The hijab is a form of freedom, not oppression. It never was. It never will be.
Hijab. A symbol of modesty and peace. Something worn by Muslim women to keep off the eyes of unwanted gazing men but most importantly, to show that we are Muslims. Clothing is a language and when Muslims wear this, they portray that their religion doesn’t stop them from achieving their goals. We are Muslims and we can conquer the world.
The problem in today’s world is Westerners and their “modern thinking”. Somehow, it has been engraved in their minds that hijab is equal to being oppressed when in reality, it is just the Islamophobic media trying to brainwash their “loyal” viewers,giving our world more hate crimes than it should have. This lack of knowledge and sensibility allows an Islamophobic to come under the impression that every hijabi is oppressed.
Now, let’s take this picture as an example saying, “We will free you.” First of all, who said that they need help for their own freedom and freedom for what exactly? Freedom from wearing a veil to cover themselves up? Freedom from expressing their religion? Freedom from their right? You may think that this is just a simple picture. “Stop overexaggerating it!” Well, here is my response to these thoughts. My sisters are being ripped off of their rights as a Muslim. No, scratch that. As a human. So, I will speak up for them and will continue to do so until they are able to express themselves in whatever form they want to. If our youth sees this – the generation that will take over the world after us – and still have the same mindset that these ‘boomers’ or even some ‘millennials’ have, we have failed. We failed to educate them and failed to be the generation that would change the world.
Most hijabis out there are the smartest, most valorous, kind-hearted souls one would ever meet but Western culture tends to ignore that part and only focus on women being forced to wear this glorious veil. You will see Christian nuns out there wearing a scarf for modesty, a Sikh wearing a turban, a Jew wearing the kippah, and they all will be applauded for the love of their religion they are portraying. Don’t get me wrong, they deserve it. Everyone who dresses a particular way or wears something showing their adornment for their religion is an admirable and courageous thing to do which is something we need more of in this world. But why is it that when Muslim women practice their expression of faith, they receive so much unwanted hate? Don’t they also deserve the same applause? Don’t they deserve the same appreciation that everyone is getting?
Isn’t it ironic when we see white celebrities covering themselves up by wearing a headscarf and all the comments on their Instagram post will go like: “DAMN, LOOK AT OUR MODEST QUEEN”, “YOU ROCK THIS LOOK”? But as soon as you see a Muslim celebrity post a picture in her hijab, the ‘liberals’ will scream: “She is forced” “We need to help her.”
Islam is not a homogeneous religion. There are Muslims who do not wear the hijab and that’s their interpretation of their faith. The Quran beautifully states: لاَ إِكْرَاهَ فِى الدِّينِ, which translates to “There is no compulsion in religion.” Our faith gave us the right to choose 1,400 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights did.
Wearing a hijab gives a strong feeling of safety and brings us closer to God. It is a reminder to us and others of our identity as a Muslim. It is a way to always remember what one’s character should be like and where we stand in society as Muslim women. It is an important symbolic and literal representation of one’s culture. It is something that Hijabis are proud of and no one can take away that sense of pride. By wearing the hijab, we are asking to be heard before being seen. Our religion gives us freedom from this: hijab is not a form of oppression but a form of liberation.