My Hijab, My Right, My Choice: In Face
Of Media Frenzy, Polarization Of Societies, Spread
Hatred And Islamophobia
28 December 2012
By Imaan Ali
I really don't understand how a piece of cloth on a
women's head can change the perceptions, make
governments fight, have heated debates in Parliaments,
can have media frenzy, polarization of societies,
Spread hatred and
Islamophobia and countless debates.
Everybody seems to be representing the Muslim women,
some are trying to save us from ‘oppression', while
others want us to follow the tradition, and some use
us as weapon to spread their hatred. Some even use us
to win elections or to polarize the society to gain
support or votes. The main point is that everyone
seems to be representing us, the Muslim women. The
simple logic they use is that they all want us to be
‘saved'. This assumption by the politicians,
governments, common people, religious institutions and
above all the media is insulting to me, as Muslim
women. I don't need any of them to ‘save' or help me.
I am capable of making my own decisions, my own
choices, as long as I have the freedom to choose.
Religious
Scriptures
The bible clearly say that
Corinthians
11:6
‘If a woman does not cover her head, she should have
her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman
to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover
her head'
The words from bible are far stricter then the words
of Quran.
Quran says to the believing women that they
"should
lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they
should not display their beauty and ornaments except
what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they
should draw their veils over their bosoms..."
[cf.
Yusuf Ali translation]
There are several other verses in both Bible and Quran
and can be interpreted differently, by different
people.
For the Muslim world-The Quran clearly states the
'hijab'
for men, a verse before the
'hijab'
for women, that they should lower their gaze and dress
appropriately. But I have rarely seen any debate
regarding the
'hijab'
for men. Why it always need to be for women. Hijab
does not mean only the piece of cloth, it has a large
definition in terms of modesty (both internal and
external), intentions and ‘haya' (shyness) for
both men and women. Haya is a part of Muslim
faith.
Cultural Meaning
Hijab is a part of clothing and every
culture has it types of clothing, which is derived
from tradition. Just like men in Scotland wear skirts.
In most of the Muslim countries it is part of culture
and part of their faith. For lot of sisters they would
feel naked if you ask them to remove the
'hijab',
it would like you asking any western women to remove
their shirts. For lots of Muslim women the
'hijab'is more than a piece of cloth,
it
is a privilege to be able to wear the
'hijab',
and it is a daily reminder of faith. It is a way for
sisters to be in charge of their own femininity and to
make an active decision about what they choose to
cover and what they choose to let people see. These
sisters do not want to be seen as a sex object or for
their physical aspects , but rather for her thoughts
and their views. They want to be judged for their mind
rather than for their looks and curves.
In my series of interviews with many new reverts to
Islam, I could clearly see that they like this aspect
of Quran which respects the women's body and give the
women a high position in Muslim cultures/societies. It
does not propagate western media hypocrisy where they
use women and her body to sell from a toothpaste to a
tractor and is often judged by her external beauty and
curves rather than for what she is from inside.
The European governments waste millions of dollars in
debating and trying to curb the right of women in
order to please the right wingers or to consolidate
the vote banks. They can rather use the same money to
educate the masses and make them understand that in
today's
globalized world we need to respect different ideas,
cultures and point of view. We need to believe that
everyone has a RIGHT TO CHOOSE and we do not need any(man-made)
laws which tell us what to do or what not to do(against the Devine Law).
The European Governments which claim to be based on
freedom need to implement the same and need to get out
of bigotry, prejudices and politics of vote.
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