Muazzez Çiğ, a Turkish Sumerologist who worked with the great Sumerologist Samuel Noah Kramer in producing many translations of Sumerian literary texts, was taken to court two years ago at the age of 92 for writing about the veil in Muslim society.

In the Muslim world, conservative Muslims believe that women should keep their heads covered with a veil, while secularists believe wearing them should continue to be banned.

However, according to Çiğ and research that she had been carrying out for several years, Sumerian women who were priestesses and offered sexual services were the first to wear veils.

A Turkish lawyer took Çiğ to court on the grounds that she was fomenting religious hatred. She was acquitted of the charges against her.

Read her story here.

Claude Mariottini
Emeritus Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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