The hijab has been around for centuries, if not millennia, in many cultures and religions, it is a form of veiling, mainly practised by Muslim women and it has been quintessential to many of their identities.
The hijab has been around for centuries, if not millennia, in many cultures and religions, it is a form of veiling, mainly practised by Muslim women and it has been quintessential to many of their identities.
The hijab is a sign of empowerment to these women, a sign of modesty and respect, and a sign of closeness with their god - These women have the right to practice their religion freely without it being controlled by governing states.
The hijab/burqa ban takes away the right of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion which allows individuals to practice their religion publicly or privately and allows them to wear their religious clothing without the inference of the state.
Women have the choice of whether they should choose to veil or not but with the bans taking place, they lose the choice to practice their religion and consequently lose their identity and the lack of women’s bodily autonomy is now accelerated.
In countries such as France, Switzerland, and Belgium the hijab/burqa ban has been proposed. The ban against the burqa and hijab has taken freedom of choice away from a specific set of people – Women - More specifically Muslim women.
These countries try to justify the bans as a security and radicalisation problem, suggesting that it is a public safety issue and not an Islamophobic stance, however, others may feel differently.
In countries such as Iran, it is quite the opposite, the hijab is enforced on women, and their right to choose whether to wear the hijab is taken away once again. The lack of women’s bodily autonomy is once again prevalent. Women no matter their faith are forced to put on the hijab preventing the freedom of choice just like these European countries.
However, in no way is religion at fault here. Islam gives women a multitude of rights. It is even quoted in the Quran that “there is no compulsion in religion” [al-Baqarah 2:256]. Therefore, to blame the religion would be wrong. It is the people who misuse the religion who are the ones to blame. It is individuals and groups who have motives that use religion as a cover to commit their wrongdoings in an attempt to justify it.
On either side, whether it be France, Switzerland, Iran, Belgium or even India, the lack of women’s bodily autonomy is an issue. The freedom of choice is taken away from her and so is the freedom of practising religion and she is forced to comply - Whether she wishes to wear or not to wear the hijab is already decided for her.
If a woman chooses not to comply, she will meet consequences. These consequences can be from a fine to a death sentence, with the punishment not fitting the 'crime' at hand in many instances, like with abortion, marriage, contraception, or clothing, women are heavily monitored - In Switzerland, the government are seeking to fine people who breach the ban on face coverings up to 1,000 Swiss francs.
I interviewed Muslim women across and outside of the Bournemouth University campus with the consensus believing that women should be able to have autonomy over themselves and that having the choice to wear a hijab or burqa should not be taken away. They agreed that it is up to individuals how they wish to practice religion and how they dress and that the state should not be involved in the matter. For religious and non-religious women, it is about having freedom of choice and the right to control their own bodies.
One BU student said, “This is a huge injustice and completely discriminatory. I feel targeted by the hypocrisy of the ban, in a society where it is preached for all people to express themselves freely – banning the hijab and burka contradicts this.”
They added: “So long as the hijab and burka ban exists, freedom of choice and autonomy does not. Again, it is contradictory to preach that autonomy is available for everyone but restricts a specific group of people - I feel offended that this is overlooked as being part of a woman's freedom of choice, almost like we aren’t worth or deserving of the attention.”
Reiterating in a general sense, it is women’s autonomy and freedom of choice that is at stake. Especially Muslim women in the West. The West does not always represent the values of these Muslim women, with the Western ideology sometimes clashing with Islam and Islam sometimes being seen as a threat to Western ideology. The West may view the hijab/burqa as dangerous yet in Islam, it is far from that.
Yes, even non-Muslims are affected by the lack of bodily autonomy and freedom of choice but moreover, it’s Muslim women who are majorly affected. Their freedom of choice and the right to practice their faith is at stake just as much as their bodily autonomy. The ban can be seen to be sexist – especially when it comes to autonomy – As well as Islamophobic. Women should have bodily autonomy just as much as men do, and they should not have their freedoms infringed.