“Religion is Not the Only Label They Wear”: Wearing Hijab in the Post 9/11 Western Environment
Jeni Allenby

 

 Life has become increasingly difficult for Muslim women in Western countries, who must face post 9/11 hostility towards Islam as well as discrimination derived from the West's confusion of religion with cultural practices. In the case of Islamic dress codes, this has led to government interventions such as the banning of hijab in Canadian (1995) and French (2004) schools and attempts in 2002 to enforce a “security” ban on hijab in all Australian public places “because it could be used by terrorists to conceal weapons and explosives” (The Age).
In response to the kind of comment documented by Katherine Bullock (“Muslim women in hijab are regularly told by Canadians ‘This is Canada. You're free here. You don't have to wear that thing on your head’”) frustrated Western hijab wearers find themselves stressing that they are NOT in need of rescue, nor wearing “traditional costume”, and that their right to choose to wear hijab should be recognized and respected. What does it feel like to wear hijab in the 21st century? What types of personal decisions motivate its adoption (or discarding)? How have family and friends (and strangers) reacted? What motivates choices of style or fashion? And most importantly, how have individual perceptions of self and identity changed?
This paper explores how Western hijab wearers have responded to such issues, with a particular focus on public responses in Australia promoting educational discourses challenging the negative stereotype of the veiled Muslim woman and providing unique insights into - and interaction with - the narratives and experiences of contemporary Muslim women, whose voices are so rarely heard in the West..

 

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