Should I take off my hijab and wear a bikini?? Will I no longer be oppressed??

Question

Why do you think the hijab oppresses Muslim Women??
I CHOOSE TO WEAR IT!! (and no one forces me) I love to wear my hijab..and think it is very beautiful because I wear beautiful coloured scarfs..

We wear the hijab because the Quran recommends it..and we like to be modest. No one forces us..The Quran says that there is no compulsion in religon...

Hijab..does not stop me from doing anything, I can work, go to school, do sport in it....

Why does wearing a mini skirt (and worrying about celiute on my thighs!!!) make me more free??

Answer 1

Hey, great to see you're back! Got that ban lifted then, I see?

I agree, I don't think a Hijab is oppressive. Those that say it is should look at their own motivations for wearing the clothes that they do - you wear a covering that protects your modesty and honors your religion. They wear a mini skirt or low-cut top because the fashion magazines tell them they should, and because they want to appear sexually attractive to others. Isn't that far more oppressive than wearing a Hijab anyway?

Answer 2

Wow ,this is a complex one.
Having recently visited a muslim country where many women wore the hijab, what struck me was how affectionate physically the males were to each other and how unaffectionate they were publically to women.They kissed embraced and walked along holding hands as "a mark of respect for each other " and seemed to ignore the women. I may have this all wrong, but having asked a devout muslim man his reasoning for the hijab, he said that it was to protect females (all over puberty) from the sexual desires of men!! AND that western women were seen as cheap available whores!
Umm, so how does this read to a "unhijabed " female.You are having a laugh !
The radical muslim law that requires the wearing of the hijab by its females seems to say :
1.Dont look at ANY woman because you will want to (or even have to) have sex with her
2.Males in this society respect, revere and openly adore each other . .
I am happy that you love the hijab,you are doing exactly what you have been conditioned to by the family ,society and religion you have been brought into.But then you have no other choice really ,do you ?
Wearing a mini skirt wouldn't make you more free it may even make you a dead woman in some countries where you would expect to be raped or killed.
Its not the wearing of the hijab thats the problem, You could dress in your patchwork quilt if wanted to, its the fact that muslim men have made it so that muslim women are not as "free" to choose what to wear as they are.
How can that ever be right?

Answer 3

Their is a hadeeth that says for us not to oppress ourselves or let others oppress us. I will have to find it and inshaAllah email it to you. So a Muslim should not oppress themselves. The hijab is not oppression though, and those who think it is are wrong.

But anyways Islam is not about oppression but protection. Allah's laws are to protect the individual and society as a whole. The laws stop the problem before it starts. Hijab keeps sexual attention off the women, unlike some people think it is it to keep all attention off ourselves. Attention on ourselves is bad when it is sexual. Other wise the attention is dawah even when it is hateful attention. You are showing them that you obey the laws of Allah and what were supposed to do with out even opening your mouth.

And one thing I have learned is that it is not the hijab they hate but Islam as a whole. You could be standing there in a bikini and they would still hate you. They would just be checking you out while hating you, or worse raping you while hating you.

Be strong sister. Your doing the right thing. Do what your know is right and leave them to God.

Answer 4

You seem to be labouring under the impression that a garment or style of dress can liberate or oppress you.

Wrong, it is the society that will liberate and oppress you. If you can function well enough no matter how you dress, and not suffer attacks etc then the society you are in is not oppressing you. I dare say you are allowed to go about your daily life in Britain or America wearing a Hijab. Problem is, if you are in Saudi Arabia or Iran, and choose to NOT wear a Hijab (or similar Islamic approved clothing) I don't think you would feel as unhindered or under menacing pressure.

Now the reason why people often blame islam or other religions for this kind of harrasment is that the people doing the harrasment find justification for their behaviour.. in their holy books and from their holy sermons! Societies rules should be decided freely by society after considered debate about what the rules should be. Enforcement of rules found (or interpreted) from holy texts which can only be questioned by those who are "learned enough" (i.e. who have already demonstrated their adherence to the religious status quo) is no way to operate in a civilised society.

Furhermore, if the "enforcers" realy believed in divine judgement (i.e. had the faith they claim to have so strongly), they'd let their "God" sort out justice for breaches of holy laws, rather than meet out justice themselves here on earth.

Why don't you try wearing the bikini in Saudi Arabia or Islamic Sudan and see for yourself if you feel safe?

Answer 5

The mini skirt does not make you more free. Unless you want to wear a mini skirt. The hijab does not oppress Muslim women. Unless you'd rather where jeans and a t-shirt.

I was a christrian and heard them use the word modest in the same way that you are using it. "I do not think it means what you think it means." Modesty means not drawing undue attention to yourself. Covering yourself up completely just means that the men don't HAVE to even look at you. It's much easier for them to ignore you. To keep you in "your place".

How signifigant can you be when you can't even be recognized?

Answer 6

There is nothing wrong with your wearing the hijab. Should you chose to wear it and be proud of who you are and what you believe means you are not oppressed. I think the oppression falls on an individual basis for those who do not want to wear it, but because of family are "forced" to wear it (perhaps younger women who want to be more "hip"). So long as you are comfortable in your every day doings, and take pride in your beliefs, good for you!

Answer 7

In all fairness, I think when people refer to the hijab and oppressing Muslim women, they are speaking about women in countries like Afghanistan (although not anymore) or Iran and other Muslim nations that make the wearing of a headscarf or full-body covering compulsive. The Quran might say that there is no compulsion in religion, but some middle-eastern heads of state clearly don't see it that way.

I don't think there's anything particularly oppressive about covering oneself up or exposing lots of flesh, but I don't think it should be law that women have to do one or the other. I agree that the talk of oppression in these middle eastern countries has given the whole religion of Islam a bad reputation in regards to women's rights which is undeserved. (It's important to keep in mind, though, that there are women in countries who are oppressed by muslim laws in some countries, allowing them to be raped for their brother's or father's crimes, not allowing women to leave the house without a brother or father escorting them, not allowing women to drive, etc.) Women living in countries that allow them to worship as they like and wear or not wear a hijab as they choose are certainly not oppressed! Islam is no more patriarchal than any other monotheistic religion (Judaism and Christianity, I'm looking at you), and people should definitely lay off of it.

Answer 8

With all respect, I feel many women have some kind of Paranoia about this issue. I don't think teher is any sane person who can argue a woman of what to wear. I have never heard of anyone opposes Hijab, which is a self-preference of a woman. On the other hand, some people oppose women who cover their faces because this looks a little unusual to speak or deal with someone without seeing her face.

Answer 9

Hi, I am a 16yo girl, and I think you should wear whatever you want to wear. I don't like the hijab because it is a taken (rightly or wrongly) to be a symbol of Islam which has made itself out in recent years to be the religion of terrorism.

But your point is correct. A girl is no more free wearing a mini skirt because peer group pressure forces her to than she is wearing a hijab because her religion "forces" her to (to state the Western perception.

I think the Muslim way of dressing is too extreme, and far more modest than necessary. But I also think that the Western way of dressing has become far too revealing. I think there should be a minimum standard, somewhere a bit more than what girls tend to wear, and girls should be free to wear that much or as much more as they want to.

Answer 10

Hijab elevates women to a level where they are not to be leered at or judged by others on their hair or body. That is why some men find it so intimidating.
Western women, oppressed for centuries, burned as witches and denounced for 'temping Adam' by the church, may think they have attained freedom now. The reality is they are no more free than they were before - oppressed, depressed and stressed, tying to live to an impossible media image and not ever feeling they have achieved it - Western society has been cruel to its women. Within Islam is the right to study to the highest level, work to the highest position, or the right to feel happy at home with kids if that is what you want.·
Within Islam is also protection - from oppression by leering men, the need to dress for them, and of course Western ailments like rape and prostitution.


“O mankind! Reverence your Guardian Lord, Who created you from a single person, created of like nature, his mate and from them twain scattered like seeds countless men and women- Fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual rights and reverence the wombs that bore you, for Allah ever watches over you”
Quran, Sura 4:1

·“Whoever of you works righteousness, be they male or female, and has faith, verily, to them We will give a new Life, a Life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.”
Quran Sura 16- 97