FEMINISM MOVEMENT MUST FIGHT FOR THE HIJAB


Introduction 

The feminist movement, at its core, advocates the right of every woman to make choices that empower her, challenge societal expectations, and reflect her individuality. In this light, the hijab stands as a complex and deep symbol of autonomy, faith, and resistance. Feminists such as Leila Ahmad say “The hijab does not represent a woman’s brainwashed submissiveness or at the very least her lack of choice.” additionally many American Muslims have worn the hijab to show opposition to anti-Muslim discrimination following the September 11 attacks or to show solidarity with Palestine. Moreover, in the face of rising Islamophobia and discrimination, many women wear the hijab as a powerful symbol of solidarity. 

What is Hijab? Why Muslim Woman Wear Hijab?

Allah states dress codes in the Quran for Muslims. Contrary to popular myth, the first verse about modesty came for men: “[O Prophet!] Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and cover their private parts.”  and then same verse came for the woman “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and cover their private parts.” The verses are very clear. There are rules that both sides must follow and there is nothing more natural than a believing woman wanting to embrace the Islamic lifestyle.

Furthermore, these dress codes existed before Islam. We can see them in all Abrahamic Religions, and we can find many verses about veil and modesty in the Bible and the Torah: “For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.”  Also in Judaism, there is a law for dress codes. It is called “Tzniut” and according to the law “A married woman may not appear in public with her hair uncovered. She is required to wear a head-covering that hides all her hair from a view. It is proper to ensure that no hair protrudes from it.”

As can be understood from the verses, laws and history, the veil has always been a part of society. It has been worn for cultural and religious reasons for years. Whereas, when it comes to Muslim women’s hijab, it is seen as oppression in a way I can never understand. Because as a hijabi woman, this is not oppression. It is the external reflection of a decision I made with my own free will. 

Oppression 

It is not an oppression to live according to the belief that I have chosen with my own free will. The real oppression is last year, when I went to Berlin for touristic reasons, the security stopped despite I passed through three different security machines, —none of the other travelers, except for another woman wearing a headscarf, were stopped. The security officer searched for me in an invasive and aggressive manner, touching my body roughly and finally, she grabbed my headscarf and pulled it down. When I attempted to close it back, she pushed my arm. 

The real oppression is the story of Maheen Haq:  

“My coach had a look of defeat as he suddenly called me over. He told me the referee wouldn’t let me play unless I took off my hijab. The referee gave me two options: remove it or be kicked out of the basketball game. I was only twelve years old. My throat tightened in disbelief as tears welled up in my eyes. I went to the bathroom and removed my scarf, stared at the cloth in my hands. It was a step of defiance when I walked back to that court with my scarf wrapped tightly around my head as I sat on the bench and watched the starting spot I had worked for all season be taken by someone else.”  

She also adds: “A step of defiance against what? One man? One Islamophobic man? No. It was defiance against Western feminism an imperialist ideology that has led to the policing, harassment, and loss of agency for thousands of Muslim women. My story is not an anomaly but one among millions of Muslim women.”

The real oppression is when a woman’s right to education is taken away from her because she wears a headscarf, when a woman cannot work in the position she deserves because she wears a headscarf. When a woman is seen as “uneducated”, “oppressed”, “dirty”, “poor” because she wears a headscarf. 

Can you imagine having to live like this? Having to live with the anxiety that just random someone will say something. The stares we get on the streets. You are only exposed to it for two reasons: not being born into a white family and you chose to live an Islamic life. You always need to make some choices

Understanding the challenges faced by women who wear hijab can be difficult to grasp.  The anxiety of being constantly judged or excluded, the stares in the streets, the random comments from strangers. Living in such a way means having to make choices all the time: choosing between being an athlete or practicing your religion; between an education or practicing your religion; between traveling or practicing your religion.

Removing the Hijab for Saving Muslim Women

Lord Cromer was a British administrator and diplomat whose 24-year rule in Egypt as British agent and consul. In normalizing the British colonial project, he argued that Egyptian women needed British intervention to liberate them from the oppression of Islam. However, during the British occupation, he imposed fees on schools that effectively prevented young girls from attending, believing that “providing subsidized education was not the responsibility of the government.” While Lord Cromer was undermining Egyptian women’s access to education, he was simultaneously founding the “Men’s League for Opposing Women’s Suffrage” in England.

The history of colonization in Muslim countries is ignored or covered up and somehow its trivialized. Just like the headscarf is banned in dozens of countries. The ban on headscarves has been implemented in various countries at different times.

Germany: Since the 2000s, several states have banned headscarves for public employees, particularly teachers and judges. These restrictions vary by state.  

Austria: In 2019 placed a ban on headscarves for children up to the age of ten years to promote equality between men and women. The ban is also aimed at boosting social integration concerning local customs. 

France: Firstly religious symbols were banned in public schools. Then full-face coverings (such as burqas and niqabs) were prohibited in public spaces. Lastly hijabi athlete banned in olympics.

Tunisia: During the rule of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, headscarves were banned in public institutions. This ban was lifted after the 2011 revolution.  

Turkey: Headscarves were banned in public institutions and universities. The ban was lifted through reforms in 2013.  

Uzbekistan: Since 1991, restrictions on religious attire, including headscarves, have been enforced in public institutions and schools.  

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Despite being a secular country, wearing the hijab and other religious symbols are banned in courts and other institutions. Presently, Muslim women employed in judicial institutions are prohibited to wear hijab to work. 

Although I have tried to make the list as comprehensive as possible, I must emphasize that I have only covered a fraction of the bans. It is also important to note that some of the countries implementing these bans have Muslim populations. As a result of the bans, many Muslim women had to leave their home countries—where Islamic traditions prevailed—and move to other nations where no such bans existed in order to receive an education. However, these women were relatively fortunate few, as many others were unable to pursue education due to financial constraints that prevented them from studying abroad.

For instance, my mother was able to complete her undergraduate degree after 2013 and had to do her master’s degree at the age of 45. While I was in high school, she was attending university. We worked on many of her projects together. It was not easy for her to navigate the university system, especially considering that her right to education had been denied until she reached a certain age. This experience is also how I learned to write at an early age. All I can say is that difficult times produce strong individuals. Despite all the challenges, I believe that Muslim women will emerge much stronger in the future.

Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

Did Muslims really need America – or any other country – to bring peace to their country or, in other words, bomb them?

Abu-Lughod discusses the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). The work of activist women in Afghanistan on the ground who highlighted the mistreatment of women, was used to support cultural and physical imperialism, Western supremacy, and was praised only for its fight against the Taliban. RAWA was instrumental in bringing the United States’ attention to the excesses of the Taliban. However, RAWA still always opposed the imperialist project of the United States from the onset of U.S. contact with Afghan soil. They opposed the U.S. bombings seeing it only as increasing the hardship, loss, and trauma of Afghan women. They called for peacekeeping, disarmament, and the expulsion of U.S. armed forces. RAWA warned that U.S. troops would confuse governmental employees with Afghan people and confuse the Taliban with innocent Afghan civilians. RAWA repeatedly argued that military policies of the United States were being organized around oil interests, arms industry, and the international drug trade. The U.S. administration even supported a secret oil pipeline deal between the Taliban and the U.S. multinational Unocal showing that this was not a war of morality but political and economic interests. Nonetheless, RAWA was only praised and used in the West for one thing: the narrative that Muslim women were oppressed and needed saving. The United States cherrypicked what they wanted to hear from RAWA and it was only the stories and research that could be manipulated to serve the Western imperialist agenda.

Furthermore, some people say “They will never cry for themselves, for they are down under the yoke of centuries of oppression.” for hijabi women. This approach takes away the agency of Muslim women entirely. Their approach first argues that they need to make Muslim women’s voices heard and then states that they will never cry for themselves. This insinuates that Muslim women are too disoriented and lost in their own oppression that there is no possible way that they could have agency for themselves. 

The culture of feminism in the United States is so inherently secularized, that Muslim women advocating for Islamic feminism can never be accepted as a true feminist. For example, Asma Barlas, a Muslim feminist scholar, was rejected by the American feminist community. However, this is against the ideals of feminism. The problems we experience as Muslim women have not been understood but ignored. Even though some feminists are taking a stance these days, the number is pretty low. Whereas this is a war that Muslim women have fought against many states, laws and minds. The feminist movement should also fight for this.

As Muslim women, we have always accomplished and fought for incredible things -despite the West often ignores these contributions. When women were only allowed to go to school in Britain in the 1920s and France in the 1880s while the first university ever created and recorded in modern history was founded by a Muslim woman. Fatima-al Fihri founded al-Qarawiyyin University in 859 A.D. in Fez, Morocco. Fatima came from a very religious family who invested heavily in her education and instilled in her the importance of scholarship.

Khawlah bint al-Azwar was a Muslim woman who was one of the greatest female warriors this world has ever known. She led armies of other Muslim women in battle. She was once captured with other Muslim women and when they had lost hope, she inspired them to fight back armed only with the pole of the tent they were captive in. With one pole she managed to defeat five fully armed Byzantine warriors and lead a prison break.  Since the inception of Islam in 610 A.D., women fought as warriors. Compare that to the United States, a country that only allowed women to serve as full members of all branches of the Armed Forces in 1948.

Similarly, during the rise of Muslim civilization, many women excelled in various fields across Sub-Saharan Africa. One such notable figure was Queen Amina of Zaria. Amina came to power during this period and is remembered for her fierce military exploits. Of particular note is her brilliant military strategy and engineering skills, particularly in constructing large walled camps during her campaigns. She is widely credited with the building of the famous Zaria wall.

The wife of the Prophet (pbuh), Khadijah (pbuh), was a successful and wealthy merchant that actually employed the Prophet (pbuh). She proposed to him and when they married, he moved into her home, and they lived under her economic leadership. The first female admiral in the world was also a Muslim woman. As a warrior and admiral, Mahayati led thousands of women to fight against the ships and forts of the Netherlands in 1599.


Conclusion

The hijab is far more than a mere piece of clothing; it is a profound symbol of faith, identity, and autonomy for Muslim women. Despite being misrepresented in many Western narratives as a tool of oppression, the experiences of Muslim women worldwide challenge these misconceptions. History is rich with examples of Muslim women who have defied societal expectations, contributing to their communities. 

The struggles faced by hijabi women today—whether in the form of discriminatory laws, Islamophobia, or cultural imperialism—highlight the ongoing need for a more inclusive feminist movement. Real feminism must respect the choices of all women, including those who choose to wear the hijab as an expression of their faith and identity. 

Bibliography

Moeveni, Azadeh (June 13, 2011). “Is the Veil Now a Symbol of Islamic Freedom?”. Time. Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-05-02.

Goldman Carrel, “Shattered Vessels that Contain Divine Sparks; Unveiling Hasidic Women’s Dress Code,” in The Veil: Women Writers on its History, Lore and Politics, ed. Jennifer Heath (University of California Press, 2008).

Haq Maahen, The War on Muslim Women’s Bodies: A Critique of Western Feminism, Georgetown Immigration Law Journey, 2022.

Abu-Lughod Lila, Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others, 2002.

Samuel Marinus Zwemer, Annie Van Sommer,Our Moslem Sisters: A Cry of Need from Lands of Darkness Interpreted by Those Who Heard It, Good Press, 2021.