Free Hijab Essay Sample

What stereotypes do most Americans have about women wearing hijab?

American people who are not Muslims think that Muslim women wear hijab is hiding as Hasan Amer writes in the article American Muslim Women: Between Two Worlds (p.116). Moreover another stereotype in people’s mind that Muslim men force their women to wear hijab because Islamic men aren’t self-confident about their sexuality (p.115). Mainly people believe that Muslim women are oppressed as a population. However it is impossible to deny this fact in some Islamic countries due to low rate of women illiteracy, hard birth control. When someone who doesn’t understand Islam sees a woman in hijab, he may feel sorry thinking that hijab is a prison with invisible walls for her; or feel frustrated associating hijab with terrorism. The author explains that people living in the West accept women wearing hijab as “inherently foreign, uneducated, and oppressed; as if the head cover were an instant indicator of those traits” (p.127).

What are some of the defenses and criticisms of hijab, according to the readings?

Hasan Amer says that wearing hijab is a powerful choice and that is a way of fulfilling request from God. Many Westerns don’t understand hijab but long before the existence of Islam and Ancient Greek women, medieval Europe women covered their heads and it was a sign that they were of the upper class (p.128). Even now Queen Elizabeth mainly covers her head with scarf. It is also a type of hijab. Main goal of wearing hijab is preserve modesty because it was ordered by God equally to men and women as well.

Can wearing hijab be a feminist act?

Wearing hijab for some women is a feminist act. In the article My Body is My Own Business (Braude, p.121) the author claims that women are highly concentrated to meet the impossible male standards is tiring and that women should be free from wish to get attention and don’t have to defend their decision to wear hijab as everyone has freedom to wear anything they want (Braude, p.121).
Hijab surely is used to show the obedience to Allah’s guide as Allah wants to save women form bad intentions of bed men.

Reference

Braude, Ann, Jon Butler, and Harry S, Stout. Women and American Religion. New York: Oxford UP, 2000 Print.
Hasan, Asma Gull. American Muslims: The New Generation. New York: Continuum, 2000 Print.