Do you remember when Boris Johnson, the elected leader of this country, said that Muslim women wearing a face covering “looked like letterboxes”.
Make it Make sense! The leader of our country spreading Islamophobic comments, whilst simultaneously claiming to stand against hatred to all.
This comment by the Prime Minister initiated a spike in Islamophobic attacks in the UK, and led to many Muslim women experiencing anxiety surrounding wearing a hijab.
Muslim women are affected daily due to this hatred and it is something that needs to be spoken about.
We live in a day and age that advocates freedom of expression, yet there are still many limitations placed onto Muslim women, why?
According to ACLU discrimination against Muslim Women Fact sheet 69% of women who wore hijab reported at least one incident of discrimination with 29% for women who didn’t wear a hijab.
This might just seem like numbers, but to a Muslim woman, this is her life.
The EU court passed a ruling in 2017 that grants private employers the right to dismiss employees for wearing “any visible sign of their political, philosophical or religious beliefs” in the workplace.
I can only imagine how this ruling had an effect on the emotional, physical & spiritual psyche of all Muslim women?
To a Muslim woman the hijab she wears is not just an item of clothing, but a symbol of empowerment; it’s part of her identity; It’s how she feels beautiful.
So what kind of ruling justifies taking away someone’s identity?
What is the ricochet effect of this?
A common misconception had of Islam is that women are being forced to wear the hijab, and thus it becomes a “violation of women’s rights”.
But what about the women who are living under a government ruling to say that they mustn't wear it in a workplace?
Is that not considered to be a violation of rights?
The UN declaration states “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”. This should include the right to wear a hijab, niqab or jilbab, without the fear of being attacked.
Every woman has the right to feel safe.
Every woman has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
Every woman has the right to be free.
Authored by A Person On Their Grind!