Should Muslim Women Wear The Hijab?

Last night I attended a talk by Suraiya Essack-Verachia on the Islamic headscarf (the talk was hosted by the Muslim Students’ Association – the other MSA – during their Islamic Awareness Week). Her goal was to disabuse her non-Muslim audience of their various prejudices about the headscarf, or hijab – for instance, that it is an instrument of patriarchal oppression –and explain why it’s actually a positive thing. I think she gave a fantastic talk, and in the end, she even succeeded in changing how I think about the issue.

A couple things in her talk really popped for me. One is that the Quran and the prophetic tradition of Islam prescribe codes of modesty for both men and women. Men must observe modesty in their dress (e.g., avoid tight clothes, always keeps certain areas covered, and so on) and in their behavior (namely, not ogling women). Now, your gut reaction to this might be “well, why do I see a bunch of women on campus in the hijab but no modestly dressed men,” but I think that’s more of a knee-jerk response than anything. There might be plenty of Muslim women on campus as well who don’t wear the hijab, but we tend not to think of that possibility because those women aren’t as conspicuous. Muslims of both sexes may or may not dress modestly, but at the very least Islam instructs them all to do so.

The other point that really stood out for me was how Ms. Essack-Verachia explained the definition of modesty at issue. The modesty expressed by the hijab does not pertain only to one’s sexuality, but also to one’s character. The idea is to avoid any sort of pride and ostentation and instead cultivate humility. I think this is a really crucial point since it gets at the motivation for wearing the hijab in the first place. Women don’t wear it simply for the sake of wearing it or necessarily because they are forced to – at its best, the hijab is an expression of humility and virtue. There’s nothing inherently good or bad about wearing a headscarf – it all depends on the intentions behind and meanings with which we imbue that act.

Listening to this talk, a part of me was skeptical – some of the reasons I listed above seemed a little bit like rationalizations of sexist social practices. But Ms. Essack-Verachia told a story that changed my mind. She described a woman who chose to start wearing the hijab, and how this was an act of not submission but of courage. For this woman, to wear the hijab was to overcome her fear and her reservations, and, in fact, by doing so she inspired admiration and courage in her coworkers. This is the image I think anyone should take away from a discussion of the hijab. For many Muslim women, it is not an instrument of oppression but a symbol of virtue, courage, and strength.

–Aaron Bekemeyer