British Veiled Women Battle for Their Rights
(The New York Times) A young British Muslim woman who would only allow her last name, al-Shaikh, to be printed, wears a full-face veil.1 September 2007
"For me it is not just a piece of clothing, it's an act of faith, it's solidarity," says a 24-year-old veiled woman.
As the number of Muslim women wearing the Niqab grows in the United Kingdom, repulsive reactions from other religion followers increase to haunt these women who decided to do something extra for Allah (SWT).
Even though, the Niqab, which covers the whole body and face except the eyes, is not obligatory under Islam, many Muslim women decide to wear it, hoping that they will be accredited for it afterwards.
Now veiled women in Western countries are either targeted by verbal abuse or by government efforts to ban the Niqab in public places.
Examples are quite a lot when it comes to women prevented from following the normal path in their daily lives just because they’re veiled with many incidents being reported in the media.
A British student was recently banned from school for wearing the Niqab and afterwards lost her legal case at the court. It’s even hard to find such incidents strange when the British educational authorities are working on banning the Niqab in schools.
According to an article on the International Herald Tribune, many veiled women in Britain say that their decision to wear the Niqab was influenced by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States as a response to the tough policies that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American President George W. Bush applied after 9/11.
"For me it is not just a piece of clothing, it's an act of faith, it's solidarity," says a 24-year-old program scheduler at a broadcasting company in London, who only gave her name as al-Shaikh. "9/11 was a wake-up call for young Muslims.“
Shaikh is suffering at the workplace; for example one of her colleagues told her that she doesn’t have the right to be there! Strangers are not any kinder as she is stopped on the streets on regular basis by verbal abusers who think they have the right to comment on her beliefs.
Despite this, Britain is considered to be more liberal when it comes to the Niqab and the Hijab, which only covers the hair and neck and is obligatory under Islam. Unlike France, Germany, Turkey and Tunisia, Muslim students and female civil servants in the UK are allowed to cover their hair.
Fatema Mayatha, a 24-year-old Muslim who wears the Niqab since she was 12-years-old, believes that her veil is an identity matter, not a “separation” sign like others view it.
"If I dressed in a Western way I could be a Hindu, I could be anything. This way I feel comfortable in my identity as a Muslim woman,” Mayatha told the International Herald Tribune.
Even though Mayatha’s husband doesn’t mind her taking off her Niqab, wearing it was her personal free choice.
Some believe that it’s their right to oppose Niqab, ignoring the fact that Muslims simply want to earn extra points as a guarantee to end up in paradise. It would be nice if for once; Muslims are left to practice their religion the way they want as long as this doesn’t hurt anyone else.
As the number of Muslim women wearing the Niqab grows in the United Kingdom, repulsive reactions from other religion followers increase to haunt these women who decided to do something extra for Allah (SWT).
Even though, the Niqab, which covers the whole body and face except the eyes, is not obligatory under Islam, many Muslim women decide to wear it, hoping that they will be accredited for it afterwards.
Now veiled women in Western countries are either targeted by verbal abuse or by government efforts to ban the Niqab in public places.
Examples are quite a lot when it comes to women prevented from following the normal path in their daily lives just because they’re veiled with many incidents being reported in the media.
A British student was recently banned from school for wearing the Niqab and afterwards lost her legal case at the court. It’s even hard to find such incidents strange when the British educational authorities are working on banning the Niqab in schools.
According to an article on the International Herald Tribune, many veiled women in Britain say that their decision to wear the Niqab was influenced by the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States as a response to the tough policies that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the American President George W. Bush applied after 9/11.
"For me it is not just a piece of clothing, it's an act of faith, it's solidarity," says a 24-year-old program scheduler at a broadcasting company in London, who only gave her name as al-Shaikh. "9/11 was a wake-up call for young Muslims.“
Shaikh is suffering at the workplace; for example one of her colleagues told her that she doesn’t have the right to be there! Strangers are not any kinder as she is stopped on the streets on regular basis by verbal abusers who think they have the right to comment on her beliefs.
Despite this, Britain is considered to be more liberal when it comes to the Niqab and the Hijab, which only covers the hair and neck and is obligatory under Islam. Unlike France, Germany, Turkey and Tunisia, Muslim students and female civil servants in the UK are allowed to cover their hair.
Fatema Mayatha, a 24-year-old Muslim who wears the Niqab since she was 12-years-old, believes that her veil is an identity matter, not a “separation” sign like others view it.
"If I dressed in a Western way I could be a Hindu, I could be anything. This way I feel comfortable in my identity as a Muslim woman,” Mayatha told the International Herald Tribune.
Even though Mayatha’s husband doesn’t mind her taking off her Niqab, wearing it was her personal free choice.
Some believe that it’s their right to oppose Niqab, ignoring the fact that Muslims simply want to earn extra points as a guarantee to end up in paradise. It would be nice if for once; Muslims are left to practice their religion the way they want as long as this doesn’t hurt anyone else.
Labels: Islam, Islamophobia, UK
posted by HRM Deborah of Israel and the Messenger of Peace at 4:25 PM
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