Mind my own body

The headscarf, as a cultural phenomenon, is an expression of muslim identity. Wearing a hijab comes from the Arabic for veil and is used to describe the headscarves worn by mulish women, and it is the behavioral and visible aspects of identity, which not only acts the high visible and religion symbol of " Mulishness", but also protects "the inner life of the Islamic communities and women from unwanted male intervention (see Ismail,G. (n.d). Globalisation, Political Islam and the headscarf in education, with special reference to the Thurkish educational system. Comparative Education, 46(3), 377). However, there are more and more debates wound up lately with perceptions of Hijab as the practicalities of the dress itself.

Photo by Fazal

The type most commonly worn in the west is square scarf what covers the head and neck, Muslim woman may wear whatever she pleases in the presence of her husband and family or among women friends. However, when she goes out or when men other than her husband or close family are present she is expected to wear a dress which will cover all parts of her body, and it should not reveal the figure. According to Muslim dress code, women wear hijab not only to make significant differences with male dress, but also it could protect them from sexual harassment. For example, the material should not be too thin to see through it. In addition, the clothing should not show their body shape and the design must not attract for any attention. By wearing it, women can stay safe. In my view, it was not offensive to wear a hijab to respect Islamic faith. However, when people are using it as an excuse to take away women's freedom or even their lives, it is absolutely ridiculous. In face, the Muslim headscarf is not women's protection. In contrast, it could bring negative impacts on their lives, which is not under the protection of religion freedom anymore. Aqsa Parvez who was only 16 years old female been honor killed by her biological father Muhammad Parvez. Aqsa who was born in Canada and raised in a Muslim family used to behavior as her mom and sisters that wearing a hijab every day when she went to school. However, she always wanted to have her freedom of dressing to show her natural beauty in the public area as her Canadian friends. Hence, she made her decision to take off her hijab and took a lot of great pictures with her friends. However, she did not know here decision to take pictures without headscarf in her life. Her father and brother were so frustrated that kept threatening her to wear hijab back; otherwise, she would get punished badly. She did not listen to what they had warned her; as a result, she was cruelly killed by her father who thought it was his insult to let his daughter live without hijab. After reading the news, it was not hard to identify the hijab is not the protection for women, and it is a killing tool by some religious people when female wanted to have their freedom. Why some Muslim women should be forced to wear it even though they would not want to ? Wearing it or not is their personal preference, and others should not control women's rights of freedom.