First the left-hand veil of the ballerina's skirt rises to indicate the hour, followed by the right-hand veil rising to show the minutes.

WSJ: The Feminine Mystique of Watches

Mr Chirac is torn, fearful of the manipulation of young girls by Islamic radicals, but anxious also not to hand them a propaganda coup by banning the veil outright.

ECONOMIST: Islam in France

She wore it, she reasons, because it was close to hand and she hadn't the time to open her suitcases and rummage in them, looking for a veil.

NPR: Somalia's Farah: Humanizing a Broken Place