11 May Hijab a new form of Feminism unidentified?
Feminism is about the freedom of women, and them being treated the same as the opposite gender. It is about women being who they want to be, dressing how they want to dress, and living how they would like to live.
Women around the world have worked tirelessly over decades to prove that they are able to manage their home life and still be independent and work, breaking stereotypes such as ‘women are only meant to be housewives.’ However, when you think of feminism or independence; Muslim women covered head to toe is not what comes to your mind.
Many Muslim women have shown that they have chosen freely out of their own will and beliefs to cover up and don’t understand why they aren’t seen as feminists like western women, as they are dressing how they would like to.
These women view feminism from a different perspective; these women believe that we live in a society where a women’s value has been reduced to how sexy she looks and dresses, therefore to them it is empowering to be able to stand against that notion. They believe by rejecting that, they are rejecting the idea of how a women must dress sexy to please the eye of society.
However, to most people feminism has a different definition when it comes to Muslim women wearing hijab and covering up. They see the hijab as a sign of oppression and can’t seem to see past how a Muslim women covered head to toe can be a feminist.
Mariam khan, a Muslim writer, recalls the time when at the age of 23 she heard the then UK prime minister David Cameron depict Muslim women as “traditionally submissive”.
Miss Khan, who grew up in a Muslim household, was one of the first who had the opportunity to go to university; felt insulted by the assumption as she did not feel remotely submissive throughout her life and instead had always been a true feminist.
“For me, it was pivotal, we all said, ‘no, hang on, you do not get to make us something we are not” – “we do speak up, we are present, we do contribute.”
Like Mariam, most of these young Muslim women not only see the hijab as a form is resistance, but also as empowering, not only religious wise but also as a way of not feeling the need to dress a certain way to appease others and gain their acceptance. Oppression to them is taking away someone’s power; they believe through the hijab they are merely covering their body and hair, not oppressing their voice.
Well-known brands such as ‘Nike’ and ‘H&M’ have been one of the very few to take a step and promote the hijab, in a new light which shows Muslim women as working women; women who haven’t oppressed their dreams.
Model and public speaker Mariah Idrissi believes that the hijab can be a powerful feminist statement. Miss Idrissi is the first ever hijabi model for a H&M campaign.
“I can still do what I want to do wearing a hijab, and I don’t have to compromise any of my morals or beliefs to do that.”
Miss Idrissi went on to say, “there is no denying that some girls are forced. Maybe because of their family, upbringing or the country they live in.”
However according to Mariah, social media platforms such as Instagram and Youtube have allowed Muslim women to feel included and comfortable in wearing a hijab in public.
“What really does help is the social media side of the whole world of modest fashion that is obviously helping because its giving young girls a better understanding of the hijab.”
“Even if they just like the way it looks and they just see it as something that is fashionable. As they grow, I’m sure they will research more into why are they actually doing it?”
Like Mariah, model Halima Aden, made history in 2016 by becoming the first ever women to wear a hijab and enter the ‘Miss Minnesota USA Pageant’.
Muslim women like Mariah and Halima are very well aware that the hijab they wear pose no threat to anyone in society, yet there are demeaned and humiliated and attacked daily.
In multiple European countries, there have been legal bans enacted against it, and intense debates have raged about its supposed purpose to oppress Muslim women.
In 2018 former UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson compared Muslim women wearing ‘burqas’ to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers.”
Economics student Zuhra says, “The unsettling truth is that many western countries believe that all Muslim women are exploited, and don’t have many rights, however the developed countries such as Denmark, have passed on laws such as banning women from wearing ‘burqa’; which is a true sign of oppression; it is forcing young Muslim women to abandon their beliefs and dress according to them.”
According to the Public Broadcast Service, “for many Muslim women, wearing the headscarf has become a feminist act, serving as a symbol of their identity and a way to counter cultural imperialism,”.
“Muslim women are defining and developing feminism — on their own terms.”
“Some might say there’s nothing inherently liberating in covering up, just as there’s nothing inherently liberating in wearing next to nothing. But the liberation lies in the choice,” said Muslim feminist Hanna Yusuf, who wears a hijab, in a video testimony on Everyday Feminism.
“By assuming that all veiled women are oppressed, we belittle the choice of those who want to wear it. Even when women are vocal about wanting to wear the hijab, they are conveniently unheard or silenced.” She continued.
Anam khatib, a neurology major at the university of Maryland, believes wearing a hijab is the most feminist statement a women can make in a society where consumerism and capitalism constantly tell women what to wear and how to look like and what body type we should have.”
