' ಹಿಜಾಬ್ ನನ್ನ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಹಾಗು ಅದು ವಿಮೋಚನೆಯ ಹಾಗೂ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನದ ಸಂಕೇತ ''

ಹಿಜಾಬ್ ಮೂಲಕ ಹೆಣ್ಣಿನ ಶೋಷಣೆಯಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಾದಕ್ಕೆ '' ಹಿಜಾಬ್ ನನ್ನ ಆಯ್ಕೆ ಹಾಗು ಅದು ವಿಮೋಚನೆಯ ಹಾಗೂ ಸ್ವಾಭಿಮಾನದ ಸಂಕೇತ '' ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿರುವ ಖದೀಜ ಮನ್ಸೂರ್ ಅವರ ಫೇಸ್ ಬುಕ್ ಬರಹ

" This futuristic and so called emancipating world has always seen head covering (Hijab) as a symbol of oppression and slavery and worst still a symbol of subjugation …. I have always wondered why our society which shows tolerance towards the topless and the half-naked, show zero tolerance towards a covered Muslim woman.

Isn’t hijab “personal“? I for one, consider it as a decision that remains totally between a women and her dearest Almighty … It is a decision which is more emancipated than any other decision, wherein she decides that her physical self or beauty has no role to play in her visibility as a women; and that hijab is her commitment to her own self and to Almighty. Many may not agree, but if she makes a choice then it’s not anyone else’s business to bother about it.

Many have portrayed the hijab as an anti-feminist badge for Muslim women. But unfortunately, they are wrong …. Hijab allows no man to objectify us or express control over our bodies… it allows us to focus more on our life than what people think about our body.

Modesty is a common concept in most faiths. Way back to the beginning of modern civilization, women in Mesopotamia were said to wear a cloth over their head. Mother Mary, considered as a symbol of purity by Christians and Muslims alike, is worshiped by Christians with the hijab ‘on’. So are Mother Theresa and a whole lot of respected individuals in different religions. Interestingly, the dress we wear while graduating in the pedestal of one’s success is also similar to a hijab. Then how does it become a “moving Qutub Minar, Ninja, Batman or oppressed towel-head “when it is worn by Muslim women?

However, let us also remind ourselves that no human is entrusted to police women into wearing Hijab. There is no compulsion in either religion or any tenet of this perfect religion. The Almighty says in Holy Quran (10:99) “Had your Lord enforced his will, all the people on earth would have believed. Will you force men to become believers?”

Hijab neither imprisons our minds or confines our hearts .It neither symbolizes constrained silence or inconceivable militancy.

It is high time a covered Muslim woman is provided the liberty to the three R’s of freedom –Right, Respect and Responsibility ….. Freedom to practice whatever her conscience considers RIGHT, a commitment from the society to RESPECT her choice, a RESPONSIBILITY from her fellow beings to defend her rights…..

- As requested by my niece Fasna Mian...(who has continuously been requesting me to pen my thoughts on Hijab!)