Niqab: Symbol of Oppression OR The Warriors Way?
Wearing the niqab is certainly no easy feat. Unlike what some may think it definitely takes a lot of confidence to decide to wear it and even more to keep it on.
Yet, Muslim women who wear it are met with all sorts of preconceived ideas as to who they are. This can make us sometimes feel like the world is against us.
-Society against the niqab
-Universities against the niqab
-Work places against the niqab
-Non Muslims against the niqab
-Muslim women against the niqab
And yes
-Even Muslim men against the niqab
We are labeled as extreme, unnecessary and oppressed. Ignorant, brainwashed females under misogynistic male subjugation.
Even so the majority of us refuse to cave into the oppressive stereotypes. We soldier on.
When did the niqab become a symbol of oppression?
When we look at the great female companions of Prophet Muhammad and all they achieved how do we picture them?
Are they like the female superheros in the movies? Tight clothes with cleavage on show and a cape? Or do they look like the aunties covered head to foot in the masjid?
What is it that makes a woman truly free or truly oppressed? Is it the clothes she wears? Or the character within the body that wears those clothes?
When we read that the female companions didn’t leave their house without wearing a jilbab do we feel pity for them? Do we consider them backwards, uneducated and having no impact in society? Or do we admire their dedication to adhering to the religion at all times even if it meant going through difficulty sometimes?
Things were certainly not easy for the female companions and the mothers of the believers but they were the best. They were the best of us and they did it with their jilbabs on, faces covered and yes even staying in their houses if they had to.
Of course they went out too, they were on the battlefield, they were educated in the masjid by the Prophet himself and they even worked in the marketplaces.
They were mothers and wives, daughters and sisters, divorcees and widows.
They were all of these things.
They were women who were known and recognised and respected in the communities by women and yes,- the men too. And not just any men, but the best of men.
And these are the women that showed us the meaning of the ayaat of hijab. When they heard those ayaat they tore their aprons and covered their faces:
So next time you see a Muslim sister covered head to toe think about those women who were the best of us from the old days.
The women who understood the meaning of the Quran and were there when it was being revealed. The women who learned directly from our beloved Prophet Muhammad, supported him, advised him and followed him.
Let there be no mistake that the correct hijab is a blessing from Allah and it will not add or subtract anything to our lives except what Allah has decreed for us.
The Niqabi Diaries is a podcast dedicated to sharing the stories of the Muslim women who have experience wearing the face veil.
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