Kristian:
I wonder what the “free Hijab womens movement” in Denmark would say about this article :O)… well I’ll present it to some of them from my FB wall.

Mona:
It’s all about the context, Kristian. That essay I linked to is about Egypt and the pressures women there face to wear hijab.

In Denmark, it’s more about the pressure NOT to wear the hijab.

I support women’s freedom to choose to wear the hijab or not to wear the hijab. … Read More

The niqab/burqa is a different matter altogether, as far as I’m concerned.

Maged:
Women who wear hijab is brainwashed to accept it, or forced to wear it so how come you support women’s “freedom” to wear it?

Mona:
Maged – if a woman chooses to wear it I support that choice. If they are forced to wear it, I condemn and oppose such force.

As for brainwashing, I don’t agree with you.

I wore hijab for nine years as a younger woman. I chose to wear it and I chose to take it off. Nobody brainwashed either decision.

Kristian:
@Mona, I fully agree… and I for sure know that 95% of hjiab women in DK is free women. When I see young, active, well educated strong women in DK with Hijab, who will not shake hand with a man, no sit next to him in a bus etc…. I wonder how is it possible to be so dogmatic and fundamental, and what drives them. I have meet two of the “Abdol Hamid” … Læs meresisters… very inteligent and nice women. But why on earth do they make such a fuzz out of being muslims? I can’t really get it. The result of them demonstrating thier religion makes the Islamofobic even more fobic, and the lives of relaxed
muslims more difficult. Am I missing the point?

Mona:
Kristian – thanks for clarifying.

I can’t speak for the AbdelHamid sisters but when I wore hijab I shook hands with men and I know today many women who wear hijab who are not so dogmatic.

Women wear hijab for various reasons – not all of them religious. Some choose, some are forced, some wear for God, some wear for fashion, some wear for identity, some wear because it’s more affordable than trying to keep up with trends.

Aya:
Interesting article! I found some parallels of it to my own life and others I know.

At the start of me wearing the head scarf, I didn’t shake hands with men. I didn’t even shake hands with my superintendant and principle at my high school graduation. It took a while for me to trust men. It’s a safety precaution, someone holds your hand, and they can take you away! LOL … Read More
These days, as a struggling Muslim (my own internal faith), I still cover my head, whether it’s a scarf, beanie, hat, or bandana and bit by bit, I do shake hands with men. I respect anyone’s choice to/not to wear it.

When the article spoke about poverty, it reminded me of one of my roommates in Boston. With a tight income, no job, and raising a young child, she wore the scarf, but had expensive taste/style. It tickled me!

I live by this verse of the Bible more than the Qur’an (for myself and no one else):

“If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.” [1 Corinthians 11:6]

Sherif:
For Aya the biblical verse was intended for the women who pray Only .. Aslo for maged , being a believer of the mass bleif don’t mean you are brainwashed it means that it got to you,,, you ‘chose’ the belif and stuck toit ” free choice”.. this what i think I’m not speaking in behalfof Mona but I do agree with her on the subject. I totaly respect women choice to wear Hijab and to take it off

Frida:
I think that brainwashing (@Maged) is not the matter here. The matter is : you are a girl, and you grow up. In some cultures, countries, the simple fact of being a woman means you have to hide your body. In other cultures, countries, nobody even imagine something like that and everything is ok. In the first kind of cultures, countries, you know … Read Morevery early that there is a censorship. You will control yourself before being censored, you will try to not give them reasons to make you problems. So, may be you think that it’s a choice to hide your body (@Mona???), but in fact I think you have a strategy, you prefer not to have crush and trouble, not to have to explain, to justify. The social pressure is very high…

In the second kind of countries the problem is the identity, (@Kristian) the fear of losing your identity when you live far from your former home. There, there are many reasons : a reaction, or to try to show you are proud of your origin, or as a kind of provocation, and so on.
But cultures are moving and people too. I believe in women intelligence J
(My English is very bad…, sorry)

Mona:
Frida – what you are describing is called socialization and it is enacted differently in different socieites. The headscarf and the mini skirt are two sides of the same coin – women’s bodies.

If you read my comments much earlier, you would see that I’ve given various reasons for why women wear headscarves. I too believe in women’s intelligence which is why I refuse to let a word like “brainwash” stand uncontested.