If there is one item of clothing that is contentious all over the world, it is the headscarf (or one of its many variations). Many Westerners see the headscarf as a symbol of oppression or militancy, but what is it, really?
First off, it is important to be able to distinguish between the different types of hijabs (coverings worn by Muslims). The headscarf is quite self-explanatory — it is a scarf that is worn wrapped around a woman’s head, covering all of her hair.
A niqab is a veil that covers a woman’s face with a slit for the eyes.
An abaya is a long, shapeless gown worn by some very conservative Muslim women.
A chador is an open cloak worn by Iranian women over their clothes that covers the head, but leaves the face exposed. And finally, a term that is probably familiar to you, the burka, is the entire outfit made up of some combination of an abaya and a niqab, and sometimes has netting over the eyes. These are all terms that mystify and even scare many westerners, even in our own intelligent and open-minded Hopkins
community.
Women wearing different forms of hijabs can be seen all over the world, and even on our very own campus (yes, ladies and gentlemen, there are smart, independent women who rock the headscarf!). Of course, the majority of the women who wear some form of the headscarf live in the Middle East and other Muslim majority countries like Pakistan, Indonesia and those in Northern Africa. The type of hijab most commonly seen differs in each of these countries. In Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, for example, you are likely to see many women in burkas. In Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, on the other hand, burkas are much more unusual as most women wear a headscarf or do not adopt the hijab at all.
While some countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia virtually force women to cover themselves, others, which include both Western and traditionally Muslim ones, currently have laws restricting women from wearing certain types of hijabs in certain places.
In France, for example, the niqab or any other veil that obscures a woman’s face is not allowed to be worn in public. In French schools, all forms of hijabs, even the simplest headscarves, are forbidden. The French government argues that the headscarf is too prominent of a religious symbol, and therefore inappropriate for school.
They also place great emphasis on the idea of the people of France being French above all else. They want immigrants to integrate into French society. They also believe that the burka and the niqab symbolize the oppression of women.
In Turkey, a country built on centuries of Islamic tradition, women are not allowed to wear hijabs in schools or in any government buildings including public hospitals. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of the Republic of Turkey, had a vision of Turkey as a secular state, and one of his first acts as president was to separate government from religion.
Ataturk’s model of a secular state continues today in Turkey, and the banning of headscarves in schools and government buildings is meant to uphold the separation of religion and state.
There are also those who believe that headscarves and veils are symbols of radical Islam, something that Turkey desperately wants to separate itself from as it pursues its bit to join the European Union.
But the most important issue that I want to address is the reasons behind women wearing headscarves and other types of hijabs. There are of course many cases wherein women are forced to cover themselves by their husbands and fathers, in which case we see the veil to be a symbol of oppression.
But what many people don’t realize is that there are also a large number of women who choose to wear hijabs themselves, and do not consider it to be oppressive at all (many even find it liberating).
Some women wear them for cultural reasons. Everyone else around them is wearing a headscarf and they want to fit in. Others, when given the choice by their parents, chose to wear headscarves because they believe that is what good Muslim women do, and others wear headscarves as a political statement. Some are fighting for a woman’s right to wear whatever she wants (this often happens with students in Turkey and France), while others (those who the government of Turkey see as threats), wear headscarves or other forms of hijabs to show support for Islamic governments.
There are even some who, after years of living without a headscarf, suddenly choose to become more conservative and cover themselves.
Most Muslim women in America who you see wearing hijabs are not forced to, but have chosen to do so. They wish to show a devotion to God, and to identify with their culture and their family’s values.
Some see the hijab to be a form of liberation, keeping them away from the prying eyes of men who see women as sexual objects. These women want be judged not by their appearance, but by their personality and by what they have to say.
So the next time you see a girl walking around campus with a headscarf, don’t assume that she is oppressed or that she has radical beliefs — Islamaphobia and ignorance about Muslims are all too common in this country, especially since 9/11. Instead of assuming and perpetuating your ignorance (not to insult my readers, but I’m assuming that most of you are not experts on the issue of headscarves), strike up a conversation with her, or ask why she chooses to wear the hijab.
If anything, no matter what it symbolizes to each individual, the headscarf certainly is a good conversation starter and a useful teaching device.
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