World Hijab Day

World Hijab Day

World Hijab Day Poster
Observed by Various countries
Date 1 February
Frequency Annual
Related to International Women's Day

World Hijab Day occurs annually on February 1st in 140 participating countries.[1] The first World Hijab Day was celebrated in 2013 and was founded by Nazma Khan following the 9/11 attacks. The event encourages all women, both Muslim and non-Muslim, to wear the Hijab and experience life as a Hijabi woman (i.e. a woman wearing a hijab). World Hijab Day is described by its organizers as a way for the non-hijabi woman to experience the hijab from the other side,[2] while some critics have described it as a "well-financed effort by radical Muslims to dominate modern Muslim societies."[3]

Background

Women in the predominantly Islamic country of Algeria wearing a haïk, a type of veil.

The hijab is viewed by some as a means of expression in the Islamic religion. According to the organizers of World Hijab Day, this leads to the oppression and mistreatment of women wearing hijab in many societies, leaving them no opportunity to express their choice to wear a hijab. Others see this practice as a choice that should be left to the adult woman, and not be forced upon juveniles. For instance, the hijab has been banned in public schools in France since 2004, as it was viewed as a religious symbol.

In the United States and around the world, hijabi women have experienced various difficulties. Post 9/11, hijabi women around the US have been victims of bias, misunderstanding and even hate crime.[4] World Hijab Day was created to provide solidarity for the women who suffer from oppression for their outward display of faith around the world.

In countries where most woman wear the hijab, many still feel victimized. For example, 50% of the female population in Egypt wear the hijab, but many still feel underrepresented in popular media. Despite having such a large population of hijabi women, Egypt's first hijab-wearing news broadcaster appeared on air in 2002. Hijabi women have been repeatedly undermined in foreign missions, as the country wanted to be represented as modern, and the covering of the hair worked as a disadvantage for the hijabi women in Egypt.

According to their organizers, World Hijab Day was created to support women and their freedom to express themselves, via the practice of hijab.

Development

World Hijab Day was started by Nazma Khan after 9/11. She allegedly was a victim of hate crimes from her classmates and professors,[5] and decided to encourage women to wear hijabs for a day as an act of social protest.

World Hijab Day also aims to discourage the judgement of women by their physical appearance and to instead promote the judgement of them based on intellectual abilities.

World Hijab Day claims to achieve these goals by giving women an opportunity to wear a hijab for a day in order to get real-life experience. It also aims to create a connection between hijab-wearing and non-hijab-wearing women and provides support for voluntary younger hijab wearers as an act of solidarity. The World Hijab Day also gives hijabi women an opportunity to speak out concerning their perspectives, struggles and experiences.

Criticism of the practice

Some critics say, "As Muslim women, we actually ask you not to wear the hijab in the name of interfaith solidarity" and pointed out that "This modern-day movement spreads an ideology of political Islam". Others accuse the day as a "Well-financed effort by conservative Muslims to dominate modern Muslim societies" spreading the "misleading interpretation" that the head covering is always worn voluntarily and the "hijab" purely means headscarf.[3] World Hijab Day has also been described as "worse than passe" it was suggested that its name be changed to "Hijab Is a Choice Day".[6]

See also

References

  1. Grima, Nathalie. "An Affair of the Heart": Hijab Narratives of Arab Muslim Women in Malta." Implicit Religion 16, no. 4 (December 2013): 461-481. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.
  2. Jones, Nicky. "BENEATH THE VEIL: MUSLIM GIRLS AND ISLAMIC HEADSCARVES IN SECULAR FRANCE." Macquarie Law Journal 9, (May 2009): 47-69. Academic Search Complete,EBSCOhost.
  3. Prusher, Ilene. "World Hijab Day: Muslims debate where the headscarf belongs." Christian Science Monitor, September 4, 2012. N.PAG, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost
  4. Vyas, Sapna. "Identity Experiences of Young Muslim American Women in the Post 9/11 Era " Encounter 21, no. 2 (Summer2008 2008): 15-19. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.
  5. ZAHEDI, ASHRAF. "Muslim American Women in the Post-11 September Era." International Feminist Journal of Politics 13, no. 2 (June 2011): 183-203. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost.
  6. "Participating Countries - World Hijab Day." World Hijab Day. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2016.

Notes

  1. ↑ Participating Countries. "Worldwide Support". World Hijab Day. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  2. ↑ "World Hijab Day". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  3. 1 2 Nomani, Asra Q. (2015-12-21). "As Muslim women, we actually ask you not to wear the hijab in the name of interfaith solidarity". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  4. ↑ "Experiences of Hijabi Women: Finding a Way Through the Looking Glass for Muslim Americans" (PDF). AWL Journal. September 2, 2015.
  5. ↑ Nye, Catrin (2013-01-31). "Hijab for a day: Non-Muslim women who try the headscarf - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
  6. ↑ Maajid Nawaz. "The Great Hypocritical Muslim Cover-Up". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2016-03-06.
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