The True Hijab Philosophy on Islam
Throughout the years of conflict between the "West" and "Islam", the media has strongly brings the idea to non-Muslims by negative exploitations of Islam, more specifically the "pressure" Islam put on women. Misconceptions such as, "Are you bald under that hijab?" "Do you go to sleep with that on?" to the association of "terrorism" that contrasts to what Muslim women believe the Hijab represents.
In the Qur'an the hijab is not referred to as a piece of islamic clothing for women, but it's as a spiritual curtain providing it's wearer with privacy. The issue of modesty within the Qur'an applies to men and women's gazes, gaits, garments and genitalia. Women are expected to wear jilbabs (cloaks) in public to prevent them from harm. Muslim women are required to wear the hijab in front of any man whom they could theoretically marry. Therefore it does not have to be worn in front of fathers, brothers, grandfathers, uncles or young children. It is also not compulsory to wear the garment in front of another Muslim woman.
This philosophy is a bit different from Western society fashion traditions, where the majority of fashion industry designer designed a new clothing design that embrace specific part of woman body, the pothographer that took picture to expose the beauty of some part of woman body in that clothes, and ended with ideas for woman that said "beauty is about sexiness", then go after Muslim women and clearly stated that Muslim women was always under pressure by men. This is a bit bitter to realize the fact that man holds the sex majority on fashion industry.
This fact then lead to another misconception, that "Muslim women have no right in Islam". Islam gave women rights over 1400 years ago, which is still ignored by many Muslims and non-Muslims today. Firstly, Islam has given women the basic right to freedom of speech. In the early days of Islam, the leaders of the Islamic state regarding legal issues consulted women. Rights that were appointed to Muslim women since the beginning of time are only just surfacing for non-Muslims. In Islam, a woman is free to be whom she is inside, and protected from being portrayed as a sex symbol and lusted after. Islam praises the status of a woman by commanding that she "enjoys equal rights to those of man in everything, she stands on an equal footing with man" (Qur'an, Nadvi: 11) and both share mutual rights and obligations in all aspects of life.
Of course there are some cases where the women are forced to wear it, but that is not the norm. Some women choose to cover up even more for they feel that it might bring them more obedient to God, as a quote from the Qur'an in Surah 2: 26 states:
"And for women has rights over men, similar to those of men over women."
In the Qur'an the hijab is not referred to as a piece of islamic clothing for women, but it's as a spiritual curtain providing it's wearer with privacy. The issue of modesty within the Qur'an applies to men and women's gazes, gaits, garments and genitalia. Women are expected to wear jilbabs (cloaks) in public to prevent them from harm. Muslim women are required to wear the hijab in front of any man whom they could theoretically marry. Therefore it does not have to be worn in front of fathers, brothers, grandfathers, uncles or young children. It is also not compulsory to wear the garment in front of another Muslim woman.
This philosophy is a bit different from Western society fashion traditions, where the majority of fashion industry designer designed a new clothing design that embrace specific part of woman body, the pothographer that took picture to expose the beauty of some part of woman body in that clothes, and ended with ideas for woman that said "beauty is about sexiness", then go after Muslim women and clearly stated that Muslim women was always under pressure by men. This is a bit bitter to realize the fact that man holds the sex majority on fashion industry.
This fact then lead to another misconception, that "Muslim women have no right in Islam". Islam gave women rights over 1400 years ago, which is still ignored by many Muslims and non-Muslims today. Firstly, Islam has given women the basic right to freedom of speech. In the early days of Islam, the leaders of the Islamic state regarding legal issues consulted women. Rights that were appointed to Muslim women since the beginning of time are only just surfacing for non-Muslims. In Islam, a woman is free to be whom she is inside, and protected from being portrayed as a sex symbol and lusted after. Islam praises the status of a woman by commanding that she "enjoys equal rights to those of man in everything, she stands on an equal footing with man" (Qur'an, Nadvi: 11) and both share mutual rights and obligations in all aspects of life.
Of course there are some cases where the women are forced to wear it, but that is not the norm. Some women choose to cover up even more for they feel that it might bring them more obedient to God, as a quote from the Qur'an in Surah 2: 26 states:
"And for women has rights over men, similar to those of men over women."
