Re: Women of the veil..
I feel apologetic for the sisters as they are caught up in a modern crisis:
Just type "lipstick Islam" in youtube and see if who you see are truly in hijab ... Otherwise ... look at many convert women to Islam in the West who do not wear the khimar and see if they are not commanding respect and look decent.
Likewise ... look to those who do not claim to be religious but are very clear on how to interact with men and look to those who even in niqab - have strong perfume, and flirt with Muslim men, usually who are famous or good looking. Are they looking for a husband? Who is more religious?
The age old fight between the outward and inward goes on ... and today's climate stresses on that dichotomy ...
In all this it is us men who raise eyebrows at any such women questioning their sincerity to the faith, when we do not question our own states ... are we observing hijab when we look at women to judge them with a critical eye?
As a man if a woman dresses indecently for my eyes then I should look away or at least try to hold fast to any stray thoughts, but if she is decently dressed in my eyes then I can engage in limited talk with her so long as I do not convince myself that I find her attractive in other ways. I should trust her as a Muslim to be innocent in her heart and not trying to draw my attention, but if she moves and looks at me in certain ways that are imprinted in my animal sense telling me that they are signals - then I should remain aloof of these, pretend I am not receiving those signals and continue to treat her with dignity and respect and to move away if she tries harder to make me lose footing. It may be that it is all in my own dirty mind that she "wants me" but in that case I move away in any case. But the danger is that I feel sorry for her, or use some other intellectual self-conning device to reciprocate her sentiments and in turn compromise my own position of hijab, ending up flirting with her as well.
Therefore hijab is intended to cater for ambiguities in body language and attire - since we are supposed to look good, but then we can become a fitnah for others if we do so, but at the same time we are supposed to reduce the chances for others to get any sexual ideas but at the same time we must remain civil and nice with them.
It become evident that there is the truth of natural beauty - that even if a woman tries her hardest to be unattractive she will end up attracting people.
Then there is the beautification of oneself - that only becomes apparent when a woman is behaving a certain way - Behaviour has two aspects - one is active and the other is passive ... Passive behaviour would include dress, scent, make up and active behaviour would include voice intonations, body language and even the dwelling of the heart in what it desires.
A pious woman - i.e. one who remembers Allah and wants to please Him acquires a boost to her natural beauty, because piety is beautiful since it brings a light on the faces of those who are pious.
Within this field of parameters lies the solution to the modern problem ...
