Say the words 'Muslim woman' and more then likely an image of a figure shrouded from head to toe in black will spring to mind. It is one of the hottest topics up for debate when Islam comes into a conversation and, I suppose, fair enough! With the recent ban of the headscarf in workplaces/schools in France, talk of a ban of the niqaab there, the ghostly images of women in burkhas from Afghanistan a while back and indeed, MUCH of the media interest surrounding Islam since, well, since forever I suppose, the hijab and the idea of a woman choosing to cover herself has always been in the spotlight. For many, 'oppression' and 'hijab' seemingly go hand in hand, and there is the funny idea amidst some circles that Muslim women need to be freed from the chauvinistic practice that is a headscarf and modest clothing. Sadly, (for die-hard anti-hijabees at least) this simply isn't the case.
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosums, and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband’s fathers, or their sons, or their husband’s sons, or their brothers or their brother’s sons, or their sister’s sons, or their (Muslim) women, or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful”
[al-Noor 24:31]
Basic Requirements:
1. Clothes should not be tight, showing the body's form, but loose-fitting.
2. Clothes should not be sheer (ie see-through)
3. Women should not imitate the dress style of men (ie dont look too butch!)
The hijab is a command from God, not man. As a Muslim, and therefore a believer of the Qur'an and Sunnah, I wear the hijab because I believe God wants me to. To have religion is often described as having faith, and an integral part of any person of any belief in God is just that: to have FAITH in Him. I have faith in God's words, faith that He knows best, and faith that, even though I do struggle with my hijab, He ordained I wear it for a reason. These reasons aren't exactly too hard to miss: in a world where a woman's worth is largely determined by how good she looks or how big her pay package is, to be respected and taken seriously for what brains or personality one has sounds great to me. The hijab enables this. It takes women away from the stereotype of being a sexual object. Maybe this sounds extreme, but all you have to do is switch on the TV and you'll see women, in all manners of undress, being used in advertisements ranging from perfume to soft drinks. The sex industry is a multi-billion dollar one; in fact, the word pornography is derived from the Greek πορνογραφία (pornographia), which derives from the Greek words πόρνη (pornē, "prostitute" and pornea, "prostitution"), and γράφω (graphō, "I write or record," derived meaning "illustration," cf. "graph"), and the suffix -ία (-ia, meaning "state of," "property of," or "place of"), thus meaning "a written description or illustration of prostitutes or prostitution.". The majority of female singers seem to feel the need to wear next to nothing in order to be 'current', or for publicity, and all of this is quite sad. Islam protects its women from having to stoop to being seen as nothing more then a piece of a** by placing a woman's mind before her body.
It's easy to see so far that the hijab is therefore a protection against sexual discrimination and indeed sexual harrasment. Some will say that it is ridiculous for women to dress modestly so men won't be 'tempted' to do whatever. But, God knows His creation best, and men are weak in their desires, there's no denying it: men are visual creatures. Not every man is a sexual predator, far from it, but some are. It is purer for the hearts of men if the women they see are not flaunting everything they've got. It's also purer for the hearts of women to keep away from this too; our lives, both male and female, were given to us by God so that we may worship him. Besides, if God commands something, surely there is nothing but good in it for us, whether we always see the logic in it or not.
Islam as a way of life protects the family unit and knowing ones wife is for one alone and vice versa helps create a deep bond between a married couple. A man may love his partner and still cheat; doesn't it make sense that if women dressed modestly such extramarital lusts would be much harder to kindle? The hijab helps put up a barrier towards a man's sexual advances, and a world with no adultorers or pre-marital sex is only going to benefit society. Do the research yourself.
One last thing to remember is to come back to the reason we are all alive: to be tested. Women love to be beautiful, they love clothes and makeup and getting the hair done etc. If we strive to please God by obeying him in this life, our rewards will be endless. A woman who struggles with the hijab for the sake of Allah, knowing it is hard (because it can be SO hard at times!) but doing so anyway to please God is someone to be looked up to. Ultimately, a lifetime is mere nano seconds in the grander scale of things, so people who find the hijab so offensive need to sit back and remember it is a woman's choice who does/does not see her body, and a woman choosing to cover is not backwards, or ignorant, but simply doing so out of love for God.
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