Hijab, Veil Or Scarf?

As Hijab is a covering that portrays ones level of sophistication, When a Muslim woman wears Hijab it is a sign of poise and vanity and a way to earn respect from others. Moreover a woman who wears the Hijab is bearing the flag of Islam. Yet people do not apprehend the fact that Hijab protects a woman from unsolicited attention and it also prevents from making them sexual displays. Frequently Hijab is alleged as a demonstration of men’s power over women, why? Could it be because they do not follow the latest trends or fashions? A Muslim woman should be looked upon equally as opposed to a woman who is not wearing the Hijab. I believe that they should be respected equally in the society just as any other religions customs wearing the Hijab in Islam is given momentous prominence. During an interview with the Nobel peace prizewinner about the hijab she states, “Man in early times was almost naked, and as his intellect evolved he started wearing clothes. What I am today and what

If the author wanted to learn more about Muslim women, she should have sought them out and spent time with them — those who wear hijabs as well as those who don’t. Then, instead of speaking on behalf of Muslim women’s “unheard voice” by talking about her own hijab experiment (“My hijab silenced, but simultaneously, my hijab brought unforgettable words”), she should have asked them to share their own experiences as Muslim women. Then they would have a voice.

Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that the women wear a veil or hijab, which is a headscarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture supports, and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “Let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). Muslim women, instead of feeling oppressed, view this as a positive aspect in their lives, influenced by their devotion to Allah. Their acceptance could be influenced by their

The bombing of the Twin Towers turned America’s focused toward the Middle East. The War on Terrorism began in earnest. This war has brought about more than one conflict. As a nation, the United States is unique. The government is not run by any particular regime or religion, there is freedom. Yet, this is our unique brand of freedom. The Middle East is full of peoples with their own way of life that do not necessarily agree with the way we see freedom. Lila Abu-Lughod discusses one of the many difference between the United States and the Middle East, the use of head coverings and the burqa, in her article “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” She examines the cultural significance and different types of veiling.

The specific topic of this book is the oppression of women. Its overall purpose is to understand the women behind the veils and why the Muslim women take up the hijab. The purpose is also to show how

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.

During the mid-1970’s, the process of veiling in Islamic countries such as Egypt and Iran became highly controversial. The veil became the center of intense political debate throughout the countries, creating political tension among the citizens on opposing sides of the argument. Like many other political issues, there was more than one side to the argument. There were various political groups including Liberal Feminists, Islamic Feminists, and Class Feminists, to name a few, who each had their own opinions on the process of veiling. This paper will go in depth on the arguments regarding the process of veiling and my own personal argument in favor of the Liberal Feminist ideology in regards to this debate.

The main character in this book “Does My Head Look Big in This?” is Amal, who is a 16 year old Muslim teenage girl. The universal theme in this essay is coming of age. In Islam, the older you get the more responsibility you have. I suppose that approximately every religion has more responsibilities as they are growing. Since Amal is growing, she has decided to wear the hijab.

In the film, “Under One Sky: Arab Women Talk about the Hijab”, the women in the collective address the tension between religious obligations and feminist aspirations by debunking the stereotype of hijabs in relation with the Islam faith. They believe that just because a Muslim women wears a hijab or face covering, it does not mean that they are oppressed by the religion. It is when the women are forced, by the people and culture of that religion. Ultimately, they state that meaning of being a woman in Muslim, in their eyes is one who embraces their religion by wearing a hijab with confidence and respect for their religion. I believe their resolution was satisfactory because they showed that Islam is not a religion where women are completely

Since its inception, the followers of Islam have grown exponentially, spreading the religion’s ideals across the world. Today, Islam is one of the most significant religions in the world by attracting millions of followers who continue to adhere to the ancient practices outlined in the Qur’an. Unfortunately, these practices are often looked down upon by non-Muslim people and considered to be symbolic of terrorism or of the fundamentalist side of the religion. This instance can be observed largely in France as a result of secularism that has been deeply rooted in the country for generations. The most controversial practice of Islam today is Islamic dress. Women who wear head coverings like hijabs, burqas, and niqabs as a way to bring them closer to god are viewed as unwilling to integrate into Western society even though the women may be French citizens.

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.

Veils and scarves have been a customary fashion for different cultures long before the dawn of Islam and include the hijab, chador, burqa, and niqab (Wolfang et al. 521-24). The hijab consists of different headscarves; one or two that cover the head and neck and is popular in the West and Arab countries. The chador is a full-body shawl that is mainly black and covers the whole body apart from the face. It is often held at the neck using a pin or by hand. The burqa covers the entire body leaving a small mesh screen over the eyes; a full-body veil. The niqab is almost similar to the burqa the only difference is that it leaves an opening for the eyes or the forehead. Head covering plays an essential role not only in Islam but in other religions

Has one ever questioned why some Muslim women wear that piece of cloth on their heads? Where they forced to wear it or was it a personal choice. That piece of cloth, is actually called a hijab. Muslim sisters wear the hijab to obey God and to show their modesty. The hijab releases a woman from being objectified and perceived for her beauty. By exploring articles on the web, reading books, and magazines; some authors that differed in opinions why the hijab is forced upon and others explained why it was a personal decision. For instance, Leland Ware argues in the Huffington Post how France banned the hijabs and burqas, Valerie Tarico explains in the Huffington Post that the hijab is not a personal choice for women, and Acharya Murdock

Those in favor of the ban argue that bans are necessary to promote gender equality. Loenen points out that, ‘a major argument put forward to ban headscarves in public schools derives from the idea that the headscarf is symbolic of the inferior position of women in Islam and that many girls and women are pressured into wearing it’ . It is worthwhile to note here that the same argument was also used by the ECtHR in Dahlab, where it held that the wearing of the headscarf was hard to square with, among others, the principle of gender equality . Furthering its view in Dahlab, in Sahin, ECtHR held that the ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf at universities in Turkey served the legitimate purpose, amongst others, of promoting gender equality. Vakulenko suggests that in both these cases, ‘the headscarf was attributed a highly abstract and essentialized meaning of a religious item extremely detrimental to gender equality’ .

The hijab used as a symbol of the Muslim culture is just one characteristic of how it can be perceived; the hijab is also a sign of life, safety and personal identity (Tabassum, 2006, p. 37). Tabassum (2006) interviews an individual by the name of Raheelah who identifies the hijab as not just a piece of clothing that covers a Muslim women’s face, but also as a portrayal of themselves as a person (p. 37).