Hijab: Unveiling One Month Later: Article Analysis

Throughout Deveiling Body Stories: Muslim Girls Negotiate Visual, Spatial and Ethical Hijabs by Manal Hamzeh, she examines the lives of four young Muslim girls named Layla, Amy, Douja, and Abby, and how the hijabs affect each of them. The girl’s ages ranged from fourteen to seventeen and she met with them over a period of fourteen months. Hamzeh was able to acquire a lot of interesting information about the girls and their lives at home.

Furthermore, Ms. Meckes mentions that the Hijab is an unnecessary degrading practice of the past that Islam is spreading throughout the globe. The Hijab isn’t something that originated solely from Islam. Long before the rise of Islam, women wore veils that covered their heads as a sign of love and submission to God. Take in, for instance, the mother of Jesus, Mary. Upon all her portraits, she is wearing a veil covering her head. Muslims and Christians, who make up almost half of the population on Earth, have some sort of gratitude and appreciation towards the Hijab. Why is it so if the Hijab is the uniform of oppression? Why would half of the world’s population value a garment that oppresses and degrades a woman’s rights and freedoms? Hence, we cannot say that wearing Hijab is a degrading attribute for women and that Islam is infesting the world with this garment promoting a mockery of liberation. Thus, I disagree with Ms. Meckes describing the Hijab, as backwardness, submissiveness and degradation.

Despite all the values that the hijab is representing in different countries of the world, the only value that is demanded is the egalitarianism and justice value, whether a woman is wearing the veil or not, they are “calling for equal access to divorce, child custody, and inheritance; equal opportunities for education and employment; and abolition of

politicians continue to make baseless links between terrorism and Muslim women's dress” . Through these statements the audience becomes aware of hardships faced and is persuaded to support them, illustrated in “Anyone who is actually concerned about the role and status of Muslim women would do will to listen to Muslim women rather than assume they can speak on their behalf”. Through this statements Ruby Hamad’s article helps to increase the awareness of adversities faced by Muslim women, as creates a positive and supportive view of the Muslim

Muslim women all throughout the world are being discriminated against because of the clothing that they wear. After recent terrorist attacks, the stigma of Muslims being terrorists has become even more apparent. This has led to multiple harassments and hate crimes against Muslim women, primarily in Western countries. The discrimination has become so bad that some are suggesting that women who practice Islam shouldn’t wear hijabs or other veils while in public. It sounds like a great solution, but, in a way, would also violate their rights of religion. There’s also the fact that women in hijabs are viewed as being controlled by men. However, there are many Muslim women who are very independent and are not wearing the veils because a man told them to do so.

This article is argumentative in nature. The writer clearly makes a stand and expresses her reasons why the hijab should not be banned. This writer is speaking from her perspective as a Muslim woman. The average male reader could argue that she was biased but, I would have to disagree and say that she is writing from her angle of vision. She clearly has lived, observed and analyzed many facets of the Muslim women and their way of life. She has had family members, women, children, and cousins who have endured the way of life that included being mandated to wear the hijab scarf.

With the recent interest of the media on the topic of hijab and the oppressive symbol that it is portrayed to be, I have decided to write my paper on the hijab and what it means to various Muslim women. This topic is important and worth studying because most of the information that is relayed about the hijab by the media is not based on the opinion of Muslim women who actually wear the hijab in North America. Currently, feminists around the world have started a campaign for a “#nohijabday.” Although this movement initially began in order to speak out against the Iranian government for forcing Iranian women to don the hijab, it quickly spiraled out of control on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. This event has led to an influx

American Muslim are oppressed by the the impression that the hijab is a reminder of the threat of terrorism. In Asma Khalid’s National Public Radio’s article, "Lifting The Veil: Muslim Women Explain Their Choice" where she interviews American Muslim women they discuss this as one of the reasons for unveiling. In the NPR article,Rasmieyh Abdelnabi, age 27, agrees with this concept talking about the huge responsibility that comes with the hijab, citing her own experiences she elaborates. “I’m the kind of person who likes to walk into a room and be unnoticed…when you wear hijab and you walk into a room, everyone notices you; everyone stares at you; everyone makes assumptions about you”(Khalid). The attention women receive from where the hijab is further discussed in an article on the website Arabs in America, a project directed by Dr. Sahar Amer, a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Amer writes that some women believe“the headscarf brings more attention to women and is thus contradictory to its original purpose” (Amer). Both articles shared the concept of the hijab as an expression of cultural and religious identity.The negative perception of Muslims and the rise of “anti-Muslim zeal” post 9-11 is oppressive to American Muslim women as they fall victim to mistreatment, violence, and

When she stated, “They did not always have an opportunity to speak for themselves,” she was referring to the Muslim women in Islam dominated countries with people seeing them as victims of a patriarchal society where they cannot voice their opinions without having to suffer from a punishment. Also, because the images within the media showed women wearing burqas, which are also worn by Muslim women in America, people in the West see them as victims who are just crying out for help. It is not the social norm to wear a veil in the West because people believe in liberation when it comes to clothing, even if certain clothes may be terrifyingly revealing. They are unaware of the Islamic beliefs and that in countries, such as Afghanistan, the women accept the veil because it is part of their religion. Muslims follow rules and regulations that were divinely written within the Quran, and the burqa, which is considered to be a hijab (a veil/covering), is outlined within the Quran as follows:

Some of Muslim women who don’t wear a hijab, are not recognizable, meaning, you can’t tell what religion they are.. A hijab is a headscarf. Some of us, don’t wear it because we haven’t found the “right” time too or the “right” age to wear it. What I mean by that, you either wear it every day, or don’t wear it at all until you choose the right time to cover for the rest of your life. It is a big decision, because of the cruel world we live in. Some people whom are

Though I concede that the American Hijab may have oppressive aspects, I still insist that religious and personal freedom should not concede to societal pressures to conform due to cultural stereotypes. If American Muslim women let America take away their choice to wear the hijab for the sake of societal comfort and personal agenda, this would be submitting to an act of terrorism,the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. America stands by its impermeable rule, We do not negotiate with terrorists, and I don’t believe that citizens should have to negotiate and compromise their identity. The fundamental beliefs of this nation are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This does not mean that all

We want them to take us seriously and treat us as equals and not just chase us around for our bodies and physical looks." Muslim women that choose to wear the hijab claim that when covered they are filled will self-esteem and dignity.

As a Muslim woman I wore the hijab (headscarf) when I was younger, which is an important part of my spiritual religion as a Muslim woman. Muslim women who wear the hijab are generally and repeatedly stigmatized for doing so. They are regarded as women with extreme and uncritical excitement in their religion. This depiction of them is imprecisely wrong. It also discourages Muslim women in reaching the decision to wear the hijab represents and to what it portrays.

Therefore, equality activists should use this argument to fight for the rights of Muslim women both in western countries and in the Muslim countries. Putting on a hijab should not be a symbol of liberation or oppression. Muslim women should be allowed to choose what to wear, because they have equal rights like any other person from any religious group. Donning the hijab should be a choice and not obligatory as many Muslim countries have made it appear to Muslim

An individual’s identity can differ depending on several different physical and biological factors including sexuality, gender, age and class. Throughout Ruby Tabassum’s article entitled Listening to the Voices of Hijab, identity is related to gender in a number of ways. I have decided to discuss this specific article because the idea of how femininity is portrayed is a significant aspect of Canadian culture nowadays. I am also interested in focusing on how the identities of Muslim women are recognized in society and how individuals interpret the meaning behind wearing the hijab. Throughout this article, I have distinguished several different reasons for wearing