Today is World Hijab Day.
It was founded by a Bangladeshi American, Nazma Khan, and is now quite
popular around the world. Ms. Khan
developed the idea to promote an understanding of the experience of women who
wear hijab. One of the major aspects of
the day is to encourage non-Muslim women and Muslim women who do not wear a
hijab to do so for one day.
While I understand the reasons behind what Ms. Khan is doing,
I have been feeling some discomfort with respect to what appears to be an
inconsistency about what the organisers are seeking to achieve.
For centuries, a significant aspect of the Western world’s
discourse on Islam and Muslim women has centred on the dress of female
Muslims. This discourse has sought mainly to portray
Muslim female dress in a negative light and as a symbol of their
oppression. Muslim women are what they
wear, full stop. There is no
consideration of any other aspect of a Muslim woman, whether it is her career,
her studies, her social life, her dreams, her aspirations, her volunteer work or
her struggles. If there is any mention
of any of these facets, the hijab inevitably finds a way into the discussion
and within the prism of a constraint.
In placing the central focus on the hijab, are we not reducing
Muslim women to their external beings in the same manner that the Western world
does? In trying to draw awareness of
hijab, Muslim women are again being defined simply by their wearing of the
hijab as if this is the only feature of a Muslim woman. We are taking the very headscarf which is
used by the West to objectify Muslim women and depicting it as the essence of a
Muslim woman’s existence.
My other concern has to do with validation. I saw someone post, very proudly, a picture on
facebook of a Ms. Universe donning a hijab as part of the Day. The picture had been reposted from the World Hijab Day site. I am sorry but what is
so marvelous about a Ms. Universe donning a hijab? Beauty pageants and all they stand for are
not only demeaning to women in every way possible but are also against all that
Islam stands for. Islam and the manner
in which Muslim women have been commanded by the Creator to dress require no
validation and especially not from or through a Ms. Universe! We as Muslims need to do a lot more to
educate people about our religion in order to dispel the ignorant views many
have of us. However, when we attempt to
demonstrate how “cool” or “acceptable” our religion is because a celebrity or
public personality is seen at a mosque or wearing a head covering, we come
across as craving legitimacy.
I think that instead of concentrating solely on the hijab as
a covering, the stories of the millions of Muslim women around the world who
live fulfilling lives in different ways should be emphasised. I believe a more positive way to showcase
Muslim women is by sharing their life stories as individuals and members of
society as opposed to just speaking about the experience of wearing a headscarf
and asking people to slip one on for a day.
Notwithstanding this, I do understand the motives of Ms.
Khan and those organising events around the world. As a Muslim, I think it is better to focus on
the positives and the constructive efforts of people like Ms. Khan. I admire her for the way in which she has
managed to galvanise worldwide support for her initiative and I pray that she
continues to use her skills and her tenacity in the service of Islam. My criticisms above are not meant to be an
attack but to merely raise an alternative lens through which we as Muslims can
examine World Hijab Day.
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