Justice, equality, mercy, tolerance and forgiveness are fundamental values that Islam advocates. The biggest problems that women face are– child marriage, domestic violence and sexual harassment. These crimes and forms of abuse are embodiments of cultural and historic values that Islam originally sought to end.
It would be far more powerful to embody the values for which Islam stands. It would be futile to argue with those who have no desire to gain a deeper understanding of Islam, or with those who lack understanding of historical context and who can’t differentiate between the literal and analogical interpretations of the text.
We are witnessing the rise of identity assertions by Muslims. This has resulted in the speech-policing of rationalists and has impelled needless hyperbole about Islamophobia. People decide for Muslim women in absentia that their religion and culture are the obstacles; which is wrong, absolutely wrong – notwithstanding the fact that the political, financial and social circumstances aren’t empowering Muslim women either.
This is a perfect cover-up of the running ideological narrative. We must understand Muslim women as suffering from structural discrimination and violence – the stratified impediments and deprivations of being female, as affiliates of a persecuted religious minority, and as overwhelmingly poverty-stricken - much of it state-engineered in the Indian context. We have become politicized about race and class, but not culture.
when someone with caste and class privilege claims to sympathize with the situation of a Muslim woman and instead of passing the mike, to ask them, to listen to them, to disseminate their voices, take it upon themselves to speak for them and silence their voices, and, in effect, do some semblance of epistemic violence to them, are they, then, coming from a place of sincere solidarity, or ardent Islamophobia, or, are naively oblivious to the implications of racial politics of speaking for Muslim women like ourselves as if we didn’t exist or have nothing to say?
Apart from imagining themselves as messiahs for victimized Muslim women, non-Muslims also invent victimhood for Muslim women. Why are these people trying to be a superman for Muslim women?
Seldom do real Muslim women get the opportunity to speak up about these fallacies. In reality, it’s nearly unfathomable to generalize the women of a religion of 1.7 billion — consequently, these generalizations lead to statements and questions that many non-Muslims are begging to vocalize. I have no interest in faking appearances or showcasing my piety like a trophy. I don’t need to pretend to be anything I’m not.
My road to embracing a feminist label is messy. I feel the life of a woman is filled with contradictions leading many of us to feel we don’t measure up to the “perfect” feminist ideal.
The notion that women are in need of protection or help from men or that women are intrinsically more sensitive and weak whereas men are strong. This may take the form of a man insisting on carrying a woman’s bags because he feels she needs help, when in reality she does not. Underlying this seemingly positive and helpful action are assumptions rooted in paternalism that confine women and men to prescribed gender roles and promote the perception of difference. There are evaluations of gender that are generally perceived as positive and praise those who conform to traditional gender roles.
The idea that Western society is ahead of other societies, and these “other” cultures need to catch up not only is this claim false, it also enforces marginalization of all cultures that don’t follow a Western framework.
“Why does your culture do that?”
“Your culture is so backwards.”
“Your culture is oppressive.”
-These statements, along with others that share similar sentiments, not only alienate a huge portion of the feminist population, but also create divides among feminists that really shouldn't exist in the first place.
The type of systemic understanding of sexual violence, or any women’s rights issue, is often ignored; we unconsciously promote the notion that women are inferior. This perception of male superiority not only feeds into hostile sexist attitudes that tear down women emotionally, but also contributes to violence against women as a means of protecting male power and privilege.
This sort of cultural imperialistic mentality is dangerous for a multitude of reasons, the first of which is quite simple: it encourages prejudice and racial stereotyping.
My faith is an important part of my identity as a Super Shero. A Nun can be covered herself from head to toe and devote herself to God Right, A hindu woman dawns a ghoongat, covers her head, but when a muslim women does the same why she is oppressed. The concept of hijab is presented almost in every religion. Stop being close minded and respect all religions.
Especially in Western, secular, feminism to generalize and overlook the nuances that work to shape how the Hijab is used and expressed around the world. Neglecting to take a transnational approach and view to the Hijab is deeply problematic, as is evidenced by Western feminist’s assertions that Muslim women are victims of oppression and need to be saved from Islam.
There is a long-standing perception, specifically perpetuated among Western discourses that Muslim women are oppressed and a key symbol of their oppression is the Hijab. As a Muslim woman myself, who chooses to wear and observe the Hijab, this perception is a deeply personal one. The Hijab is a very complex construct, complicated even further by the assumptions and misconceptions seen in the modern, Western, secular world today. One common misconception that is frequently used in arguments against Islam is that the Hijab is a tool of oppression used by the religion to silence and dominate women.
The Hijab, most simply put, is an expression of modesty.
The perpetuation of the Hijab as oppressive is symbolic of the extreme feminist movement that neglects to account for the inter-sectional identities of marginalized women and promotes a generalized view under the guise of liberation.
However, this oppression is not of ideological origin but rather economic. The liberation of women is not economically smart, in fact, it is much more costly to provide women with education, jobs, and child care than it is to confine them to the domestic sphere and charge them with reproduction and child-rearing. Without an understanding of such implications, it is fairly easy to make generalizations about the Hijab and project them onto all Muslim women and the religion of Islam.
While this can be expressed for women through the wearing of a headscarf, the Hijab encompasses many different aspects of human behavior. The Hijab is a requirement placed onto men in the Qura'an as well as women. In being regarded as spiritual beings, Muslim women are seen as equal to men in Islam.
Rather than oppress humans, the Hijab functions to liberate both men and women from the confines of their appearance and allow themselves to be regarded as spiritual beings rather than sexual beings.
This is the true form of the Hijab in Islam and the intention is to liberate, rather than oppress.
Many societies enforce strict gender roles, which specifically prohibit women from entering the public sphere. Such prohibitions include women’s right to an education, right to work, and even to drive. The Hijab is used as a mechanism through which to enforce such oppression.
Feminism is not simply a struggle to end male chauvinism or a movement to ensure that women have equal rights with men; it is a commitment to eradicating the ideology of domination that permeates Western culture on various levels - sex, race, and class, to name a few - and a commitment to reorganizing the society so that self-development of people can take precedence over imperialism, economic expression, and material desires.
Muslim women are not meek, subordinate creatures that need to be saved. We are strong, capable, independent women, and our liberation lies within our choice to wear the Hijab.