Photo by: Greg Lau
Numerous misconceptions concerning the reasons Muslim women wear hijab, a head scarf, and its religious significance were addressed by a former DU student last Wednesday in Driscoll Gallery at a lecture titled, “The Story of Hijab.”
The featured speaker was Kholoud Helmi, a native of Saudi Arabia, who attended DU during fall quarter last year. She stopped out after 10 weeks due to family obligations. Numerous “shocking” experiences on campus, which she believes were based on a lack of knowledge, propelled Helmi to speak out about this subject to an audience of over 50 people.
For Muslim women, the hijab is seen as “a means of protection from unwanted attention,” said Helmi. It represents the dignity and decency of the woman wearing it. The hijab is also an external reflection of a woman’s internal modesty: “Women must believe to be modest inside” before outside, said Helmi.
In Islam, women’s clothing is intended to be long, loose, without fragrance and unlike men’s clothes, according to Helmi. The hijab is one facet of these requirements. It shows that a woman “respects her body” and doesn’t want anyone to see it, said Helmi.
Expectations for men’s clothing are also set by the religion of Islam, including a ban on wearing silks or gold.
Helmi focused her talk on the “many misconceptions” she currently sees in regard to the hijab and Islam. She demonstrated the falsehood of many of these claims by providing excerpts from the Quran that refuted the statements.
Common misconceptions that Helmi finds include people’s belief that women have no rights in Islam and are oppressed; that women are required to wear the hijab by men, not religion; the hijab is a cultural, not religious commandment; and that the hijab places “all sexual responsibility on women and [allows men to] live life without any control,” said Helmi.
In response to these, Helmi said, it is “our [Muslim women’s] choice and our option” to wear the hijab.
Men take no part in a women’s decision on this subject, Helmi added: “In Islam, men and women are equal.”
Reacting to the suggestion that the onus of sexual responsibility falls on women as a result of the hijab, Helmi said that men must still control their actions by lowering their gaze when speaking with women, behaving modestly and treating all Muslim women as if they were a mother, sister or other female relative.
Muslim women begin wearing the hijab at puberty, the onset of their body’s adjustment into womanhood. The young girls start wearing the hijab only in front of non-relatives but soon transition to wearing it in front of all males.
A married woman, Helmi will remove her hijab at home, in front of her son, husband or other family members.
Wearing the hijab, said Helmi, does not take away one’s womanhood and the experiences that go along with being a woman such as wearing makeup: “We still have our beauty but not in front of everyone.”
