Hijab

Not having to worry about your hair style, never having to give a second thought to your roots, and picture day no longer being ruined by unruly hair, at times may seem like good enough reasons to simply accept compulsory hijab regulations, but looking at the big picture it is clear that mandatory hijab is not in societies best interest - contrary to what some may believe. The fact of the matter is, while there may be some benefits associated with such regulations, the costs inflected on society far outweigh the benefits. 1979 is a year that has been immortalized in history as the year in which the islamic revolution took place. That year caused numerous changes in Iran, including a change in regime, severed relationships with the west, political unrest, and the enactment of compulsory hijab. Previously the country had banned hijab in 1936, making it the first Muslim country to do so, that ban was then lifted in 1941, and then veiling was made mandatory in 1980 by the new Islamic rulers. 33 years later, and Iran remains as one of the only countries in the world where hijab is…

The assignment for the ANT 415: Understanding Secularism course is on the hijab in Bangladesh. And I would like to look into the performativity aspect of the hijab and the extent to which it affects the lives of the women who wear them. The hijab, or the headscarf, is a visible marker that helps construct and embody a woman’s Muslim identity and all around the world, this identity has an image associated with it. This image as it is seen here, will be explored as I spend a week in Dhaka wearing…

Is wearing the hijab a sign of faith or of religious oppression? That is the question that has concerned many scholars in the fields of religious studies and women’s studies. Shelina Zahra Janmohamed argues in Love in a Headscarf, that wearing the hijab a sign of her faith. She believes that it is her religious duty to dress modestly and practice veiling. For her, it is a mark of devout faith in Islam and a marker of the religion that she practices. Even though she faces the pressure of a local…

Taking in its even more recent significance and meaning to Muslim women is the fact that college aged Muslim women in the nineteen seventies were behind the reemergence of the idea of wearing the veil. To these women it represented an idea of desexualizing space. In the act of desexualizing themselves with the wearing of the hijab these women believed that they were actually gaining back power for themselves. If this is how the women themselves viewed the piece of clothing that they choose to…

I put on a Hijab even though this garment is associated with the Muslim religion and I’m an African-American Christian. The next ten days of this experiment would change my outlook of this silk-like material. This in turn led to my discovery of racism and the understanding of what perhaps Muslims girls go through. What I know about the Qur’an is very little due to my lack of interest. A very close friend of mine who is Muslim once shared her account of her trip to the mall; while there people…

piece of cloth on their heads and sometimes even over their faces? Was it forced upon them to wear or is it a personal choice? That piece of cloth is actually called a hijab, it comes in different styles and materials. Muslim sisters wear the hijab and burqa to obey God and to show their modesty. These two headpieces release a woman from being objectified and perceived for her beauty. Some authors state that Muslim women are forced and oppressed by the government and males to wear the hijab or…

This week Ernst takes on the topic of gender and Islam in his chapter “Gender and the Question of Veiling”. I was interested to learn that “hijab” is not defined in the Quran as many assume. Many assume that the “hijab” is just a scarf that covers a Muslim women’s head, but it actually refers to covering. Hijab is a form of covering for the intent of modesty. The hijab is first mentioned to only include the Prophet’s wives and Ernst includes a translation of the following Quranic verse, “When…

Male Elite” has challenged the misogynists regarding the rights and role of women. The title of the book itself “The Veil and the Male elite” implies the word “veil”, in other words hijab, as a symbol of oppression. The arguments of Mernissi focus mainly on the hijab and the role of women as Muslims. She uses both the Islamic reference and her ideas on the interpretations on the hadit given by the scholars. Islam does provide equality regarding the impact of the text of women rights in Islam,…

on September 11, 2001, the lives of Muslim women who wore hijabs in America drastically changed. Fifteen years went by and Sahar Aziz reminds us that the issues of discrimination are still present by bringing to our attention that “After September 11, 2001, the stereotype of Muslim women as terrorists, coconspirators, or aiders and abettors to their male terrorist family members has superseded the stereotype that they are oppressed, subjugated, infantile beings, without individual agency who…

The act of veiling, for many women, is a Muslim practice consisting of women covering their heads with a head scarf, for others it's a personal choice to portray modesty. While there are various reasons as to why women may veil themselves, there are also various misunderstandings about the veil and what it may or may not represent. Misunderstanding the representation of this religious practice has led to discrimination towards the women who choose to veil. Although the hijab is a symbol of…