A hijab is a veil worn by most Muslim women in the presence of any male outside of their immediate family. A hijab is also worn by Muslim women that conforms to Islamic standards of modesty. Sadly enough, this liberating imagery is also secluding Islamic women in the public sphere, and instead of conjuring images of freedom, the hijab now resurrects ideologies of ‘otherness’ in light of western thinking and constructs.

According to the Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World, modesty in the Quran concerns both men’s and women’s “gaze, gait, garments, and genitalia.” History further documents that the practice of veiling was borrowed from the elites of the Byzantine and Persian empires, where it was a symbol of respectability and high social status, during the Arab conquests of those empires. However, because Islam identified with the monotheistic religions of the conquered empires, the practice was adopted as an appropriate expression of Qur’anic ideals regarding modesty and piety.

Although the Qur’an instructs Muslim women to dress modestly, the way in which the media is defining the hijab worn by Islamic women is creating a fixed meaning of hopelessness and fear and bitterly obstructs reality in our post-modern environs. The politics of the Hijab is now becoming a silent persecutor within the realm of meaning as it encourages prejudice and the loss of individuality among Islamic women.

And it is here that the gaze of the veil is now coming up against bitter social forces, especially in light of the fact, where rules were changed to allow Ilhan Omar, a Muslim sworn in on the Qur’an, to wear a religious head covering on the floor of the House, thus eradicating a 181-year ban on headwear of any type in the US chamber of Congress.

Of course, it’s Omar’s choice. A choice that is protected by the first amendment. But what about the choices of other Islamic women everywhere?

Mustafa Naheed, a Muslim woman writes in Human Rights and Equity in the Canadian workplace that “People see me as the poster girl for oppressed women everywhere.”

As a result, it is clear, that while the US Constitution guarantees human rights through the avenue of the Bill of Rights, there remains a struggle to understand the meaning of the things that guarantee individuals their rights. For this reason, it becomes important to reinterpret the meaning of multicultural heritage, because people are labeling the Hijab with a negative meaning of oppression and depravity, thus evoking issues with gender relations, and working to silence and suppress Islamic women both substantially and figuratively.

Certainly, the meaning that people make of things is how it is represented, because without language, meaning cannot be understood. Islamic women wearing the hijab do not bomb federal buildings, yet women wearing the hijab have been the subject of verbal and physical attacks in western countries, particularly following terrorist attacks. Companies are wilfully refusing to hire Islamic women because they fear that the hijab will upset the other workers. Islamic women form a tiny fraction of the labor force and they are seldom mentioned in official employment statistics. Islamic women are trapped in the lowest bracket of the job market, with low pay, long hours of work, and are never given any chances for promotion because the power of language is fixed, and its negative usage is what interpret reality.

Freedom is one of the most important principles in society. Until now, Islamic women have a narrow range to manifest that freedom and are carrying a host of burdens behind the Hijab that marks their sacredness and liberation. Consequently, if Islamic women are determined by the manner in which their head dressing and relations to the world are modified through the actions of others, then how can Islamic women who wear a hijab struggle for transcendency in the look of the other, if this gaze is now the product of denial and erasure in our present day American society?

It is therefore clear that if consciousness guarantees freedom in the liberatory process, then the dehumanization of the other by the dominant society vividly shows that racism and exclusion also share a parallel surface in the lives of Islamic women wearing a hijab. It is also within this sphere that choice and social branding result in a state of powerlessness and disconnection and the notion of freedom is not readily understood.

Despite the fact that critics condemn the wearing of the hijab by Islamic women as being oppressive and detrimental to women’s equality, many Muslim women view the way of dress to be encouraging and empowering. Many Islamic women confess that the hijab is a way to avoid harassment and unwanted sexual advances in public and that the hijab also works to desexualize women in the public sphere in order to allow them to enjoy equal rights of complete legal, economic, and political status.

Even though western discourse consistently argues that the hijab is not a symbol of freedom, but one of oppression, the hijab also expresses a translational form of Islamic feminism that has been marked by the entry of women into all public spheres of Islamic life including formal religious learning.

It is therefore evident that the Hijab favors Islamic women as a preservation of culture and religious identity. Compounded with the secularism of France and the Islamophobia of 911, the hijab has now become the most potent symbol of Muslim women’s denial of western perceptions of feminism and communicates a new response to modernity, as racism and sexism separates them from the flow of mainstream society with wide gazes and open disgust.

Critics argue that the Islamic Republic of Iran’s current policy of forced veiling for women, the political stance of pan Islamism and France’s new doctrine of secularism still continue to generate negative debates on the wearing of the hijab. Nevertheless, it must also be seen that the way in which the media classifies Islamic women into an inferior social class simply because they wear a hijab, fashions images of helpless victims with moral shortcomings. It is essential to note that if the media’s promotional messages continue to misinform the public on the meaning of the hijab in the lives of Islamic women, then classification will constantly remain the way in which we give meaning to things. Polices and legal documents are not helping the jewels in the hijab to shine. Instead, stereotyping fixes meaning that gives a false shape character and form to Islamic women wearing the hijab.

Meaning is interpretation. For Islamic women who choose to wear the hijab, it allows them to retain their modesty, morals, and freedom of choice. The hijab is a protection and a symbol of faith. The hijab is a veil of strength and freedom. The hijab does not define Islamic women.

About Author

Rebecca Theodore is an author,  commentary writer, and award-winning journalist.

The post The Hijab: A Powerful Image of Freedom? appeared first on World Hijab Day.

I was born in a mixed-religious family (my father is Jewish and my mom is a Christian). I was a Christian in the eyes of the Jews and a Jew in the eyes of the Christians…So I decided not to label myself and just started to tell people that I believed in God and I didn’t need a religion to prove it. Back in high school, I had to do a research on the topic of women in Islam, though at that moment the only image I had was of a woman getting beaten up by her husband thanks to my neighbor who used to do that. I later found out that I was wrong, women do have rights in Islam, perhaps a lot more than in any other religion and that there are bad men everywhere regardless of their faith.

4 months later, I woke up one day wondering what would happen if I became a Muslim. So I decided to go to a mosque. When I was there, I heard the most beautiful thing I had ever heard in my life. I asked the Imam’s wife what that was and she told me it was her husband reciting the Quran. That day, I came back home as a Muslim, Alhamdulillah. I thought converting was the hardest part, but it wasn’t.

I tried to follow Islam correctly, but no matter how covered I was or how much I studied, it seemed it wasn’t enough for some people. After a year, I got tired and took off my hijab. I started to walk away from my faith. Somehow the hijab was a constant reminder of who I was now and kept me closer to my faith. I tried to wear it again but my parents won over this and I failed.

Last year I met this wonderful guy who was so religious, generous, and wise…I felt I had to try harder. I thought that if he could do it then I could do it too. I started to pray and study again. And most importantly, I now feel the same way as I did when I first listened to the Quran. He is now my husband, and I could never thank him enough for being so supportive and for making a better Muslim. Alhamdulillah (All praise to Allah) for him and for many other things. Thank you for reading this. May Allah SWT (All-Praised and Exalted) bless you.

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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.

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People ask me why do I wear Hijab, my simple answer is – one I want people to see my true beauty rather than focusing on false diminishing worldly beauty. Two – I don’t believe in showoff but prefer being a pearl hidden in a shell, lying deep down beneath the ocean. Three – hijaab is my identity, I can wear jazzy clothes but I chose to live a simple life for it showcases my religion/belief.

Assumptions: People look at me with an amaze in their eyes ( good/bad/strange/old fashioned/alien from other planet/oppressed/yeah terrorist too). No, apart from the first point mentioned none of them are correct. I love being fashionable and I’m very much aliened with the current fashion trends. No, I’m not oppressed and no one enforced hijab on me, but I chose it cause I love it. Do not know about alien from other planet but would like to be considered as an angel. (Joking)

Experiences: I have observed the security team checking my bag twice for me just wearing the hijaab, but I have always observed patience with them thinking one day they will realize and will treat me normally. If compared before and after Hijaab, I have seen flirty men don’t stare at me anymore, many changed their perspective. I have noticed respect in many stares and everyone demands respect.

God: Beyond being everything said, it’s a sign of my submission to my Master/Lord. I’m in love with my creator for thy has created the good, the bad and then guided His creation to protect themselves and others from the evil start – the start could be a single gaze. No this is not an introvert thought but a deep subject to explore. I have experienced and would say hijab is a shield that covers from lustful gaze:

“O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers that: they should let down upon themselves their jalabib.” [Quran 33:59]

“…and not display their beauty except what is apparent, and they should place their khumur over their bosoms…” [Quran 23:31]

Hijab is necessary not just restricted to clothing but one should observe hijab in the way you communicate, choice of words, and observe hijab in your actions.

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My story started a long while ago; at a time when I put on the hijab and didn’t really get what it was all about. Why does a scarf on my head would please Allah? What’s the connection between covering up and being modest? If Allah loves me, why does He want me to not look ‘attractive’ like other girls? If my hair and my body is a gift Allah gave me by making me a woman, why doesn’t He approve of me to put that out? For a 13 year old teenager, that was the kind of questions going on in my mind. And that was the time when I put it on.

Why did I? Because it felt right. With all the misconceptions and lack of understanding of what this Hijab is, all I knew and felt was that I am a grown up now, and Allah wouldn’t want me to wear it if it wasn’t for my own good. ‘Till this day, I thank Allah for blessing me with it, and I thank Allah for showing me how my Hijab has been the light of my life day after day. Being a hijabi teenager when most of the girls my age were not, I felt unique. When I walked around, all short and covered up, people looked at me…That’s kind of cool, right?

As a 20 year old now, my Hijab makes me feel secure. It feels like Allah is watching over me. Growing up, I’ve always made the following duaa ‘اللهم استخدمني و لا تستبدلني’, and now I know that my prayer was answered when I’ve become a representative woman of this wonderful deen (religion).

Covering up made me feel preserved. Preserved for the one person that would deserve to have that when I get married; and when my father walks me down the aisle to my man inshAllah, I will feel like a wrapped up gift. Hijab is one of the things I’m most grateful for, and I’m so proud to have it as a first step in my grown up life. Trust me when I tell you, extra garment on you has more to it than you can ever imagine.

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I am a Muslim revert from the Philippines. I was almost 17 when I reverted to Islam last year during the last day of Ramadan, alhamdullilah. Before I became a Muslim, I had faith issues. I stopped believing in Christianity due to many questions that popped up in my head that nobody could answer. I eventually gave up the idea of religion. I was almost at the edge of being an atheist until I found Islam, Alhamdullilah.

My family is devout Christian. I can say that my father is really against Islam, so I really have to hide it from them or else something might happen. Eventually, my family (except for my father) confronted me if I became a Muslim because they caught me praying at some occasions while wearing the hijab. I told them that I became a Muslim. They were so upset and told me so many bad things. They threatened me that they will tell my father if I don’t leave Islam. I was very afraid of that time so I told them that I will stop practicing Islam, but it is only to avoid any danger inshaAllah. Alhamdullilah, after what had happened, Allah has helped me to get through it. I only pray secretly as much as I can so they wouldn’t find out that I’m still a Muslim.

I’ve never been this happy and complete during my jahaliyyah (days of ignorance). Alhamdullilah Islam answered all of my questions. Knowing Allah is such a great honor to me and I couldn’t be more grateful to be one of His servants.

I am planning to wear the hijab in my university, insha’Allah. I know that this won’t be easy for me as it is my first time to wear it in front of everyone. I will be removing it when I go home, so my family won’t know it. Please keep me in your dua’a (prayer) that I can do it for Allah’s sake.

May Allah guide my family and the other non-Muslims as well to Islam, Ameen.

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I met a  Muslim gentleman who introduced me to Islam.  I wanted to learn more about Islam in order to better understand his lifestyle and his choices.  I immediately fell in love with Islam and within a few short months, decided it was what I’d been searching for all along!

On May 26th, I began wearing the hijab.  I noticed instantly that wearing hijab gained me respect which I’d never  known before.  People apologized for using foul language within earshot of me.  People offered assistance when not necessarily requested.  At a restaurant, a man stopped me from ordering food that had been cooked with pork, because he knew, since I was wearing hijab, I could not consume pork.  It blew my mind!

On June 6th, I took my shahada (testimony of Islamic faith).  It was a bittersweet day.  I was overjoyed to revert to the religion I had fallen in love with.  My (Catholic) family, however, was not thrilled.  My mother even disowned me for  some time. This quickly changed my mood.  Though, in the end, I didn’t allow it to ruin my day.  A week later we had a family meeting  and worked things out.  My family may not understand, but they now support my decision.

I have been told by a few different people that hijab suits me.  I love wearing hijab.  My dà’ì says it makes me even more beautiful than he already thought I was.

It bothers my daughter that people sometimes stare, but it doesn’t bother me.  It hasn’t bothered me from day one.  I knew what I would face them and I know those who stare are just ignorant.  I pray that Allah, one day, opens their eyes.  I know I made the right decision.  I am happy with my choice and my knew life!  Alhamdulillah!  Allahu-akbar!

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I participated in 30-day Ramadan Hijab Challenge in 2014 and I came to a better understanding of not only why the hijab is worn but a better understanding of myself and what I stand for as a person. I come from a Christian family, though I believe in God, I am not religious, and as a young child I never really understood why certain people dressed like that and as I got older I was always told the women are forced to wear them and that the hijab is a sign of oppression (I now know this is not true).

Wearing the hijab I felt the complete opposite. I felt liberated from the pressures of society to look a certain way and I even felt more feminine and confident. I had always thought hijabs were beautiful but I was always afraid of telling anyone or telling my parents that I wanted to try wearing one for fear of what others would think or if I wasn’t allowed to wearing one. That was until this Hijab Challenge. Even though the hijab challenge is finished I still occasionally wear the hijab for how it makes me feel.

Being covered I have more self-respect, it makes me feel closer to God and feel a freedom I was unaccustomed to before. The challenge was difficult at times, people looked at me in certain ways (not good way) and some people even yelled rude things at me from their cars but I have come to understand that people who truly care for me will accept me for who I am not what I wear or how I look.

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I reverted to Islam on  April 24, 2015. And I started wearing the hijab two weeks after I took my Shahada (testimony of Islamic faith). It wasn’t easy for me because my family is against my decision to become a Muslim. One of my daughters even told me that she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. My mom cried and begged me to leave Islam. But I know Islam is the true religion and I thank Allah that I have been chosen to be one of His servants.

I believe that one day my family will accept me and insha Allah they will be reverted too in Islam. I am proud to be a Muslim and I show it by covering myself and using my hijab.

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