- Nia W.
- Monday, January 31, 2022
“With my veil I put my faith on display—rather than my beauty. My value as a human is defined by my relationship with God, not by my looks. I cover the irrelevant. And when you look at me, you don’t see a body. You view me only for what I am: a servant of my Creator.
You see, as a Muslim woman, I’ve been liberated from a silent kind of bondage. I don’t answer to the slaves of God on earth. I answer to their King.”
― Yasmin Mogahed, Reclaim Your Heart: Personal Insights on Breaking Free from Life's Shackles
In 2013 Namza Khan started World Hijab Day, which is an annual event to show solidarity with Muslim women across the world who choose to wear a scarf. She founded this day in response to the hate and discrimination she received while growing up.
The word hijab itself translates to mean a covering. It is a relatively new term that is used to describe an old concept that has been around for centuries. Women across the world have covered their hair in an outward sign of their devotion and submission to God. Though in modern society the concept of a head covering can seem jarring, it is not an unusual practice. It has been done and is still done among many different world religions besides Islam such as Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, and Hinduism.
- In Orthodox Judaism the women call their head covering a tichel or mictpachat.
- For Catholic nuns their head covering is called a wimple. While some Greek Orthodox Christian women will wear a veil or scarf similar to those worn by Muslim women.
- Menononites also wear a small cap that covers their hair.
- Sikh, Jain, and Hindu women wear a head covering called ghoonghat or they might wear a dupatta.
But regardless of what name each religion calls their head covering. The meaning behind it is the same. It is way for a woman to proudly display her religion and identity to the world. And as a society we need to learn to respect those whose practices differ from our own.