The feeling still persists in
society that Muslim women wear Hijab or the outer covering because they are
slaves to tradition, so much so that it is seen as a symbol of oppression.
Western society says that women's liberation and independence is impossible
unless they first remove the Hijab. This view is not correct. Why do Muslim
women wear the outer covering that sometimes covers their face and hides the
rest of their body?
Almighty Allah says in the Holy Quran, Chapter 33, Verse 59: "O Prophet! Tell
your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their
outer garments over their persons; that is better, that they should be known (as
such) and not be molested." And in Chapter 24, Verse 31: "And say to the
believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that
they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what appear thereof;
that they should draw their scarves over their bosoms - "
Muslim women all over the world are wearing Hijab as a religious requirement and
a sign of respect, not out of a misdirected sense of "tradition." It is both a
sign of a women's obedience to Allah and a manifestation of her faith. The Hijab
is part of a Muslim's religious identity. It gives women dignity and
self-respect.
Islam commands women to cover their bodies so as not to trouble men who are weak
and unable to resist temptation. In Islam, men and women are commanded to dress
modestly and not appear "naked" in public, even in all male and female
situations.
Just as a short skirt or a see-through dress can send the signal that the wearer
is available to men, so the Hijab signals, loud and clear: "I am forbidden to
you." Wearing the Hijab protects the female from harassment and men. It is the
western women who are to be pitied for displaying their private self for all to
see.
An American, Ruth Anderson, has said: "Hijab is not a sign of backwardness,
ignorance or mental incompetence, but a woman's duty and her right."
A women in Hijab is like a jewel that is of high exceptional value and that
which must be kept hidden. Wearing the Hijab is a choice that Muslim women make.
To discard the Hijab or expose that part of her body ordered covered by the
Divine Law is to disobey Islamic principles and a women's basic Islamic belief.