Learning about Hijabs
As an American woman, I have always valued the freedom to express yourself in whatever way you so choose (albeit, respectfully), including when it comes to religion. If asked, I would most likely describe myself as Agnostic, for I neither believe nor disbelieve in the existence of one, or multiple, God(s). I believe nobody can know the existence of a God/higher power for certain, although I still find myself hoping that some sort of higher power/force exists (it's hard for me to describe what exactly I believe in as I am still determining my beliefs myself). Anyways, my religious beliefs (or lack thereof) have resulted in me knowing very little about other religions (whether it's Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.).
My religious ignorance combined with my strong belief in freedom of expression has resulted in me not understanding why many muslim women wear hijabs. I have always viewed the hijab almost as a symbol of oppression (although nowhere near as oppressive as a burka, but I guess I viewed them as related). I believed it was conservative muslim men's way of exerting their control over women by forcing them to cover up their hair in order to seem less "distracting" and "more respectful," etc. I admit, though, that these beliefs were never really based on research or my experiences interacting with muslim women, so they were truly unfounded (again, I acknowledge my ignorance).
After looking up several different articles and watching a TEDx video, I must confess I remain confused, but only because there is no one consensus as to why muslim women do and do not wear hijabs. I learned that there are wildly different views (by both muslims and non-muslims) on whether or not the hijab should be worn.
Some muslim women argue that nowhere in the Quran does it explicitly say for muslim women to wear hijabs and that the people who enforce/support the hijab being worn only do so because of misinterpretations of this holy text. These women point out that "hijab" in Arabic literally means "curtain," "hiding," "obstructing," or "isolating," not headscarf, so the wearing of this garment should not be mandated or readily encouraged. Some feel that hijabs make them feel like they are trapped in some sort of cage.
However, I also read that other women enjoy wearing hijabs, partly because of the sense of identity they can bring or because of the personal freedom they can provide. One American muslim girl named Sarah Hekmati stated that she "liked the purpose behind the hijab -- a woman covering herself so that a man should know her for her mind, not her body." Sarah mentioned that many people looked at her with pity or confusion (most likely other confused, ignorant people like myself) but that she wears her hijab out of "self-respect" and because it "affirms Islam in the most respectful and purified way" by making her want to explore her religious faith more.
After researching different opinions about hijabs, I feel more aware (although nowhere near an expert) of the different reasons muslim women do and do not wear hijabs. Plus, the differing opinions on hijabs reinforce how complex religion can be, for people will always have different views, interpretations, and opinions on what others should and should not do to express their faith. While I may not fully understand why some muslim women wear hijabs, that does not matter. Even if I am still not fully knowledgeable on why women do and do not wear hijabs (and I probably never will be as I have not had to face the decision to wear one myself), I still readily support a woman's decision to wear the hijab if that is what she wants to do. My belief in everyone's freedom to express themselves extends to both the muslim women who want to wear the hijab and to those who do not. To me at least, the most important thing is for people to just respect other people's decisions.
Also, I know that hijabs are not a purely global topic (as many American muslims do/don't wear hijabs), but I wanted to write about them because they are something I knew little about and because there are around 1.6 billion muslims across the world, so it does have many global connections/implications.
Some Sources You Can Look At If Interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J5bDhMP9lQ
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/12/generation.islam.hijab/index.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/muslim-men-hijab-forcing-women-islam-teaching-mohammed-quran-modesty-a7655191.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a497b1f2b61f
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/02/465180930/american-muslim-women-explain-why-they-do-or-dont-cover
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamWomen/DressCode
My religious ignorance combined with my strong belief in freedom of expression has resulted in me not understanding why many muslim women wear hijabs. I have always viewed the hijab almost as a symbol of oppression (although nowhere near as oppressive as a burka, but I guess I viewed them as related). I believed it was conservative muslim men's way of exerting their control over women by forcing them to cover up their hair in order to seem less "distracting" and "more respectful," etc. I admit, though, that these beliefs were never really based on research or my experiences interacting with muslim women, so they were truly unfounded (again, I acknowledge my ignorance).
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| Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/02/465180930/american-muslim-women-explain-why-they-do-or-dont-cover |
Some muslim women argue that nowhere in the Quran does it explicitly say for muslim women to wear hijabs and that the people who enforce/support the hijab being worn only do so because of misinterpretations of this holy text. These women point out that "hijab" in Arabic literally means "curtain," "hiding," "obstructing," or "isolating," not headscarf, so the wearing of this garment should not be mandated or readily encouraged. Some feel that hijabs make them feel like they are trapped in some sort of cage.
However, I also read that other women enjoy wearing hijabs, partly because of the sense of identity they can bring or because of the personal freedom they can provide. One American muslim girl named Sarah Hekmati stated that she "liked the purpose behind the hijab -- a woman covering herself so that a man should know her for her mind, not her body." Sarah mentioned that many people looked at her with pity or confusion (most likely other confused, ignorant people like myself) but that she wears her hijab out of "self-respect" and because it "affirms Islam in the most respectful and purified way" by making her want to explore her religious faith more.
After researching different opinions about hijabs, I feel more aware (although nowhere near an expert) of the different reasons muslim women do and do not wear hijabs. Plus, the differing opinions on hijabs reinforce how complex religion can be, for people will always have different views, interpretations, and opinions on what others should and should not do to express their faith. While I may not fully understand why some muslim women wear hijabs, that does not matter. Even if I am still not fully knowledgeable on why women do and do not wear hijabs (and I probably never will be as I have not had to face the decision to wear one myself), I still readily support a woman's decision to wear the hijab if that is what she wants to do. My belief in everyone's freedom to express themselves extends to both the muslim women who want to wear the hijab and to those who do not. To me at least, the most important thing is for people to just respect other people's decisions.
Also, I know that hijabs are not a purely global topic (as many American muslims do/don't wear hijabs), but I wanted to write about them because they are something I knew little about and because there are around 1.6 billion muslims across the world, so it does have many global connections/implications.
Some Sources You Can Look At If Interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J5bDhMP9lQ
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/12/generation.islam.hijab/index.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/muslim-men-hijab-forcing-women-islam-teaching-mohammed-quran-modesty-a7655191.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/12/21/as-muslim-women-we-actually-ask-you-not-to-wear-the-hijab-in-the-name-of-interfaith-solidarity/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a497b1f2b61f
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/02/02/465180930/american-muslim-women-explain-why-they-do-or-dont-cover
http://guides.library.cornell.edu/IslamWomen/DressCode
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