Hijab vs Liberty
Recently I have been reading various articles about governments in Europe banning the niqab (type of head covering worn by some women which only leaves the eyes visible) or burqa (type of head covering worn by some women which covers the entire body including the eyes with a netted or mesh material).
First Belgium made it illegal for women to cover their faces in public, now France is in the process of passing a law to do the same. Philip Hollobone, Conservative MP for Kettering has suggested that he would like to see the same thing happen in the UK, saying the face covering veil is ‘offensive’ he also adds that he finds it difficult to communicate with women wearing a full veil and if women wearing a niqab/burqa want to speak to him they will have to lift their veil or communicate with him in other ways such as sending him a letter. The immigration minister, Damian Green has told the Sunday Telegraph that banning the niqab in this country will be very un-British and that the government should not start trying to dictate what people can and cannot wear. So will the ban on the niqab/burqa In the UK go ahead or not? Only time will tell.
Throughout the world we see Muslims being attacked in all directions, not just physically in Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine to name but a few, or politically as seen in Iran, but in other more subtle ways such as through the media demonizing Islam and its followers, making everyday life of a practicing Muslim seem extreme and ancient. This debate on the banning of the veil is another example of the attack on Muslims.
In this article I want to look at what it means to be liberated, the reasons why women wear not only the niqab and burqa but hijab in general and why some people want the veil to be banned. Of course some want it banned because of their hate for Islam and Muslims examples of these people are far right activists such as the BNP, EDL and those couch potatoes who failed at everything in life, have no job, live off benefits and are brainwashed by everything they see on the TV, or maybe its people who feel threatened by women who do not conform to the pressures of fashion and the media these people are those who use women to advertise their products or make a ridiculous amount of money by using women to satisfy their filthy desires. Maybe its women who do not want to admit that they themselves are victims of a society which degrades them and portrays them as objects of lust. But mostly its people who do not understand Islam, what it teaches and why it’s the most perfect way of life.
A question I would like to ask is why is it always men (Nicolas Sarkozy, Jack Straw, Philip Hollobone ) who have a problem with a woman choosing to cover herself? Would they feel the same way about a woman who came to see them wearing a bikini? Would they tell her to cover up before they came to see them? Can these men not value the intelligence of a woman and listen to what she has to say rather than what she looks like?
Some say Islam is a religion which oppresses women; I wonder if that is why while the prophet (pbuh) was delivering his last sermon reminding the people that the best men are those who are kind to their wives ,the Catholic Church was debating whether women should be considered as human or animal?
There are pressures on women to look a certain way in the western society; slim, yet curvy, nice hair, smooth legs, you only have to sit through a few adverts on TV to know what women are ‘supposed’ to look like. In today’s world they try to tell us that women are more liberated than ever, equal rights and freedom for all. But is this really true? Are women really liberated or has our idea of liberty been severely distorted?
Liberated is a word that shouldn’t be used for all these women who are raped and subjugated, who are forced to be thin, prostitutes who feel the only way for them to survive is to sell themselves to men. Liberated are not the women who are stripped naked and posted on billboards in front a car to make sales. Liberated are not women who have to wear tight, short skirts, low cut shirts and high stiletto heels with tones of make up just to fit in to the work place. Liberated are not women who are taught that to be successful in life you have to look good, have a god job and lots of money, women who are taught that something which is natural (being married whilst still young and having children) makes them unsuccessful and oppressed or signs of aging, something which again is natural. Liberated are not the thousands of women and young girls who spend millions every year to buy cosmetics and have cosmetic surgery to look ‘perfect’ or ‘better’. Liberated are not these celebrities who are either too fat or too thin. Liberated are not women who feel as though they have to have a man to tell them they look good for them to feel good, they are not the women who feel insecure about the way they look or feel as though they need make up and revealing clothes to boost their self esteem. Liberated are not the women who are always in search of something, man or material goods, to make them happy.
Liberated are women who choose to cover themselves to obey God not man, they are women who respect themselves and do not let fashion designers strip their dignity. Liberated are those women whose only desire is to enter paradise, women who know that this life is a test and will come to an end. Women who are proud to represent their faith everyday of their lives, who give da’wah the moment they walk out of the house without even needing to speak. Liberated are the pearls of Islam that keep their beauty hidden from the world because they want to share it with only one man who is committed, who will love them and take care of them all their life, the man they love for the sake of Allah. Liberated are the women who know that their children are a blessing and are thankful everyday to Allah for giving them all they have. Liberated are the women who rely on no man but Allah alone to get them through each day. Liberated are the women who expect nothing less than respect and kindness from men, they are the women who treat each other as sisters and not as competition. Liberated are the women who dress modestly like the respected and honorable women before them; Maryam (Mary mother of Jesus pbuh), Khadijah RA, the other wives, daughters and companions of the prophet.
Liberated are the women of Islam.
