I'm a hijab wearing Muslim woman, ask me anything!

[hijabijabi]

Happy to answer all questions, but most comfortable with questions about my experiences - I can try to answer questions about Islam but am no expert, and other Muslims may hold different opinions.
I'll only be checking the thread intermittenty, so my answers might not be immediate.

Why don’t men have to wear them?

Care - I'm not convinced there is an increase in young girls being forced to wear hijab, it's not something I have seen myself, but if true, then yes, it is worrying.
I think often young girls like to wear it as it's what they asssociate with being 'grown up'. Also, parents may encourage their daughters to wear hijab in certin situtions to help prepare them for when it becomes obligatory.
In terms of leggings, we do encourage girls to be careful not to show privte parts, and so I can see the reasoning behind leggings if they are likely to be doing cartwheels and things. Long sleeve tops not so much.
I think Islam in the UK may have become more conservative as Muslims have come under the spotlight and might feel more threatened.
I don't have a daughter. If I did I would make it clear she was expected to wear hijab, but I wouldn't force her.
I don't personally think that modelling/beauty contests are in the spirit of Islam and hijab.
I think I'm somewhere in between your two friends! I am kind of 'low key' in my appearance, so muted colours and nothing that shows my figure, but I also really like clothes, and try and look co-ordinated and stylish!
Yes, there are lots of other hijab wearers where I live, but not so much at work.
Men treat me with a lot more respect than before I wore hijab - sad but true!

Thank you bobblybits
fontof, my parents aren't Muslim so no issues there, my husband would be horrified! Equally I'd be horrified if he suddenly gave up something that I see as an integral part of our faith.

apples that's a really interesting question! I've explained to my young sons that women are very special and so only their close family are allowed to see all of them! I don't know if that would work for you? I suppose you can also explain that this is a way of expressing their faith.

What is the punishment for apostasy if all the sharia conditions are met ?

sparkly, I don't judge other Muslim women or anyone else on their lifestyle, we all have choices to make, different circumstances, and different capacities.
I don't imagine I would ever not wear hijab, I love it, and it feels ike such a huge part of my identity.

gorgon I was raised in typically western household, I didn't now any Muslims growing up.

I know you can't speak for all women but I've wondered on this.
I used to manage a day care unit and we had , well still have they are still working there, quite a few Muslim women that wear the hijab ( and a few Muslim women that don't)
Often the hijab women would wear the hijab coming into work but would take it off for their shift. Men work full time at this place and males pop in for meetings e.g. social workers, maintenance people OFSTED inspectors etc. Is that a normal thing to do? I was quite suprised when I first saw the lady taking it off as i thought she would have preferred to be covered. I guessed she may have been comfortable wearing it in public but felt ok not to in an enclosed environment.

fucking - yes, they do, but there is no basis for this is Islam, it's part of their culture.

Waitrose - yes, I imagine women of all backgrounds and religions have been raped unfortunately. It does seem to reduce low level harrassment like wolf whistling an workplace hassle though, in my experience.

mybread the whole thing is up for interpretation really. I err on the conservative side of things, so I wear plain maxi dresses and cardigns mostly, no make up, and just my wedding ring and a watch. The basics are that only hands and face should be showing, and clothing should be loose enough and thick enough to hide the figure.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but do you feel like you're inferior to men ?

How do you feel about abuse some Muslim women get for trying to get equality

Honest question and I'm not trying to be antagonistic

farflung men have a dresscode as well, but it is different than that of women, is men are physically quite different.

sacred that's not something I know much about, sorry, and doesn't relate to hijab. I beleive it's similar to the Western concept of treason.

nota i would be surprised by that too, that's not Islamically correct so not sure what the reasoning behind it would be.

OP, you say you wear a hijab because you 'believe it to be a requirement of Islam' - yet other Muslim women believe it's not actually 'a requirement' (=mandatory), but optional.

For example, www.huffingtonpost.ca/junaid-jahangir/islam-wearing-hijab_b_14046520.html

Do you think that Muslim women who do not wear the hijab are wrong?

flumpy I'm not at all offended by your questions, I started the thread so that people could ask what they like
I don't feel remotely inferior to men, and I have no doubt that men and women have equal worth to Allah.
I don't think Muslim women should be abused for trying to get equal rights.

Princess I think they are mistaken, but perfectly entitled to their views.

At what age would you want your daughter to wear a hijab and what would you think if, as a teenager she rejected it. ?

Sorry, another one. You say it identifies you as a Muslim. Is that because it's like a 'badge' of your faith or because 'modesty' is the characteristic that identifies your faith. ? Where those who interpret the Koran to say that 'no where is there a requirement to cover your head/face (and some cultures body) would you accept that if it was proved to you by Inman or other Islamic scholar. Do you not consider that it was simply a medieval way for patriarchal societies to subjugate women ?

Thank you for your answer! Fascinating but grim that you're treated with more respect now.

Is your husband Muslim too, was he brought up in this faith or did you both convert?

Did you convert to be with him?

Re the leggings, I think they must be so horribly uncomfortable in this weather when I was at school we wore cycling shorts for doing cartwheels etc. But these are a lot shorter than leggings.

Maybe it is particular to where I live but I have also seen tiny girls age 5 or 6 wearing abayas as well as big headscarfs. I saw one trying to run with her brother and it was obviously making it really hard for her

fontof it becomes obigatory at puberty but i think the time when their start secondary school would be a good time to make the change.
I would not be surprised if they rejected it as a teenager - but I would hope she would come back to it.

sunsunThe men shouldn't be wearing tiny shorts, they should be covered to below the knee!
I'm happy on the beach in a cotton dress and scarf, paddling! I wouldn't really go on pool holiday.
My clothes take up less room that DH's!

Do you not miss freely swimming in the ocean, or the wind in your hair?

It upset me when I visited Egypt and I saw a family on a beach with the dad happily swimming in the sea with the children and the mother stuck in a dark cloak, baking on the beach.

Do you not feel guilty that woman in other country’s are legally forced to wear these outdated garments which objectify women? And you are actually choosing to wear them - were is your solidarity with these poor woman?

How do you know that the bits of the Quran that describe the obligation to wear hijab are still relevant in the literal sense now and not just something specific to people's lives at the time? I haven't read the Quran but I'm guessing that, much like the holy books of the other Abrahamic religions, there are some passages that are understood to be very much 'of the time' and are not expected to be followed, and others that are. I'm always curious how people know the difference!

I did ask a more general version of this question on the Evangelical Christian thread, but was interested to how it relates here, specifically to wearing the hijab.

Thank you!

You said you wear a hijab to identify you as a Muslim but obviously until not too long ago it was very usual for Christian women to wear headscarf’s or head coverings of some kind (dreadful Victorian bonnets all the way back to headdresses that are not at all far removed from the modern trendy styles of wearing a hijab). I assume in a context like that you’d still wear one but it wouldn’t singnle you out as a Muslim. What would be the reason in that context?