When I found out about the World Hijab Day a few weeks ago, I immediately wanted to be part of it.

As you might know, the situation about the Hijab in France is really a delicate subject.  Hijabis in France have hard time getting a job or get educated. At times, no job at all.  Therefore, lots of Muslim women have no choice but to not wear the hijab because they need to earn money to live or just to go to school.

The law restricts the hijab and can punish you for wearing it. They say it’s because the hijab is against the Republic. I personally think that Republic  gives us freedom and the freedom is to have choice, but with this law there is no choice for Muslim French citizens who contribute to the economics of the country. There is no freedom for Muslim women. It’s very sad and heartbreaking.

Because of that, Muslim people are held back and non-Muslim can’t understand what is the hijab and why women wear it. I think the situation is just misunderstanding and non-Muslims are just afraid of the unknown and that’s natural. As French Muslims, we need to show them that hijab is a choice, a freedom, a blessing, and does not cause any harm.

I told my friends about World Hijab day and asked them to spread the word to my non-Muslim friends. February 1^st is an opportunity to show them that I am the same person whether I wear hijab or not.

I think educating people about hijab can create more positive outcomes. It starts with communicating with our neighbors in France.  I believe World Hijab Day opens up a great pathway to get to know our neighbors, insha’Allah (God-willing).

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