Date: Wednesday, February 1st, 2023 
Time: 8:30 AM-1:00 PM (EST): 
Location:
Watch LIVE here: 
Facebook.com/worldhijabday
YouTube.com/worldhijabday
WorldHijabDay.com/Live

Conference Schedule: 
Opening Ceremony Quran Recitation:
Time: 8:30 AM EST 
Maryam Jazeem: Multi Award Winning Female Quran Reciter, 10 yrs old.

Opening statement: 
Time: 8:45 AM EST 
Nazma Khan: Founder & CEO, World Hijab Day Organization

PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Topic #1: Being An Unapologetic Hijabi 
Time: 9 AM EST
Speakers: 
Shatu Sani Garko: Miss Nigeria 2021 
Deqa Dhalac: First Somali American mayor in the United States 

Topic #2: Progression, Not Oppression
Time: 10 AM EST
Speakers: 
Sveto Muhammad Ishoq: LSE & Schwarzman Scholar
Dr. Uzma Syed: Infectious Disease Expert 

Topic #3: Hijabophobia in Public Space and Labor Market 
Time: 11 AM EST
Speaker:
Afaf Nasher, Esq.: Executive Director, CAIR-NY

(“Know Your Rights” Presentation will be given)

Topic #4: Media and Hijab
Time: 12 PM EST
Speakers: 
Shaima Elbialy: French journalist and activist 
Zainabrights: Journalist

Join Conference Facebook event here
Download Conference promotional flyer here

Mark your calendars! DON’T MISS IT!

For more information, contact us at info@worldhijabday.org

The post World Hijab Day Conference 2023 appeared first on World Hijab Day.

In 2017,  I became a Muslim. To be honest,  prior to coming to Islam, I pretty much tried every belief underneath the sun except for Islam.  I was missing something deep inside and none of the beliefs I had tried prior, could fill in the space. I was originally raised as a Christian Evangelical by my own father. My mom’s side of the family were Orthodox Jews and wanted me to believe in that as well.

So in a sense, while growing up, I felt this tug of war vibe between both sides of my family to get me to follow their beliefs.  Finally,  at the age of eighteen, I decided to become a Catholic.  I went with it for awhile, but it didn’t do much for the empty space;  moved on to atheism and then spirituality, which is where I settled for a while.  I wasn’t happy but it was better than me feeling miserable.  FINALLY! I came across Islam due to all of the coverage from the Muslim ban.  I am a  justice warrior for Equality and Equity for ALL.

Initially, I was hesitant because people kept telling me lies about Islam and Islamophobic propaganda, which intimidated me.  I didn’t feel I could be a Muslim and be safe from their hatred. However, when I met other Muslims and saw that they were just like me-loving, kind humans just living for and loving Allah- it made me feel more excited and brave enough to love and follow Allah as well.

So, in January 2017, I became Muslim and celebrated my 1st World Hijab Day.  Every since then, I’ve been trying my best to learn and grow as a Muslimah (Muslim woman). When I first fasted during Ramadan, it was LIFE to me.  I’ve never felt so cleansed and close to Allah.  Finally,  for the first time, my empty space was no longer hollow. Instead, I felt WHOLE with a purpose and love for Allah.

As for wearing my hijab goes: I absolutely love it!  It gives me strength and  makes me  feel FREE.  I feel like Allah is so proud of me for obeying His command and that makes me feel even more whole and complete.

Lastly,  THANK YOU for allowing us, Muslim women, to be heard and represented.  Hopefully,  Insha’Allah, this will help shed beautiful truth on Islam and Muslims everywhere.

The post Muslim ban led me to Islam appeared first on World Hijab Day.

If you think hijab holds you from exploring the world, think again. My hijab is the most empowering garment I ever had. The hijab speaks for me, it tells the world that I’m a Muslim woman, that I believe in Allah (SWT) and I try to follow the prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) teachings. It’s also a reminder of the sunnah (my ethics code) and acts sometimes quicker than my own conscience. It makes me feel connected with this world because as a Muslim woman, I have a moral duty in society.  At the same time, it tells me to keep working my way to Jannah (Paradise).

It’s sometimes an icebreaker and makes me closer to some curious minds and sometimes protects me from the noise in the crowd. It’s my crown, my helmet, my most valuable jewel and at the same time, reminds me to be most  humble. Hijab is not what I wear, it is WHAT I AM.

The post My Hijab is the most empowering garment appeared first on World Hijab Day.

World Hijab Day (WHD) is an annual event in its sixth year. On February 1st of every year, World Hijab Day Organization asks global citizens of all faiths to wear the Hijab (head-covering) for a day in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide.
The overall mission of WHD is to create a more peaceful world where global citizens respect each other. Particularly, WHD focuses on fighting bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice against Muslim women. This is most crucial in these times where Hijab is being banned in some countries while in other countries, Muslim women are being targeted and harassed verbally and physically.

Below are some of the shocking but true headlines:

Muslim Women Have Been Attacked at Multiple Colleges Since Trump Won (Vice)
Queens Muslim Woman 19: Pair Yelled Remove Hijab (NY Daily News)
Muslim High School Teacher Told Hang Yourself With Hijab (NY Daily News)
Muslim Girl’s Hijab Ripped Off in Front of Students (Times of India)
UW Bothwell Investigating Possible Hate Crime Against Muslim Women (Seattle Times)
California Woman Robbed Called Hijab-Wearing B* (NY Daily News)

New York State Senator, Roxanne J. Persaud, issued an endorsement of World Hijab Day stating, “It is said that “knowledge is power”: World Hijab Day presents an opportunity for us to learn about this religious custom, thus leading to less discrimination for the women who wear Hijab. I call everyone to demonstrate religious freedom by exercising tolerance and embracing the richness that diversity brings. When we show tolerance we recognize universal human rights and the fundamental freedoms of others. Our commitment to religious freedom must be congruent with our actions: We need to stand together to counter religious intolerance and hate.”

Nazma Khan, a New York native, initiated this global movement with the intent of bringing awareness on a subject that’s very dear to her and millions of Muslim women across the globe. While growing up in NYC, she was harassed both physically and emotionally on numerous occasions. The presence of such discrimination heightened around 9/11 because of her human right to wear the hijab. Her purpose was to introduce her pain to others in hopes that no one will ever have to go through the emotional trauma simply because of the love they have for their faith. Consequently, on February 1st, 2013, she asked her fellow sisters of all faiths across the globe to don the hijab for one day.  Within eight days, she got responses from women residing in 67 different countries that represented a conglomerate of religious backgrounds, to include Christians, Jewish, Pagans, Wiccans, Rastafarians, Buddhists, Atheists etc. WHD gave an opportunity to citizens worldwide who were not familiar with the Islamic faith to open up dialogues with their Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and friends.  Additionally, WHD presented an opportunity for teachers to understand why their Muslim students wear the hijab. It also provided non-Muslim mothers a chance to better understand their daughter’s faith and the decision to wear hijab. The negative perception on hijab allowed people to act upon their fears and hurt innocent women without a real and existing threat.  WHD simply presented an opportunity for everyone to learn about hijab and its importance in the Islamic faith without perpetuating the negative generalizations in today’s society.

WHD has thousands of volunteers worldwide and 70+ WHD Ambassadors from over 45 countries. WHD Ambassadors come from all walks of life from a high school student to a Congresswoman in the Philippines. Last year alone, 150 countries partook in WHD. In addition to that, WHD has been endorsed by many world renowned individuals including scholars, politicians, and celebrities worldwide. WHD was covered in mainstream news media including New York Times, BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, Huffington Post, etc to name a few. Last year, Time Magazine listed World Hijab Day in their world calendar, The Year Ahead 2017.  In addition, New York State Senate proclaimed February 1st, 2017 as Hijab Day in the State of New York. It is estimated 190+ countries will take part in WHD’18.

“I participated in World Hijab Day and it was a good experience that I will repeat. I live in a very small, very Christian town.  There were some strange looks and people were staring at me – and then looking away quickly when they realized I saw them looking. A few people seemed surprised that I spoke English. The fact that I was wearing hijab gave me the opportunity to talk to my step children about respect, difference, and peace.” (Talya Leodari -Jewish, USA)

We must STAND for Muslim women’s right to cover. There are many ways to show your solidarity.

*Update your Facebook profile picture with World Hijab Day 2018 campaign frame using this link: https://goo.gl/Kh1Qiv

*Join and invite your friends to Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1755651491120522/

*Wear Hijab (headscarf) on Feb. 1st, 2018

*Use the hashtags: #StrongInHijab and #WorldHijabDay

*Organize a WHD event in your community.

*Send emails or letters to local Mosques/religious congregations showing your support.

*Write letters to local officials about protecting Muslim women’s right to cover.

For more information or to support our campaign, go to https://worldhijabday.com/store

For media requests, please contact us at info@WorldHijabDay.com

The post Press Release appeared first on World Hijab Day.

Today (World Hijab Day) was a beautiful day. I am so grateful for the opportunity to walk a mile in someone else’s life, even for just one day. There are very few people that are indifferent to the hijab and I experienced both sides today.

Major life lesson- My eyes are opened to subtleties of racism. In my mind, racism is big hate filled gestures. I saw today that those incidents are rare. It takes the form of passive actions. It’s opening my own door a lot more than normal. It is someone’s eyes to the floor in the elevator. It’s the lady behind me at Kroger stepping back and white knuckling her cart when I turned around and smiled (what did she think I was going to do, attack her with my Flonase?!?!?!). It breaks my heart to know that people experience actions like this everyday. It has strengthened my resolve to choose love and be kind to everyone.

The counter energy to the racism is love. There are a lot of kind and gentle people. This was also very subtle but obvious. It was a girl catching my eye and giving me a warm smile. It was a compliment on my beautiful scarf. It was a thumbs up as he walked by my cube while I was on a call. It strengthened my resolve to be visible in my activism (this is soooooo hard for me. I want to be kindness to be anonymous).

The best part of my day was lunch. After I hid all my crazy hair, my eyebrows were all like, “OMG, look at me!!!!” So I went to have them threaded. Once the lady realized why I was wearing the hijab, she told everyone else in the salon. We talked a little about right of choice. She asked to take a picture with me and to post it. She was so happy to have a champion for her rights and they were all very gracious for support. I could see the worry and tension on their faces melt away, if only for a few moments when they were in the presence of an ally. This strengthened my resolve to be kind, always fight injustice, #RiseUp and #Resist.

The post Major life lesson- My eyes are opened to subtleties of racism appeared first on World Hijab Day.

Touched by a stranger’s sincere and eager public Facebook post, on Wednesday February 1st I visited her house to help her and her non-Muslim friends style themselves in hijabs, in honor of World Hijab Day. Kim Mulligan’s World Hijab Day photo shoot was a beautiful, unique initiative by non-Muslim women to reach out and support Hijabi Muslim women. Upset about the Muslim ban and refugees’ plight, these women embraced me with hugs, smiles, and well-intentioned questions about my faith. They repeatedly thanked me for bringing hijabs and styling them, but it was I bowled over with gratitude for their support and courage. Their acceptance of the hijab warmed my heart. Their effort was reassuring and comforting, because typically it’s us Hijabis that have to overcompensate and reach out to others. This nonjudgmental group made me feel welcome and normal. We were a group of women having fun; enjoying fashion and getting to know one another as humans. It was not about lecturing one another.

The post Sisters in America: World Hijab Day Photo Shoot Supports Marginalized American-Muslim Women appeared first on World Hijab Day.

I wasn’t a born Muslim.  I was raised as a Christian, Seventh- Day Adventist to be exact. And some things in Christianity that I found to be very similar to Islam were: We preferred eating halal/kosher, valued modesty and stayed away from alcohol, unclean meats (pork, etc.) and these were very relevant to me.

So, as a practicing Christian, I had no intentions other than to please God. I abided by all of those morals.  One Sabbath morning, I came to Church with an ankle length dark purple dress accompanied with a simple tan colored scarf covering my hair which was my personal idea of what modesty was but to others, it seemed  way too extreme and offensive for Church.

Throughout the day, I endured comments from Church goers including children and adults; “ISIS has arrived”, “You know you look like that lady, I think she was Mahatma Gandhi’s wife”, “Hey! Salam alaikum – aaaah! just kidding with you”, all followed by playful laughs.  That day, my grandmother received several complaints from sisters in the Church. I even got into a huge verbal feud with one of the sisters in my Church on my views on modesty. I always made sure to tell people that I was only doing this because the Bible said so:

According to 1 Corinthians 11:  “that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you… Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same if her head was shaved…For this reason a woman ought to have the symbol of authority on their head, because of the angels.”

After that encounter with my Church, my confidence in following what the Holy Bible had taught me eventually ended up diminishing.  Often, people said things like: “Because times have changed we don’t participate in things like that”, “Jesus died for our sins so we don’t have to do that anymore”, “That was the old ways of Babylon so we no longer do that”, “Wrap it another way and not like a Muslim”, “It’s not good to wear it like that. People will think you worship Allah instead of God.”, “There are others ways to be modest. Why do you have to dress like that?”, “You are beautiful just the way you are. Just take that scarf off already.” Their comments didn’t really affect me much, but it did make me wonder, as Christians, why are we not modeling what the Bible taught us when the Muslims and even Jews were doing it and they don’t even claim the Bible as their Holy Book?

Eventually months later, on October 25, 2016, I started wearing the hijab consistently. However, before leading up to that moment, a couple of people played a major role in my life, when deciding if I should even look into Islam or not.  They were the ones who often cleared up most of my misconceptions of Islam, exchanged phone numbers with me, got to know me over milkshakes, a quick sit-down in the park or even dinner and referred me to so many of the resources to learn about Islam which still currently exist in my life today.

But I was convinced that I wanted to wear the hijab by mid- August but I just wasn’t sure how I could actually go about doing it. I confided in my mother, but I feared the rest of my family wouldn’t approve of me adapting to these new concepts of modesty and almost a foreign lifestyle to them. Transitioning into wearing the Hijab while in high school, was a bit difficult for me but it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t handle. By the first month, my family, school, and Church buddies all got used to it but the remarks remained.

The post Kiara’s veil experience at her Church appeared first on World Hijab Day.

World Hijab Day (WHD) is an annual event in its fifth year. On February 1st of every year, WHD asks global citizens of all faiths to observe Hijab (head-covering) for a day in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide.
The overall mission of WHD is to create a more peaceful world where global citizens respect each other. Particularly, WHD focuses on fighting bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice against Muslim women. This is most crucial in these times where Hijab is being banned in some countries while in other countries, Muslim women are being targeted and harassed verbally and physically.

Below are some of the shocking but true headlines:

Muslim Women Have Been Attacked at Multiple Colleges Since Trump Won (Vice)
Queens Muslim Woman 19: Pair Yelled Remove Hijab (NY Daily News)
Muslim High School Teacher Told Hang Yourself With Hijab (NY Daily News)
Muslim Girl’s Hijab Ripped Off in Front of Students (Times of India)
UW Bothwell Investigating Possible Hate Crime Against Muslim Women (Seattle Times)
California Woman Robbed Called Hijab-Wearing B* (NY Daily News)

New York State assemblyman David Weprin issued an endorsement of World Hijab Day stating: “With hate crimes against Muslim-Americans tripling in 2016, it is important we take this moment to stand together with our fellow Americans on World Hijab Day. Rooted in the American principles of religious freedom and liberty, the World Hijab Day movement seeks to end the discrimination and judgment that comes with wearing a hijab.”

Nazma Khan, a New York native, initiated this global movement with the intent of bringing awareness on a subject that’s very dear to her and millions of Muslim women across the globe. While growing up in NYC, she was harassed both physically and emotionally on numerous occasions. The presence of such discrimination heightened around 9/11 because of her human right to wear the hijab. Her purpose was to introduce her pain to others in hopes that no one will ever have to go through the emotional trauma simply because of the love they have for their faith. Consequently, on February 1st, 2013, she asked her fellow sisters of all faiths across the globe to don the hijab for one day.  Within eight days, she got responses from women residing in 67 different countries that represented a conglomerate of religious backgrounds, to include Christians, Jewish, Pagans, Wiccans, Rastafarians, Buddhists, Atheists etc. WHD gave an opportunity to citizens worldwide who were not familiar with the Islamic faith to open up dialogues with their Muslim neighbors, co-workers, and friends.  Additionally, WHD presented an opportunity for teachers to understand why their Muslim students wear the hijab. It also provided non-Muslim mothers a chance to better understand their daughter’s faith and the decision to wear hijab. The negative perception on hijab allowed people to act upon their fears and hurt innocent women without a real and existing threat.  WHD simply presented an opportunity for everyone to learn about hijab and its importance in the Islamic faith without perpetuating the negative generalizations in today’s society.

WHD has thousands of volunteers worldwide and 70+ WHD Ambassadors from over 45 countries. WHD Ambassadors come from all walks of life from a high school student to a Congresswoman in the Philippines. Last year alone, 150 countries partook in WHD. In addition to that, WHD has been endorsed by many world renowned individuals including scholars, politicians, and celebrities worldwide. WHD was covered in mainstream news media including New York Times, BBC, CNN, Al-Jazeera, Huffington Post, etc to name a few. Recently, Time Magazine listed World Hijab Day in their world calendar, The Year Ahead 2017. It is estimated 190 countries will take part in WHD’17.

“I participated in World Hijab Day and it was a good experience that I will repeat. I live in a very small, very Christian town.  There were some strange looks and people were staring at me – and then looking away quickly when they realized I saw them looking. A few people seemed surprised that I spoke English. The fact that I was wearing hijab gave me the opportunity to talk to my step children about respect, difference, and peace.” (Talya Leodari -Jewish, USA)

We must STAND for Muslim women’s right to cover. There are many ways to show your solidarity.
*Attend the WHD event on Facebook and invite your friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/357711751248489
*Observe Hijab on Feb. 1st, 2017
*Use the hashtags: #IStand4Hijab and #WorldHijabDay
*Organize a WHD event in your community.
*Send emails or letters to local Mosques/religious congregations showing your support.
*Write letters to local officials about protecting Muslim women’s right to cover.

For more information or to support our campaign, go to https://worldhijabday.com/store

For media requests, please contact us at info@WorldHijabDay.com

The post Press Release appeared first on World Hijab Day.

I just wanted to share my story, though it is not nearly as impactful as some I have read here. I am a recent convert and I just started wearing hijab full time on December 20th! I first encountered hijab when I went to study abroad in London, and I met so many women who wore it. Back then I didn’t really understand it and what it meant, but I remember thinking that these women were very beautiful, and I always wondered what I could do to look like that.

When I was first reading about Islam and contemplating whether or not this was a religion I could adopt for the rest of my life, one of my biggest struggles was the concept of hijab. I’m not a person to do things halfway- either I am a full on scarf wearing Muslim, or I am not a Muslim…I guess I’m a bit extreme like that. But either way, for me the hijab was part and parcel with converting and becoming a Muslim.

For a long time after I knew that Islam was the only thing I could possibly need in my life, I still struggled with the idea of the hijab. I dressed decently modestly to begin with, and besides, I liked my hair! Not to mention wearing short sleeves in the summer! I also struggled with what my family and friends would think.
When I started up my senior year at university here, I decided to try it out in small steps. I started wearing it every Friday for Jummah prayers (it was like casual Fridays, but better!) The first few times I wore it out, I had a weird tightness in my throat, kind of like my scarf was strangling me. But as the weeks wore on I found that when I encountered my friends out and about they treated me just the same, and alhamdulillah my mom is very supportive as well. I came to look forward to dressing up on Fridays, and became a little jealous of the friends I have that already wore it full time.

So I went to an event at the local masjid one Friday night, and the next morning I just woke up and put it back on. Since that day I have been a full time hijabi, and I have no regrets! Yes, it kind of sucks going to the gym in long sleeves and flowy pants, , yes it has been difficult to convert my entire wardrobe to be hijab friendly, and yes I get rude comments and looks pretty often. But I have my intention and I know why I chose this, and I have no regrets!

I hope that during this year’s World Hijab Day women from all over can connect with each other and learn about why different people dress the way they do, and take those first crucial steps towards understanding.

The post One of my biggest struggles was the concept of hijab appeared first on World Hijab Day.

I get asked quite often why I reverted and what lead me to Islam? So I thought I’d tell you all.
I didn’t have a good start in life. I was abandoned in a crack house at  the age of 14 months. I was there for 2 days before I was found. I was passed around the care system for a while before I was placed with a loving foster Mom. I always yearned for my real mother; she was allowed to see me the 1st Saturday of every month, but she would never come. I’d be sad, waiting for her looking out the window. I would be heartbroken but my foster mom would always be there to hug me when I felt rejected.

At 14, I turned into a “wild child.” I started smoking, drinking, and hanging around with the wrong people. I started running away from home to my birth mother but she would reject me and shut the door in my face, but as always, my foster mom held me close and loved me.

At 17, I started going to the local pub. I was naive. I got pregnant with my son Dylan at the age of 17. I raised him alone. He is now 18 and has never met his dad. When I was 19, I met a Muslim man and got pregnant with Omar. His dad has always been in and out of his life. Omar is now 15. I spent most my 20’s feeling lost and unwanted, so I drank more, smoked more weed to forget about life.

Last year in September, I went to a 24 hr rave (party). I think I lasted about 18 hrs. I just sat in my room and cried and cried and asked God for help for strength, for guidance. I must have passed out from drinking. When I was awake a few hours later, I was overwhelmed with a feeling. I knew what I wanted. I knew what I had to do and for the first time ever, I felt strong enough. I detoxed my body. It took about 3 days. I was shaking and as I was detoxing myself and trying to better myself, I found out I had been betrayed in the worst way possible; stabbed in the back by people who I thought cared about me. I was devastated. All I wanted was a drink but I didn’t. I was so proud of myself.

Once I knew my body was clean from drink and drugs, I took my Shahadah (testimony of Islamic faith). Wow! Amazing! I was free. I felt new. I felt relieved that I would never pick up another drink. Islam to me is more than a religion. I believe it really saved my life.

The post Confession of a former drug addict appeared first on World Hijab Day.