However, such strictures levied solely against women also hint of something else.  The covering of a woman’s body in the presence of the pope indicates that he must see her as an object, rather than as a person with hair, breasts and legs.  She must be neutered as much as possible in order to come into his presence.  In this way, he can distance himself from any acknowledgement of women; he can maintain the fantasy that women are “the other”, against whom every true celibate must protect himself.  An “object” regarded as “the other” can never be imagined as an equal, but only as a near occasion of sin, who must be at all costs kept out of priestly thoughts, away from priestly bodies, and off priestly altars. Why else would there be a need for the Vatican chador?