship status, identity, rank, and class for Muslims.
I usually wear the mask to prevent myself from contracting the COVID-19 virus from the people around me. On the contrary, some people might wear the mask to avoid being punished by law enforcement agencies, hide face malformations, or just follow what others are doing. As such, just like the veil, whose meaning can be understood from the local context of the wearer, individuals have varying reasons for wearing the mask.
Reference
Young, R. J. C. (2003). Postcolonialism: A very short introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
