Should Muslim Women Express Their Religious Clothing? Essay

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

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

Muslim women living in North America and Europe often face scrutiny over their choice to wear the veil, even though many Western people do not fully understand the practice.

“The Hijab limits me from doing certain things. When I have the Hijab on…as a Muslim woman, I consider myself basically representing the whole community” (Ruby 29). Aspects like this set this woman apart from her peers because she is now labeled as just one thing, a Muslim, when in fact she is much more than that. Women who wear the Hijab, Muhajibah, living in the western world, I believe, have it harder than they do living back home. Here, they are subject to a lot more attention when not necessary such as weird looks walking down the street and subject to stereotypes ie. being a terrorist. Islamic women are not the only ones being oppressed by their choice of clothing; in fact every woman around the world is target towards oppression. Islamic women are just targeted more than women of other religions. This is because of the strict faith that they endure from the Qu’ran telling them that they need to dress a certain way. However, it has been debated that the Qu’ran actually doesn’t mention anything about a women needing to wear a Hijab to be a good Muslim. (Kawaji)

In America it is quite unusual to see women wearing veils. In some parts of the world it is odd to see women with their faces exposed in public. Most women who wear veils every day are Muslim; the veil is called a hijab. The word hijab means a screen or curtain. Muslim women wear these veils for a few different reasons, to some it is a symbol of modesty, for others it is forced on them either by law or by the men in their family. Middle Eastern countries such as Turkey, Iran or Afghanistan have such laws. The women are only required to cover themselves when they are in public. In their home they are allowed to keep their faces uncovered.

Another stereotype of Muslims that media has constructed is around hijabis. Often if a Muslim woman is wearing a hijab, oppression, conservative, traditionalism is associated with them. Rarely is it asked, “was it your choice”. Every woman wearing a hijab may not have to option to chose to wear it or not, but often, it is the women’s individual decisions to decide to wear a hijab or not. Some will wear it when they feel they are ready, some will wear it to be closer to God, and some will wear it as a step towards being religious. No matter what the reason, it doesn’t mean oppression, or being narrow-minded. In every major religion, there is a

Among the Islamic community, there is a wide range of views from those who believe that head and face covering is required, to those who believe it is un-Islamic. This is due to individual’s interpretation of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Sura, a chapter of the Qur’an calls for “the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close around them”. As this phrase is somewhat unclear, traditionalists believe that women should cover their face and head whilst from the same passage Moderate Muslims believe that it does not explicitly dictate that women should cover their heads and faces. Another phrase from the Sura also causes divergence amongst Muslims followers as it tells “believing women to lower their gaze and be modest and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent and to draw veils over their bosoms”. Again, moderate Muslims believe that this passage only refers to the covering of the breasts. There is no unified position in regards to the veiling of women because of multiple and individual interpretations of the Qur’an and different cultural expectations. Because of this, there are a range of options of veils, from covering just the head to cover the face and body. The most commonly seen veil is the Hijab which covers the shoulders and head, opposing this is the Burqa which is a full body veil where the wearer’s face and head are covered and one sees through a mesh or grill over the eyes. It is important to note that it is not

In many Muslim countries, women lack equality and basic rights as there is still social pressure for the unveiled to conform. According to people, if they don’t wear “niqab” they are not being good Muslims. Many women wish to go unveiled but cannot as in some places its illegal, and in other places they face murder, beating and other domestic violence. It is believed that if you are wearing niqab one can’t

“A Christian guy came in at work and asked why I wear the hijab. I said because Mary, the mother of Jesus is my role model.” --Fatima a young Muslim tweeted. Wearing the hijab and the niqab was something that started long before our time. Yet it is currently a heated debate in many countries. The niqab and hijab Muslim women wear on their heads is making headlines around the world (Stacey). The niqab or the hijab is not worn for tradition belief nor is it worn by force; it is worn for religious beliefs and on a women’s own will. For the past few years countries like Canada, United States and France are trying to stop Muslim women from wearing the niqab. However Muslim

Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that women wear a veil or hijab, which is a head scarf 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). It could be inferred that women wear the burqa and veil willingly because of their geographical location. However, when Muslim women are withdrawn from the Middle East, and are placed

Religious clothing or symbols allows people to be different from one another and ethnic groups, wearing religious clothing is a part of someone's identity, which makes everyone’s identity distinct. In other words, banning religious clothing discourages diversity. Religious clothing plays a major role in discrimination because it's used as an excuse to discriminate against and harm others. Discrimination can result to people filling unequal towards the majority, minimize one’s notion of importance, or build stigma. For example, religious women are often prohibited from wearing their head coverings, such as turbans, hijab, and burkas. The Pew Research Center states, “looking at only those laws, policies or regulations that apply specifically

In every country around the world, women's lives are shaped by the influences of both society and by religion. “The Quran, Islam’s holy book, mandates that women have the right to seek education, choose their own mates, work, possess and inherit wealth or property, divorce, and remarry” (Hurley 76). So despite the Quran’s clear support for women’s rights and equality, why do many people feel that Muslim women are oppressed? The hijab head covering worn by Muslim women has been in the news on and off for some time now and has been a topic of many debates. Here in America, one would feel this requirement on women as oppressive, but most Muslim women feel that this is a way to be looked at not for their beauty, but for their minds. The issues here is that people have a hard time differentiating between culture and religion, two things that are completely different but have a huge effect on each other. People also have a hard time understanding things that are different. Just because it is different than how we live, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.

Most people have seen a woman walking down the street or in a mall clad in what appears to be scarves wrapped around her head, covering her hair, ears, and neck. In some situations these women even have a veil covering up most of their face. This is becoming a common occurrence in the United States as the Islamic population grows. Some may view this as a way to make these women subservient, making it seem like they don’t have an identity or a voice. This leaves many to wonder why they would wear such a thing in modern America where women are treated as equals and do have a voice. The truth behind the headscarf does

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).

The idea of the woman has evolved throughout the years. In the early 1900s, women did not have the right to vote. People like Alice Paul rallied in the Capitol, using their words to stand up against the gratuitous ruling that only men could vote. Years of women and men joining together to go against the idea that was unjust finally led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. In today’s time, an issue with Muslim women is the wearing of the hijab. In some countries, women face execution if they are seen without it on. Women outside of the Islamic culture have taken to wearing the hijab as a sign of solidarity. Their action is not actually a sign of solidarity, rather a sign of oppression.