Stereotypes For Muslim Women

2043 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on islam women

Muslim women have always been active throughout history. Their sports are a way to stay healthy and have fun. However, because of stereotypes and outdated beliefs, they are typically not allowed to play. Muslim women are wrongfully forced to choose between honoring their faith and pursuing their passion because of the discrimination in the athletic world. However, recently more and more Muslim women have been inspired to start competing because of the attention and encouragement from other athletes. The hijab is a head covering worn by some Muslim women designed to show religious and cultural devotion. Generally, the term hijab refers to a square scarf that covers the head and a bit of the chest. “For women, the style of covering varies across …show more content…

One of the most well known reasons is that it is God's instruction for women to be pure and humble and that is achieved by wearing the hijab, or sometimes the full body of loose fitting clothes. (96). Though some Muslim women believe that the hijab isn't required to be a faithful Muslim, others use the headscarf as a means to wear their religion and be proud. “ It is something I am very proud of and it celebrates my faith. Wearing a hijab (headscarf) was my choice so it is a way to demonstrate my own freedom” (Abdul). Wearing a hijab is a personal choice and an expression of faith and devotion, and is a sign of pride. It is also a sign of cultural identity. “While most Muslim women wear the hijab for religious reasons, there are other Arab or Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab as an expression of their cultural identity” (Amer). A lot of women come from countries in the Middle East, and move to America. To show their pride, sometimes women will wear the hijab not just for their faith, but as a symbol of their …show more content…

Many women choose not to so they can emphasize that it is a choice, not a necessity. Though many non-Muslims may think so, Muslims agree that the hijab is not a symbol of oppression. Doaa Elghobashy, an Egyptian Olympian who plays beach volleyball expressed her feelings about wearing hijab. “I have worn the hijab for 10 years,” she told the Associated Press. “It doesn’t keep me away from the things I love to do” (Sims). Some people who don’t follow the Islamic faith feel sympathy for those who wear hijab, unknowingly thinking women are forced to wear it and that it is a sign of oppression. Instead, it is a symbol of devotion and doesn't have to be something that women are shamed

Show More
Related

  • Scarfing It Down Analysis

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author of this essay thinks it is ridiculous that women cannot wear their hijab in certain places around the world. Many people think the hijab is not necessary. However, it is part of what Muslim women believe. She explains in her essay, "So next time you hear about a hijab ban think about your best pair of jeans or your faded t-shirt with the logo of your favorite band" (Fakhraie 461). A hijab is just like every other piece of clothing that covers up the body. It can be part of their religion, or they can wear a hijab just because they like how it

    Read More

  • Critical Review of Naheed Mistafa´s My Body Is My Own Business

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    The article “My Body Is My Own Business” by Naheed Mustafa is about an Islamic women’s principle that putting on her usual headscarf, or Hijab, actually empowers her as a female, contrary to the popular principle that the hijab represents male oppressiveness. She ex...

    Read More

  • Veiled Intentions: Don T Judge A Muslim Girl

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Hijab Essay

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Clothing In America Essay

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    As for Muslim women,they wear a headscarf known as the hijab. Hijab is a veil that covers the head and chest. Most Muslim women at the age of puberty,wear the hijab in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family. Most women wear abayas. Abayas are long/loose dresses.The purpose to why they dress the way they do is,hence they want to protect themselves from harm and to keep their lovely beauty for their husband.This is worn in public, yet still they can dress however they wish in their place of residency.Abayas are very similar to the graduation gowns worn when high schoolers graduate and when judges in courts judge .If successful mortals wear them ,therefore it is a sign of greatness and achievement.Some citizens find that wearing religious garments in public should not be permissible,hence it would be as if they said a human being graduating shouldn't be permissible to wear the

    Read More

  • Religious Symbols: Clothing as an Identifier

    1693 Words  | 4 Pages

    Clothing is perhaps the simplest form of expression used by people to differentiate themselves from other members of society at both the collective and individual level. Clothing has the ability to simultaneously delineate an individual’s identifying attributes such as gender, profession, religion and ethnicity. Likewise, religious symbols entail wearing particular garments, amongst many other articles, and individuals choosing to wear it to overtly demarcate their religion and faith. Many traditions have distinctive religious symbols, such as Sikhs wearing the turban and Catholic nuns wearing the black veil. In Islam, there are several religious symbols such as the hijab, the burqa and the niqab intended to be worn by Muslim women. In recent

    Read More

  • Islamic Women: Oppression or Equality?

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    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”

    Read More

  • Hijab: Symbolism In Islam And Islam In The World

    1531 Words  | 4 Pages

    In fact, wearing Hijab was not initiated by Islam; it was familiar in the Judeo-Christian tradition and manuscripts. Yet, Islam is the continuation of the Abrahamitic Messages. Catholic Nuns practice veiling based on several references in both the Old and New Testaments. In fact, the Bible represented the veiling as problematic than what in the Qur’an or the Hadith (the sayings of the prophet Muhammad), because the Judeo-Christian sources indicate that women should be covered because of their inherent inferiority (Corinthian, 11:3-10) http://postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/women-islam-and-hijab/#ixzz2vCPAw6nI. On the contrary, Muslim women proudly cover their h...

    Read More

  • What Is The Role Of Women In A Thousand Splendid Suns?

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Doucleff, “‘wearing the hijab eliminates many of the hassles women have to go through — such as dyeing their hair,’ she says. ‘For example, you're getting old, and gray hairs, when you wear the hijab, you might not think about dyeing your hair because nobody sees it anyway.’” 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). In this excerpt the burqa is described as “tight”, “heavy”, and “suffocating, making it seem like an unpleasant garment to be ensconced in. The burqa can cause an “unnerving” feeling, which can make daily tasks hard to complete. When interviewing a girl in Afghanistan Daniel Pipes, American historian, writer, and commentator, got her opinion on the burqa, “When I wear a burqa it gives me a really bad feeling. I don't like to wear it…I don't like it, it upsets me, I can't breathe properly.” The discomfort the girl feels in the burqa “upsets” her, linking her physical distress to emotional distress. The girl gets “a really bad feeling” when she wears a burqa, showing that the physical effects of the burqa can be negative. Besides the physical hardships Muslim dress may cause, it can also cover up physical abuse, “A Muslim teenage girl

    Read More

  • The Misconceptions About Women in Islam

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    While people in the west think that women in Islam are oppressed, they do not know that Islam liberated women from oppression. There are many people who have opinions about the religion of Islam, but mostly about the women who follow it. Westerners have this idea that women in Islam are disrespected, mistreated and oppressed. In actuality, these allegations are incorrect. Women in Islam have rights and are not oppressed. The veil is widely misunderstood and many do not know what it represents. In many ways, men and women are equal as much as they are not; and this is in every religion.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Veil

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • The Veil is not Mandatory in Islam

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Muslim Women´s Hijab

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Muslim Women Rights and Requirements

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hijab Should Be Banned Essay

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Stereotypes For Muslim Women

Open Document