Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi writes:
“Hijab is not a symbol of oppression. Women are oppressed because of socio-economic reasons even in countries where women have never heard about hijab. On the contrary, the practice of displaying pictures of almost naked women in the commercials, billboards, and in the entertainment industry in the west is a true symbol of oppression...Neither does the hijab prevent a woman from acquiring knowledge or from contributing to the betterment of human society.”
hijab, it’s considered oppression?
In other words, the hijab is not a form of oppression against the women who wear it; it’s just a dress that is meant to display women modestly. Rizvi further goes on to say that Catholic nuns also dress in a similar way as Muslim women because it shows dignity and respect, not oppression. So why is it that when Catholic nuns dress that way, it’s considered respectful and dignified, but when Muslim women wear the hijab, it’s considered oppression?
Three Muslim countries in the world have had women as their prime ministers: Pakistan, Turkey and Bangladesh.Yet Muslim women are seen as oppressed by many, just because they choose to wear the hijab. The United States of America, known as an independent, free country that gives both men and women so called “equal opportunities” has never had a female president. Why is that so?
In brief, the hijab is a form of expression that should be tolerated by people, if not accepted. Those people that don’t have the knowledge decide to think that it’s oppression, and a limitation of women’s freedoms. Stereotypes in the world are very common, but they will stay until one decides to change them by looking at the facts. I hope this article has helped you all learn something new. Next time you see a woman wearing a hijab, I hope you think that she’s a woman who’s expressing her religion and she chose to wear it instead of thinking she’s being oppressed.