Hijab means to cover one’s self and is worn by Muslim women as a sign of dedication to their faith and a sign of modesty. I felt that wearing the hijab helped me become more confident in my own worth. I have enormous strength, courage and integrity. Therefore, it never was, is or will be a sign of oppression for you. For me, it’s about hidayat (God’s will) making hijab a choice.

According to the Quran (33:59), “Oh, Prophet tell the wives and the daughters and the believer women to draw their jilbab close around them, this will be better so that they are recognized and not harmed and God is the most forgiving, most merciful.” According to Arabic dictionaries, jilbab means a long, overflowing gown. Another verse in the Quran (24:31) states, “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity and do not reveal their adornment except what is already shown, and draw their khimar over their neck.” The khimar was a fancy silk scarf.

Hijab does not  prevent a woman from acquiring knowledge or from contributing to the betterment of human society. Historically, women have also greatly contributed to Islam, in every profession and in every sector of society.

Personally speaking, wearing the hijab gives me the freedom to give consent of attention to my physical appearance.  It’s up to me what I choose to do with my body so the hijab is my right and it gives me my voice. If someone wants to wear hijab or dress modestly, an essential practice of Islam, preventing them from doing so is against their fundamental and constitutional rights, including in India where I reside.

Despite Muslims being the second largest religious population in India, hijab has been misappropriated as something degrading and regressive over the past decade. They can also be deprived of their fundamental rights like education such as the case of Karnataka, India, where girls cannot pursue or further their education because of their choice to wear the hijab. Nevertheless, India’s constitution provides everyone with the power to practice and propagate one’s religion. As long as it does not interfere or degrade other religions, everyone is at absolute freedom. It is pertinent to mention here that the right to wear hijab is one of the many protections granted by the constitution and the Indian judiciary. So, owning our identity should not be an issue for anyone. If the constitution empowers us, nothing should take that away from us. I knew a different India growing up and it’s only a matter of time before things get more out of hand than they already are.

Overall, the wearing of a hijab does not impede a woman from learning new things or from making contributions to society. A woman who wears a hijab has the potential to be the best boss, worker, friend and councilor. I wear the hijab to show that I am a proud Muslim and I wish to be recognized for my hard work and achievements. Alhumdulillah!

About the Author:

Batool Fatima Choudhary is a student of Teach and Civil Engineering from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Find Batool @Chowdhary.batool via Instagram

@Batoolchoudhary via Twitter @Chowdhary Batool Fatima via Facebook

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In 19th-century India, British colonization was in full force. The biggest alibis of the colonizer were the Hindu Raja- Maharajas, who collected taxes for and worked as executive bodies for their imperial masters. Thus, by default, the Hindu community were second-class citizens. Then came the Muslims, the lineage of the recently-defeated Mughal Empire, who needed to be kept submerged in case they retained their royal glory. At the absolute bottom of society were women, regardless of their race or religion.

At the time, women were traditionally treated the same as or in a slightly higher position than the servant class. They were not allowed to be educated, to work or to speak louder than men. Defying all odds in such an environment, one Muslim woman challenged patriarchy. She was Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hossain.

Islamic laws have been instrumented in so-called controlling women through its myopia of explanations. But, for some brave Muslim women like Begum Rokeya, Islamic laws encouraged her to break the glass ceiling! In fact, Begum Rokeya pioneered the liberation of women in South Asia.

She was born in a wealthy merchant’s home in Rangpur, Bangladesh, which was undivided India at the time. Coming from a well-educated family, Begum Rokeya sought knowledge. However, she was not allowed to study. Her elder brother, Ibrahim, noticed her enthusiasm and decided to educate her in secret, at nighttime when everyone else was asleep. Sooner than she knew it, Begum Rokeya became well-versed in both Bengali and English, which was extremely rare for a woman of her time.

What made her rebellious was not only the situation for women in her own country, but also the situation for women abroad. Through literature, she learned that women were devalued all over the world and cited this in her writing: “…although the Japanese wife is considered only the first servant of her husband, she is usually addressed as the honorable mistress.”

Like the girls of her time, Rokeya was married, in her teens, to a wealthy diplomat named, Khan Bahadur Shakhawat, who was in his late 30’s. However, her marriage turned into a blessing as her husband was the one who encouraged her to start writing. Her writing, in the form of stories, encouraged women to raise their voices. It was fiery and controversial as protests erupted and demands were made to ban her writings. It was her husband’s diplomatic position and encouragement that sheltered her.

Eventually, Begum Rokeya’s revolutionary writing boldly turned into action. She founded the first school for girls in Calcutta. In her memoir, she remembered how difficult it was to convince parents to send their girls to school; sometimes, she endured verbal and physical abuse.

In 1916, she founded Muslim Women’s Association that fought for women’s right to education in India. Even though in recent times, the rhetoric of woman and man being equal is a common phrase, it was an audacity to utter such a proposition in 19th-century India. Yet, Begum Rokeya wrote: “We (women) are half of the society. If we lag, how can the society move forward? If a person’s one leg is tied down, how far can he go limping?” She fought for equality and justice for women. Regarding the inheritance law, she lamented: “According to the Muslim man, we women are half of a man, that is two women equals to one man. Even then, this law is confined to books only. If anyone kindly take your time to observe a wealthy Muslim’s distribution of wealth, then you will see that the daughter is given nothing from her inheritance.”

What I love about her writing is that she didn’t just resort to blaming the “man” for the condition of women; rather, she pushed the women to find courage in using their voices: “It’s not easy to rise at first, I know! Indian Muslims will give fatwa to kill us and Hindus will want to throw us in fire, I am aware! And I also know many of my sisters don’t even want to rise! But for the greater good of society, you must rise. No good can be achieved easily.” Therefore, Begum Rokeya’s mission in life was to awaken the sleeping conscience and lowered self-esteem of Bengali women, of Muslim women, of all women, which benefitted them beyond social and material goals. Her reminder will always be my inspiration to strive for better:  

“If your Lord holds you accountable, have you utilized your brain, heart, and eyes properly? If you don’t employ your own hands into labor, what explanation can you give to your Creator?”

Reminder: May is “International Muslim History Month.” Take this opportunity to learn more about Muslim men and women from the Golden Age up until now, who have shaped humanity as we know it.

About the Author

Sumaiya Rabeya is a researcher and content writer. She is the co-founder of a Malaysia-based media-production company. Sumaiya is also a community volunteer, actively working on various projects related to Islamic dawah, social engagement and women. Born in 1989, she graduated with a degree in Politics and International Relations and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Gender Studies. Moreover, she has been working as a media content writer for over a decade. As a Bengali young mother, she feels responsible in creatively contributing to society.

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To begin, let me state unequivocally that Muslim women should have the freedom to decide whether or not to wear the hijab. It should be entirely in their hands to make this decision. Any intellectual discussion of the veil’s use in educational facilities or other public spaces should be founded on and centered on this fundamental point.

Since the declaration of a “war on terror” two decades ago, Muslim women have been the victims of institutionalized Islamophobia in Europe and other parts of the world. Their freedom of expression and religion have been systematically hampered with and violated by European states and other parts of the world through discriminatory legislation and policies, as well as racist rhetoric.

Under the guise of ‘neutrality’ and ‘protection,’ these countries are slipping into pre-Renaissance religious intolerance by enacting discriminatory laws. Many Muslim women have faced gendered Islamophobia and discrimination as a result of these state-led actions. Headscarf bans have had a significant impact on Muslim women, both those who choose to wear them and those who do not.

In today’s world, Islamophobic attacks are on the verge of escalating. Muslims are accused of women’s oppression, terrorism, ignorance and hostility toward civilization. Many Muslim communities are being persecuted around the world. Some Muslims are caught in the middle of a battle in which they are subjected to military fire. Others are embroiled in a battle of ideas, conflicted by propaganda and insults. Oftentimes, psychological warfare is more damaging than military warfare, as its effects can linger for generations. And Muslim women who wear the hijab, which is the most visible representation of Islam, are caught in the middle of heated hate.

Instead of zeroing in on the issue of people’s prejudices against Muslims, the argument is predicated on the assumption that the hijab is the problem. Is it that important what people are wearing? If real progress is to be made, it must begin and end with the removal of bigotry, not with the removal of head coverings.

Can individual rights be protected while maintaining society’s secularist values without being overly restrictive of individual rights or being overly liberal in preserving a culture of foreign norms? Legislation and judicial review are used to negotiate the specific balancing points between the will of the majority and the freedom of the individual.

While secularism may prevent people from making laws based on religious scriptures, it cannot prevent fascists from oppressing religious minorities as “threats” to national identity. Currently, this is what we are seeing in India with the Hindutva Movement against Muslims, and it happens in France and Austria, and it is gradually spreading throughout Europe. The fight over the hijab isn’t just an Indian or European issue; it’s a global phenomenon with a long history. The challenge for these countries lies in shifting away from a state-controlled public sphere toward a pluralistic society that can accommodate people of diverse ethnicities and religious beliefs.

Moreover, liberal democracies are built on the principle of giving individuals the latitude and freedom to express themselves, including their religious convictions. That is, the individual is shielded from the state’s ability to dictate their choices.

Democracies are legitimate when their general will is shaped by free people. Individual liberty is threatened when the democratic will is undermined, so individual rights are protected to keep democracy from crumbling. This has been the consensus since at least the time of John Locke.

Individual rights would be violated if the hijab were to be prohibited. It is yet another method of controlling women, and taking it to the government level and legislating how women dress is a violation of human rights and undermines the entire foundation of democracy. Moreover, some see the hijab as a symbol of ethnic identity and self-affirmation in a society where Muslim communities constitute a significant number of those marginalized. It is not the right policy to try to outlaw religious symbols in educational facilities and other public spaces. This blanket ban is the embodiment of the very fundamentalist ideology that it seeks to combat.

Secularism should enshrine the idea that all religions are welcome as long as no one is discriminated against, religious or non-religious, and as long as everyone is treated equally in terms of rights and responsibilities in front of the law.

About the Author

Famidah Dirampaten is a candidate for the Master of Arts in Religious Studies with concentrations in Interfaith Peace Building and Nonprofit Leadership at the Unification Theological Seminary in New York. She is currently based in Doha, Qatar. Instagram@famidz

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On February 12th, 2021, I completed five years of wearing the hijab. It feels good. I remember the time when I would yearn to wear a head scarf, but didn’t have the courage to start it in the middle of my ongoing lifestyle.

It was in 2016 and I was moving to another city when my friend suggested that would be the best time for me to transition. It would be a new place with new people and fewer questions. I decided on following this plan. The day when I had to wear it, I was so worried. If I would be able to do it, continue wearing it or if I should even start now or wait until I get married (LOL common reason), if I would be able to wear it in my office, will I be able to carry on working in a corporate environment- if I, would I, will I be – I had so many questions in my mind.

One day, I prayed to Allah (swt) before wrapping my dupatta (Indian scarf) and told Him that I was doing it for Him because He had commanded it and asked for the courage to be able to face my fears. And here I am five years later, still struggling, but alhumdulilah happy and content that I took the decision, and I am still able to stick to it.

Hijab has brought so much patience and calm to my life. It is not limited to putting on a head scarf, but it encourages me to ponder over modesty and decency in not just my clothes, but character and actions, too.

I always knew that it was never a limitation, but the fact that now I have experienced it myself, I am vocal about it even more. I want to raise as much awareness as I can. Education, job, sports, travel, learning new skills- hijab doesn’t stop one from doing anything. Hijab does not restrict anyone.

I want to raise awareness on the fact that hijab wearers are not meek and shy girls. We are fierce, goofy, lovable, nerdy and all that one can be!

I believe it has matured me in its own way. And I pray for sisters who struggle every day to practice hijab, be it the cloth, the environment, or the niyat (intention)- we all have our weak points.

I pray that you get supportive friends and family and Allah (swt) makes it easy for everyone to practice!! Ameen!

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