Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Understanding the hijab essay
Importance of my hijab
Importance of my hijab
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Understanding the hijab essay
Why women wear hijab? Hijab is a headscarf that covers the head, which is worn by a Muslim female when around unknown men outside of their family. According to dictionary.com the term “hijab” in an Arabic word which means a traditional scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the hair and neck and sometimes the face. In the Quran, Muslim women are told to dress modestly and cover their breasts. There are four different types of head covering, but the purpose is the same. Quran does not require women to cover their faces with a “niqab” or cover their bodies with the full “burqua or chador” but it does mention them because they are also a symbol of modesty.
Why do Muslim women cover their head? Because wearing hijab identifies us as a Muslim. Wearing hijab identifies me as a Muslim, no matter where I am, people immediately know what I believe in. Muslim women wear hijab in order to gain respect from others and also because it is an order from their Lord. (Quran 33:59) A Muslim woman who covers her head is making a statement about her identity. The hijab is regarded like an indication of dig...
Professor Leila Ahmed, active Islamic feminist, in her article “Reinventing the veil” published in the Financial Times assumes that there is a connection between “advancement” and veiling, which means that unveiled women are advanced and vice versa. In addition, she supports that it led to increasing rate of violence. She questions why women wear veil, that is considered as “symbol of patriarchy and women’s oppression”. However, research changed her position towards wearing veil. Firstly, she states that wearing veil was essential for women, because it could be beneficial and influence to how people treat women, in terms of job, marriage and free movement in public. Secondly, her assumption was explained while interviewing women, who stated
Fatemeh Fakhraie’s essay “Scarfing it Down,” explains how Muslim women suffer because of what they wear. Fakhraie blogs about Muslim women in her website she explains; “Seeing ourselves portrayed in the media in ways that are one-dimensional and misleading." Several people judge Muslim's by their appearance because they assume they're a bad person. The author of this essay wants the reader to know that Muslim women wearing a hijab are not a threat to the world.
The author talks about how this was not something that happen overnight, but has been discussed about from a very long time such a 1989. The views of people that the author chooses to look at are Ernest Cheniere, who raised the statement of banning headscarves in public schools in 1994 and Francois Bayrou minister of education in 1994 who saw muslim headscarves as a way of proselytizing. Then Joan Scotts talks about why the timing played into affect, how racism such as colonial legacies were effected, secularism, individualism of the veil, Muslims being looked as threats, how uncivilized Muslim people were, and sexuality. Joan Scotts goes into detail in all the sub topics and shows how does this affect a common Muslim girl that wears a hijab and how does the French government view
The veil illustrates a women’s love for god, their modesty, and to show Muslim identity. The veil itself is not bad and even today is looked as a women’s choice to wear such clothing. The symbolism behind the hijab is very powerful and beautiful to show love for god and self-identity. The hijab gives women power and choice; Although, many women adopted the hijab since they will be treated better in their society. In the article “Reinventing the Veil” by Leila Ahmed, she wrote, “Changing dress sometimes empowered them in relation to their parents… expanded job and marriage possibilities… and ability to move freely in public space.” The idea that women must wear the hijab to be equal to men to demining to women. Some parts of the Islam society look as women differently depending on whether they wear the hijab, but the hijab should only be the woman’s choice and not something women have to wear to be able to walk freely and acquire jobs that men have. The western world looks at this and instantly looks down on the Islam world even when the whole society doesn’t look down on women for their choice on wearing the
The rise and expansion of Islam has restricted Islamic women’s rights since the 18th century. Islamic women are expected to be obedient to men (Documents 3 and 10), are covered up at the expense of men (Documents 7) and are met with backlash when trying to gain rights (Documents 6, 8, and 9).
...s" and not to discriminate on the basis and premise of sex. Even though few women benefitted from the scheme, Justice Stewart noted that "veteran's status's not uniquely male." Furthermore, the law placed many men who were not veterans at a disadvantage as well.
Thought on Hijab by Carrie York Al Karam stood out to me as well. In Thought on Hijab, the readers learned about the misconception about the hijab. She stated how when many see a girl in a veil, the girl would be expected to be a good girl, but if a Muslim girl is not wearing a hijab then she would get the misconception that she is a bad Muslim. She explained that despite what people believed about a girl that doesn’t wear it isn’t actually true. She stated how she knew women who wore a hijab that was the complete opposite of what society views them as. She saw women that wore hijabs and did not pray, gossiped and was basically promiscuous, which was the complete opposite of what society perceived a Muslim woman in a veil to
By wearing a hijab women do not have to worry about “gray hairs, and can focus on other parts of their lives. Although this seems like a trivial improvement, women in the West spend inestimable amounts of money on beauty products and a surfeit amount of time on their daily regimen. Even though the burqa is therapeutic in helping women with their appearance, it can be physically restricting, “Mariam had never before worn a burqa. The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull. The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth” (72).
The veil is generally classified into two types; the hijab, and the niqab/burqa. To differentiate between the two, the hijab is the veil that covers the head, and the niqab/burqa is the veil that either covers the face excluding the eyes, or covers the complete face. Some claim that the covering of the complete face is an obligation within the Islamic faith, except she who is in the state of Hajj, or Prayer. In a hadith stated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, about Islamically accepted clothing “^A'ishah, Ummul Mu'minin, (the most knowledgeable woman in the Muslim nation), narrated that when her sister Asma', the daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon the Messenger of Allah, (peace be upon him), wearing thin clothes, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), turned his attention from her and said which means: “O Asma', when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, she is not allowed to show of herself except this and this”, and he pointed to her face and hands.” (Hassan, 2004) In this authentic hadith, it is evident that the Muslim female is not obligated to cover the face, as this judgment was not specified by the Prophet for the state of Prayer and hajj only.
In recent years, a small piece of cloth has managed to cause quite a stir. The scarf, or hijab, that Muslim women wear on their heads is making headlines around the world. Hijab is banned in French public schools and other European countries have adopted or are thinking about a similar legislation. In Australia, a radio presenter triggered both debate and outrage when he called for the face veil (niqab) to be banned from banks and post offices. In Canada on the other hand, it is allowed to be worn freely unless in places such as airports for security reasons. Even some Muslim countries such as Turkey and Tunisia ban the hijab in certain government buildings. When a small piece of fabric causes such controversy and conflict, wouldn’t it be easier to remove it? Why then, under such circumstances, do Muslim women wear scarves?
International human rights standards protect the rights of persons to be able to choose what they wish to wear, and in particular to be able to manifest their religious belief. Thus, Human Rights Watch in their report, focusing on the hijab ban for state officials in Germany, said that: “Restrictions should only be implemented where fully justified by the state, and be the least restrictive necessary”.1 Proclamation of wearing the hijab in public institutions as illegal is undermining the autonomy of individuals, their right to choose, their right to privacy and intimacy, and their self-determination. In addition to this, several European countries such as Germany and France directly prevent women wearing hijab to work or attend school in the public state institutions, which further intensified already negative attitude of Western public towards wearing hijab.
One’s body is very attractive to the opposite sex and thus it should not be revealed as if it has no value. One should look at a person’s beauty from the inside, the heart, not just from the outside. One should be liked and judged not by what they choose to wear, but by their personality. Hijab is a choice that some women or girls make for their own security, for more privacy, or because it makes them feel comfortable and confident about themselves. It should be a choice though, and as it is not proven to us that it is obligatory, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan should remove their laws that insist every girl puts the veil on.
The headscarf has a role in Islam. It derives its significance from the Qur’an. Qur’an is God’s command to Muslims and the word taught to Prophet Mohammad by Allah. Muslim women wear headscarves to cover themselves. It’s a kind of modesty, and a way that women cover their beauty. They should not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands ‘fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, or their brothers’ sons or their sisters’ sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hand possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no senses of the shame of sex and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments.
In the Islamic faith, Muslim women are required to dress modestly by God. In the Qur’an, God speaks directly to all Muslim women and says “...guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment (The Qur’an 24:31)”. Muslim women have to wear a hijab, or a head covering, when they are in public places and when they are around men who are not close relatives. In fact, countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a mandatory dress code enforced. Muslim women in these countries have to wear a hijab and an abaya, or a full-length, loose fitting garment on top of their clothes. Although God requires Muslim women to dress modestly and Saudi Arabia and Qatar have a dress code, it is entirely their choice on what they would like to wear.
To begin with, the hijab is uncomfortable and impractical in today's modern society. The hijab causes more problems than it solves. Many people either are scared of someone wearing it or they hate the person wearing it. It is very difficult to