In other words, disagreements on women's roles reside mainly on the level of gender. The situation is very different if attitudes concerning women's dress are examined where region, rather than gender, seems to be decisive in conditioning attitudes. Although there are clear differentials between men and women concerning appropriate dress for women, these differentials are greater between the regions than between men and women within any single region. The significance of the strictures placed on women's dress in Palestinian society relates not so much to definitions of appropriate roles for women, as to concerns relating to control over women in whatever roles they fulfil. At the core of this concern lies the notion of honour and shame defined in terms of family control over the sexuality, or reproductive capacity, of female members.
Western dress symbolises a loss of family control.
It connotes an implied sexual complacency and reproductive disorder and, as such, signifies a potential threat to family honour. Clothing which fully covers a women's body and hair operates to reinforce an image of family control. As illustrated by the growing use of head scarfs among young girls far below the age of puberty, however, dress codes are also becoming linked to specific political messages relating to activist Islamic doctrines. Both men's and women's attitudes concerning the status of women seem to be affected by age, but in a particular manner. Broadly speaking, the middle-aged have more liberal attitudes towards women than either the very old or the relatively young.