My reflection on hijab:

I find it absurd that the world thinks of Muslim women as oppressed due to the way Islam tells us to dress.

Putting religion aside for a moment….what is the definition of oppression?  It is “to burden with cruel or unjust impositions or restraints; subject to a burdensome or harsh exercise of authority or power.”        (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oppress)

To imply that hijab or niqab (choosing to cover your body and/or part of your face with loose clothing which doesn’t reveal it’s shape) is oppressing we would need to say that it is cruel or unjust or is a burden on Muslim women and as a collective, we would like to tell you that this is certainly not the case.

Myself, and most (but not all, of course) of the Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab do so because of the way it makes us feel. The hijab gives me and many other women, the confidence to be ourselves, say what we think and actually demand to be taken seriously because it is not our bodies and beauty on display but our mind, our personalities, our intelligence and that which we choose to share with people.

There’s nothing more liberating than being covered. Women in Western (and non-Western) film, music, and media are constantly portrayed as sex objects and women all over the world are paid to be naked or scantily clad! Talented or educated women such as sports stars and even politicians are scrutinized based on their appearance above other things and the (so – called) feminists who claim that liberation comes from removing your clothing only aid this patriarchal society in ensuring that women allow themselves to keep being objectified!

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When I put on the hijab and covered up, I wasn’t spending my day worrying about what I looked like. It gives you a sense of confidence that you can only gain through learning to appreciate yourself for more than just your physical appearance. It makes you feel secure in a way that is very difficult to explain. I felt confident about who I was as a person because I knew that’s what people were going to judge me on when I covered up – all they knew about me was based on my eyes, my facial expressions, and the words I said. There was something very empowering about that.

The hijab, for me, now represents something a lot more than just a piece of cloth used to cover your head. It stands firmly as a symbol of equality. A symbol for women who choose not to let men judge them based on their appearances, but rather, forces them to see women for the people they are on the inside. It gives women a sense of value, it gives women a sense of strength, and it allows women to be in control of the way anyone else sees them. In my opinion, that is one of the strongest messages of equality you could send.

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I am a Pagan woman, and I do not usually cover my hair, although I have within the context of ceremony, at those times it has made me feel closer to my ancestors and the womyn who have walked the path before me. I participated in world hijab day as an ally to my muslim sisters around the world, and it was a profound experience for me! I found that I stopped worrying about “checking” my hair and how I looked, I felt more secure and able to just interact without worrying about how did I look. I never realized just how much energy I wasted checking myself in the mirror, or fussing with my hair. I think wearing hijab is a wonderful way to combat negative body image/beauty culture that we internalize as women.
Blessed be.

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