by Stephanie Davis

Created on: September 05, 2009

The Hijab is probably the most misunderstood aspect of Islam. Last winter on the advice of a sister I decided to wear Islamic attire in the conservative buckle of the Bible belt city. I was stared, called names and even had a teenage girl try to rip it off my head at the local mall. I blame her parents for teaching her to be a bigot, not the child herself. In other cases men look at me with respect and other asked questions out of curiosity . I developed a deeper appreciation for Muslim women and the struggles they had to go through after 9/11. Muslim women in America have faced discrimination in both seeking an education and employment simply because of their hijab,

What is the logic behind discriminating against a woman in employment because of a headscarf, yet think nothing of a woman who displays her wares in order to get a job? A woman should be judged on her education, experience and ability to do the job she is applying before. However sadly often a under qualified woman who is thought of as beautiful will likely be hired over a plain Jane with all of the right qualifications. A woman in the hijab has more self respect than a woman who is dress immodestly. An potential employee should demonstrate that they respect themselves and that they are competent for the job. A woman who presents herself dressed modestly is saying that she wants to be judged for her character, intelligence, and accomplishments. This is more important than in business than looks or at least it should be.

Often when a Muslim woman is hired and wears her hijab to work, she is subject to hostility from her co workers. This is also the case of women who embrace Islam and take up wearing the hijab to their jobs. In 3 states, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Nebraska have laws on the books that prohibit teachers from wearing their hijab in the public schools. Clearly this a violation of the first amendment. The rational behind these laws is to keep the public school system from appearing to indoctrinate or endorse any faith. While an employer can stipulate that the hijab not be loose as to get tied up in machinery and that it must match the uniform or dress code, they do not have the right to fire or refuse to hire a qualified employee for wearing it. In the medical field women who wear the niqab face even more discrimination often under the guise that it harbors germs and makes the environment unsterilized. If that is the concern than a surgical mask could solve the problem easily.

Why is it that a Muslim women in a hijab provokes such negative reactions? Is it because it reminds the scantily clad liberated American woman that is she in the one in bondage and oppressed? And that the hijab wearing Muslim lady is the one that is truly free and liberated because she does not feel compelled to display her wares and degrade herself in order to pursue the career she wants?

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