Let me introduce myself to you, dear readers. I am a literature enthusiast, a debater, a college student, a feminist and an aspiring journalist. But what do you see when you look at me? Yes. you overlook all of this and become indifferent when you just decide to see me from the lens of prejudice which says ‘oppressed’.
But who decides what is ‘primitive’ and what is ‘feminism’? Who decides what is ‘beautiful’ and what is not? Who decides what a woman should and should not wear?
Yes, a piece of cloth on my head speaks a lot about me, I wouldn’t deny that. But who decides what it speaks to me? Do I get to decide or will you, dear readers, with your bias against me and my hijab?
A lot has been spoken about me and my hijab. But today, the ones who were always spoken about will speak for themselves. Yes, today you will listen as I speak. You will read as I write about my hijab, dear readers.
For me every choice that a woman makes in her life which gives her happiness is feminist. And years ago, I made such a choice when I decided to submit myself to my Lord. My hijab is a piece of cloth that covers me, that covers the physical aspect of me. It gives me recognition for the person that I am when it covers how I look like. It becomes a feminist stance when by wearing it, I make a choice to not show certain parts of my body to the world outside of my family. To put it short, I show you what I choose to show you or I cover what I choose not to show you.
For centuries, women have been conditioned to look a certain way, so when a woman like me decides to not conform, she becomes the ‘oppressed’ woman. Women have been subjected to meet a set standard of beauty, so when a woman like me decided to define beauty on her own terms, I became the ‘oppressed’ woman. But who is an ‘oppressed’ woman? The one who is made to conform to patriarchal demands or the one who is a nonconformist – who listens not to men but to her God?
I remember asking a friend once that if she had not known me, and would have seen me in my hijab, what would she think of me? To my surprise, she said ‘restricted’ or ‘oppressed’.
See, this is where the problem lies. We are not willing to expand our thought process. We only limit it to what is presented to us. It only takes a curious soul to ask a woman what her hijab story is. It only takes an unbiased heart to accept the different choices of women, to accept differences.
Naomi Wolf argues in her book “The Beauty Myth”: “We are in the midst of a violent backlash against feminism that uses images of female beauty as a political weapon against women’s advancement: the beauty myth.The beauty myth tells a story: The quality called “beauty” objectively and universally exists. Women must want to embody it and men must want to possess women who embody it. Most urgently, women’s identity must be premised upon our “beauty” so that we will remain vulnerable to outside approval, carrying the vital sensitive organ of self-esteem exposed to the air.”
Wendy Shalit, the writer of “A Return to Modesty, Discovering the Lost Virtue”, writes, “Hijab is a symbol of empowerment and feminism wherein the woman not only accords herself self-respect but also demands it from others.”
To put it in simple words: “I am only showing you what I choose to show you. And the only people who get to see the special parts of me are the people who I wish to see those special parts of me. For everyone else, look at my personality, my identity as an individual, my identity as a fellow human being,” says Attiya Latif in her Ted talk.
My hijab represents my love for Allah. It is a physical manifestation of my love and submission to Allah. It also is representative of modesty in a world where women are heavily objectified. In a world where women are recognised for what they look like and not for who they are, my hijab forces others to look beyond the external and to focus on the internal.
In 2016, Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first Muslim woman athlete competing for America to wear the hijab during the Rio Olympics.
Hajar Abulfazl captained the National Women’s Football team in Afghanistan, wears the hijab. She says that Ibtijhaj Muhammad’s influence “made a worldwide impact competing and winning in Olympics for America.” She further added, “She represents a strong and smart athlete who has a commitment to her faith and culture. Her words and photos educate people around the world who believe the old stereotype about the hijab and that Muslim women are weak.”
Tawakkol Karman is a journalist, politician, and a human rights activist, as well as one of the 10 Muslims to have won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Judge Carolyn Walker is the first judge to swear upon the Quran rather than the Bible wearing a hijab!
Salma bint Hizab al-Oteibi became the first female councilor of Saudi Arabia, one of the eighteen who had won seats in the governmental elections.
Dalia Mogahed is an American scholar of Egyptian origin. She is the Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, D.C and she wears a hijab!
Do all these women appear as oppressed by any standard to you? Muslim women wearing the hijab have done wonders and have been able to conquer the world in spite of the obstacles set before them.
So the next time you see a hijabi, before you make a biased judgment about her, ask her, “Whats your hijab story?”