Unless there are explicit indications and concern that a Muslim woman has been forced to wear a hijab, there is absolutely no reason to ask someone if they have been. It honestly is that simple.
Coming from a Muslim girl, nothing is more unnerving than being so nonchalantly asked if my parents made me wear a hijab against my will. Truth is, contrary to popular belief; no, they did not. I’ve always admired how beautiful so many women look with their hijab, including my mum. I was twelve when I asked my parents if they could buy me a navy headscarf as per my school uniform and I have never regretted that decision since.
Wearing a hijab makes me feel confident and empowered, not oppressed or inferior. Oppression is NOT wearing a garment that is commonly stigmatized in Western society, it is telling me I cannot wear a garment in a Western society because it deserves to be stigmatized with no real reason why. Britain is a country founded on freedom of expression for all, from all the way back to the 13th century in the Magna Carta, yet I don’t understand why I and so many other women have to endure downright abusive and impudent comments on a daily basis just because we are Muslim women.
Of course, ignoring the matter of the many women who are coerced into veiling themselves would be equally incorrect. These women need liberation from oppression as much as we do. Telling a woman what to wear is parallel in vulgarism to telling them what not to wear. Forcing a woman to wear a hijab is not justified by the Quran. Verse 2:256 states “There is no compulsion in religion.” It is impermissible for a man, let that be her husband even, to ask a woman why she does not wear a hijab because that is between her and Allah. It’s about time that men stop telling us what to wear altogether – our lives, our decisions.
Telling a woman what to wear is parallel in vulgarism to telling them what not to wear.
Ultimately, there is no justification for pervading the security and confidence of a person for the sole fact that they are intimate with their religion in order to articulate your political agenda. Making someone feel uncomfortable and inferior makes you a disgusting person, regardless of whether you call yourself a Muslim or not.
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