No Fear, the Hijab is Here As of 2015 there are roughly 3.3 million muslims of all genders, race, and ethnicity living in the United States. That is roughly 1.65 million muslim women who have faced discrimination at some point of their life only because of their cultural background, religious beliefs, and the practice of wearing the traditional headscarf, the hijab. On many different accounts Muslim women “have been harassed, fired from jobs, denied access to public places, and otherwise discriminated against because they wear hijab. Because of their visibility, Muslim women who wear hijab face particular exposure to discrimination and have increasingly been targets for harassment in the aftermath of September 11” (Discrimination Against …show more content…
The hijab is a traditional headscarf most commonly worn by muslim women. The headscarf is a piece of cloth that covers the hair of the women. The practice of wearing the traditional headscarf the hijab, differs from other practices such as the practice of wearing the niqab or burqa. The practice of wearing the niqab or burqa is when the garment covers the entire head and or body of the muslim female. Muslim women wear the hijab to express their cultural values and religious beliefs. Muslim women also wear the hijab for many other reasons such as expression of uniqueness and because it challenges discrimination towards the western hemisphere's cultural beliefs. Muslim women should be permitted to wear their hijab to public events without fear of retribution because it expresses their cultural identity, is a part of their Islamic religion, and challenges …show more content…
Many Muslim women feel that wearing the hijab causes political debate and controversy in the United States. Nadine Naber an Arab fashion and beauty blogger, had an interview discussing the topic of Arab women facing discrimination from western culture. Although she said that she has not faced a lot of discrimination she did say that “the women are under constant pressure to represent Islam in a positive light and against Western misrepresentations of Muslim women as oppressed and, often at the same time, hypersexualized.” (Peterson). With this being said, the controversy causes Muslim women to have to represent Islam in a positive light because western culture already has this idea of who Muslim women are can what they are going to do the the western society. Muslim women all over the United States have been forced into this box of who they are and why they are here in America. Western culture has put them in this box since the attacks on September Eleventh, 2001. They have been labeled and associated with terrorism and violence just because of their religion and cultural
Ever pass by Muslim woman in a hijab at the mall or park and think how oppressive and restraining her culture must be? Maysan Haydar, a New York social worker who practices the Muslim tradition of veiling, believes otherwise. In her article, “Veiled Intentions: Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering,” Haydar highlights on her experiences as a Muslim living in an American culture, where showing more skin is the “norm.” Haydar speaks specifically to a crowd who unconsciously makes assumptions about certain Muslim practices, in hopes of sharing the truth behind them. Haydar suggests that, contrary to popular belief, not all Muslim women cover themselves strictly as an “oppressive” religious practice, but that some women, like herself, find
Discrimination, prejudice, and racism are all terms far too similar and encountered by multiple cultures. A vast amount of individuals have experienced these different terms, unfortunately some individuals belonging to certain minority cultures experience them more often than others. After the attacks on 9/11, the Muslim culture became a major target for actions such as discrimination. The media, especially in regards to women and their attire, fueled warped views about this culture. There are beliefs that women in this culture are oppressed and forced to wear a veil, or hijab, however their views and opinions are not taken into account regarding these statements that are being portrayed through the media and its watchers who are not aware of the cultural beliefs and traditions.
This concept of saving Muslim women gives western feminists the satisfaction of being superior. Western feminists have been trying to save Muslim women for years. Marnia Lazreg wrote about an 1852 skit of two Afghan girls and a free Christian France. In the nineteenth century, missionaries made it their mission to save Muslim women. One record talked about the plight Muslim women and how Christian women must help them. A century later, the sentiment is still being echoed and is used to explain the “War on Terrorism.” It is also doing more harm than good. The constant bombing and fighting is causing lost and heartbreak for Afghan women. In fighting to save Muslim women, the western world is, in actuality, smothering the voices of these women and hurting
Muslim women cover themselves by wearing Hijab. Hijab, which is also known as the veil, is the Islamic dress for women consisting the head covering, along with the body covered modestly. In Learning Islam 2, according to historians, the practice of Hijab was “part of [the] everyday dress for women in Ancient Christian and Jewish communities”(D32). Back then, many Christian and Catholic women wore a head covering as a sign of chastity. We can also see that there are references to the practice of wearing the veil in both the Old and New Testaments, “…if a woman does not have her head veiled, she may as well have her hair cut off. But if it is too shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or head shaved, then she should wear a veil” (I Corinthians 11:6). As you can see, the Bible gives the woman the choice of wearing the veil or have her hair cut off.
The hijab, while not always popular, has seem to be customary for most women to wear in the Islam world for good or for bad. Prior to the 21st century the hijab was not very popular and was looked as a rarity, but now most women adopted this clothing choice for a multitude of reasons. Many women choose to wear it because they feel god instructed women to wear it, to highlight modesty, to show faith in god, or to show Muslim identity. There are many reasons women wear the hijab, even if the veil is forced upon them because of family members; However, the sight of the veil concerns many women activists whose main priority is to insure equality for all women. Many women activists don’t like the veil to be forced upon women and the idea
The constant smear remarks from media headlines are chiseled into the minds of Westerners and no amount of “educated [and] articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions of the hijab can do little to dispel the myths” (Stacey). She writes how even when these women are simply placing their focus on the spiritually constructed values rather than socially constructed ones they still may be labeled as oppressed. Indeed, the majority of the women in the world have the free choice to where a hijab or not. The Gallup Poll mentioned earlier actually concludes that that “most women in the Muslim world are well aware that they have the same capabilities and deserve the same fundamental rights as men”
It is ordinary seeing woman in a veil in countries where the majority of people are Muslims. Even though, the picture of “Hijab” is not strange because it was known in previous cultures before Islam, it is considered as a phenomenon especially in the western societies which it still carries many of misunderstood thoughts. Some People who are non-Muslims in United States view “Hijab” as a fundamentalism, fanatics, barbarism, oppression, retro gradation, and terrorism image. Wearing the veil raises many controversial questions such as: Why do Muslim woman wear the veil? Is wearing the veil a cultural tradition or religious practice! What exactly is “Islamic Dress Code” and is it must be altered in its qualities from periodical time to another in order to be acceptable! Does “Hijab” isolate woman from interacting normally within society? However, all facts behind this issue will be revealed throughout the discussion of its meaning, the purpose of practicing it and seeing Hijab within references and historical context. This would unveil the mystery.
Fakhraie launches her essay by explaining how Muslim women struggle every day because of what they wear. In her essay, she talks about a teenage girl that was killed by her father because she refused to wear her hijab. Also, many women that wear a hijab are being banned from sporting events in the United States. A hijab is a “traditional Muslim garment” (Fakhraie 461) that several Muslim women wear every
Women have always been thought of as something that needed to be controlled in Muslim culture. Their bodies are a source of shame that must be covered during prayer and also in the public (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 3). Veiling, done by a hijab or chador, is when women either wear a headscarf to cover themselves or they wear a veil that covers their entire body, excluding her hands and eyes (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 1; Mir-Hosseini 2003: 41; Berger 1998: 93; Smith-Hefner 2007: 390-391; Brenner 1996: 674; El Guindi 1999: 6). Veiling is used as a tool for oppression. By having women veil themselves, it enforces the control by the male run and male dominated society (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 7). Also, the punishment for women appearing without a veil transitioned as the concept of veiling was addressed, transitioning from seventy-four lashes, to being arrested and held between ten days and two months for being “immodest” women and offending public morality, or fined 50,000 to 500,000 rials (Mir-Hosseini 2007: 8). The oppression of veiling is perpetuated through the thought that it is a woman’s religious duty to wear one, condemning foreigners and women in society if they refuse. Although it is a tool for oppression, there was resistance the oppression. In ...
Muslim women who wear the hijab are an ethnic minority that are increasingly facing more discrimination when applying for jobs and in the workplace. These women face even more challenges and discrimination in certain fields such as Public Relations. Public Relations related jobs particularly involve some sort of exposure of Muslim women to the public and a physical contact with customers as it has been seen in the two lawsuit cases mentioned earlier, Disneyland and Abercrombie & Fitch (Huffington post, 2012). Muslim women who choose to wear the headscarf face more discrimination because the hijab is a symbol that openly reveals their religion. These women often times have to work harder to prove themselves compared to women who do not wear
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. Freedom of choice should be given in these countries. It is not required in Islam so it shouldn’t be forced on anyone anywhere. In addition to this, Islam’s beauty is it’s freedom, the choice it provides you with, let it not be ruined.
Post September 11, 2001 the life of a Muslim women living in America changed forever. Islamophobia is the prejudice against Islam or Muslims. Islamophobia is not a new concept, it has roots hundreds of years ago, however after 9/11 it became much more prevalent in America. Following 9/11 Western media used Islam and Muslim women who covered to inflict fear in American citizens. Western media framed Islam as a dangerous and hateful religion that needed to be stopped. At the same time the media became obsessed with Muslim women who veiled and wanted to save these women from their oppression. However, these articles written about the oppressed Muslim women did not feature Muslim women and their experiences veiling. They were not given a voice
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
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.
Muslim women have to dress modestly, may choose who their own husbands are, have the right to an education, and are able to lead other Muslim women in prayer and preach. Women of Islamic faith have more rights than what is stereotypically thought, such as Muslim women being controlled by their husbands and having no freedom. Stereotypes will continue to follow Muslim women, but they just brush them off and continue doing what they’re doing, which is something every person should do.