Hijabophobic!!

”I’d like everybody to respect our choice and not exclude women who wear hijab from certain things … I mean this is truly oppression; they say the woman is oppressed because she’s wearing the hijab, but the true oppression is preventing somebody from going to school because they have a scarf on their head.” a girl living in the west lamented in sullen resentment.
“If people can walk on the street almost naked, why should her putting a piece of cloth on her head bother people or upset them? Girls wearing hijab are not hurting anybody.” I thought to myself empathizing with the poor girl, in a vain attempt to find a reasonable answer to the question.

Nowadays, some occidentals are astonished by seeing women wearing veil. Unfortunately, they hold the vague notion that veil represents oppression or compulsion from the husband or family and keeps many Muslim women away from society. Others argue that it brings backwardness & that those who wear it are regarded as second-class citizens. What’s worse, some recoil in fear at hijab considering it symbolization of terrorism. It is a wonder Muslim women in the west are still discriminated on the basis of such fallacies.

To begin with, it is worthy of note that Islam is not the religion which introduced or innovated the concept of veil; but its origin dates back to the early times of Judaism and Christianity. Rabbi Dr. Brayer (professor of Biblical literature at Yeshiva University) in his book, the Jewish Women in Rabbinic Literature stated that it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a headscarf, which was then a sign of nobility; only prostitutes were not permitted to cover their hair in the old Jewish society. Besides, in the New Testament, St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians said: “and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.” That is, he urges women to cover their head during prayer.



Have you ever had a look at the picture of Mary, the Virgin? Has anyone of us seen her in reality? not at all; however, there are hundreds of portraits worldwide depicting her as a woman wearing a veil…. How ironical?! Imagine she showed up on such pictures with skimpy clothes! what impression would this convey? All the reverence for this great woman would be lost – god forbids; her image as a pious, chaste woman will be ravaged. The fact remains that the veil as well as her modest clothes has her appear respectable.

“In the Quran, God commanded women to cover their hair; we do it out of our own will and not as a result of coercion from anybody.” That was the answer of many Muslim women in the west after asking them about the reason behind their wearing hijab.
”several women especially converts who started covering in their twenties felt men, even non-muslim men, approached them more respectfully, didn’t try to flirt with them or make leering comments, and treated them as persons not sex objects.” enunciated Katherine bullock, reflecting that hijab does not only signify obedience of God, purity, modesty, & a woman’s Islamic identity but also guarantees women the full respect of all people surrounding her.

“Sexual abuse and assault are not only my fears, but my reality. I was molested and raped.” In dismay stated Kathy Chin, a former senior at UCLA majoring in Psychobiology and Women's Studies, in an article published in Al-Talib, the newsmagazine of the Muslim Students' Association of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).” My experiences with men who violated me have made me angry and frustrated. How do I stop the violence?” she continued with profound bitterness. Being devastated, she stepped in a hair salon and had her hair cut very short in order to look like a guy; yet it did not work out her problem, which sustained the sense of moroseness deep inside her. One day she dressed up as a Muslim woman as a part of a newsmagazine project covering her head with a scarf. “people perceived me as a Muslim woman and did not treat me as a sexual being by making cruel remarks.” She observed, somehow hopeful.She said commenting on her experience,” I consciously chose to be Hijabed because I was searching for respect from men. Initially, as both a women’s Studies major and a thinking female, I bought into the Western view that the wearing of a scarf is oppressive. After this experience and much reflection, I have arrived at the conclusion that such a view is superficial and misguided: It is not if the act is motivated by conviction and understanding.” She called her experimentation with hijab which was a turning point in her life “the most librating experience !!”

Another distorted aspect of hijab which needs to be cleared up is that it is in no way hinders a woman from playing her role as a significant figure in the society, and it does not make her inferior either. Muslim women hold a variety of jobs, none of which are devalued or hampered due to their dress code or hijab. Plus, the idea that hijab means women shouldn’t go outdoors is contradicted by the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him); during his lifetime, women were very actively involved in the community, in business, in scholarship, etc. In other words, hijab isn’t intended to restrict the woman from doing the kind of things she wants to do, but rather it is a blessing; it gets her to check her behavior continuously and accordingly prevents her from committing sins. In a nutshell, wearing hijab is not just a matter of simply putting a piece of cloth on your head … it is an attitude, a way of thinking and behaving.

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