1) Hijab is not going to protect you from rape or sexual assault.
-A common misconception about hijab is that it protects you from any unwanted sexual attention. This is extremely misleading and incorrect. Thousands upon thousands of hijabis and niqabis are victims of all sorts of sexual assault. A person does not rape or sexually assault a woman based on her clothing. It is about power, control, and opportunity. Given the circumstance, a covered woman is just as likely to be sexually attacked as an uncovered woman. It is better to be realistic and prepared than to believe our clothing makes us invincible.
2) Hijab is not going to turn you into a pious woman instantly.
-Hijab does not define you; rather, you define your hijab. It is your personality and your actions that make you pious. The physical hijab is nothing more than a reminder to yourself, as well as others, that you are supposed to be serving Allah in all of your actions. When you look at yourself wearing hijab, you should think twice about your actions because when others look at you in hijab they are looking at you more harshly than they are looking at an uncovered woman. Why? Because your actions represent Islam and that includes all Muslim women. In a perfect world, people wouldn’t be so judgmental; however, we do not live in a perfect world so we hijabis must accept the fact that we are living symbols of Islam.
3) Hijab is not going to make you better than anyone else.
-There is far too much pro-hijabi propaganda that asserts that women who are covered are saints and that uncovered women are sinners. I’m hard-pressed to think of anything hijabi related that is more insulting or misleading. Comparing covered women to wrapped candy and uncovered women to unwrapped and dirty candy is absurd. Side-by-side cartoons of an uncovered woman, primping in font of a mirror and a covered women, primping in front of a mirror is also offensive. You’ve seen it. The captions read that the uncovered woman is making sure she has the best style to attract a man and that the covered woman is making sure she is covered appropriately so that Allah is pleased with her. The latter is what should be true and the former is only sometimes true. Both are gross generalizations and the end result is only insulting and arrogant. This kind of pro-hijabi propaganda turns women off from hijab- Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
4) Hijab is not going to earn you respect.
-As stated previously, it is your personality and actions that earn you respect. If we change our appearance by wearing hijab but don’t change our attitudes along with our wardrobe change, we’re going to have a very hard time earning the respect of others. Obviously, we’re not capable of pleasing everyone; however, we can probably please a great deal of people by behaving as good Muslims, not to mention the ultimate pleasure of Allah.
5) Hijab is not going to give you the right to change and criticize everyone around you.
-This is one last reminder. Being a hijabi does not suddenly make you an expert on Islam, modesty, dignity and self-respect. We are all students of Islam for life. We are always learning something new and we are always forgetting. We are obligated to remind each other, not to change each other. If you’ve decided to take on hijab, I congratulate you. That is wonderful news but please focus all of your new and energized iman on yourself. We all have minor changes to work on and we should be critical of ourselves more than anyone else. Putting on hijab is often only the first of many steps. Be kind. Be patient. Be respectful. Celebrate your victory but be mindful that you don’t put down others in the process.
May Allah guide us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment