A recent study of Rowanduz, a town of northern Iraq, suggests that the ordinary unveiled peasant woman who neglected to put on a face veil when entering the community was placed by the local citizenry in the same category as the prostitute.

DEFINE: Clarifies the social weight of the face veil as a marker distinguishing respectable women from prostitutes in this community.

QUESTION: What are the full findings of this study, and what does this reveal about the social function of veiling as a marker of respectability?

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 240