World Hijab Day: Nothing to CelebrateBy Khadija Khan
February 1, 2022
Here’s an irony: World Hijab Day—an initiative begun in the US in 2013 to promote cross-cultural solidarity by encouraging woman of all backgrounds to wear a hijab for a day—is celebrated on 1 February—the date on which, in 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile, soon to impose mandatory hijab laws on all Iranian women. The anniversary of his return is a public holiday in Iran, known as Islamic Revolution Day. Thus, World Hijab Day and Islamic Revolution Day are both celebrated in February by women wearing hijab.
This coincidence draws attention to the absurdity of World Hijab Day, which treats hijab wearing as if it were simply a clothing choice when in fact it is the invention of a misogynistic ideology that sees women as inherently sinful, sexual objects whose face and hair need to be concealed under folds of cloth. All laws and customs that require hijab are designed to perpetuate a social order that subjugates women. In Iran, any woman who refuses to wear hijab is labelled a vulgar whore and subjected to inhumane treatment. Unsurprisingly, such archaic, sexist practices are deeply admired by religious extremists, including the members of Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban. Thus, it is a travesty that those who celebrate World Hijab Day claim that, by promoting hijab, they are supporting female empowerment.
After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, they began depriving women bit by bit of their rights. For example, Afghan women and girls are now barred from going to work or school. They are forbidden to leave the house alone. They are instructed to cover themselves from head to toe. And when they take to the streets in defiance of mandatory hijab laws, they are viciously beaten and humiliated by Taliban soldiers.
This misogynistic mindset is not limited to a single country or culture. Women who don’t comply with such laws have been subjected to unjust and arbitrary punishments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia and across the Muslim world. Women have not only been imprisoned, but tortured, merely for posting videos on social media—or for removing a hijab in public. And they are continually told that, if they defy so-called religious modesty standards, they “deserve to be raped.” In light of all this, it is safe to say that most women of Muslim heritage have never celebrated wearing a hijab as a matter of choice.
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Source:
https://areomagazine.com/2022/02/01/world-hijab-day-nothing-to-celebrate/
