Voice of British Muslim Women

Sarah Waseem, London

Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector for Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education (UK)) inspectors will talk to primary school girls who wear the hijab to ascertain from them why they do so. The move comes after concerns that wearing the hijab could be interpreted as the sexualising of young girls.

Is the hijab more sexualising than wearing a skirt, which many schools require for girls but not boys? Surely Ms Spielman should also be questioning young boys as to why they might choose to wear trousers instead of skirts and vice versa with young girls? Interestingly there do not seem to be any plans to question young Jewish or Sikh boys regarding their head coverings, nor any concerns that they too, may be being sexualised.

Sadly the hijab has become politicized – a symbol of both oppression and defiance. Rather like the Kaffiyeh this simple piece of cloth has taken on a life of its own. Many, including Muslims, forget its true significance which is rooted in the maintaining peace in society.

The Holy Qur’an provides a social code and moral code outlining the boundaries that protect us all- men and women. Wearing the hijab is part of a broader Quranic instruction directed at both men and women regarding their responsibilities to God and to mankind. Men are first directed to ‘restrain’ their eyes down so that they do not transgress others’ boundaries (24:31) Women are then instructed in the next verse to do likewise and additionally to wear a head covering. (24:32) The hijab represents for both men and women, a visual reminder of the sanctity of that boundary of interpersonal relationships which is not to be transgressed if peace is to be maintained in human interactions.

Muslim women will often say that the hijab is not about limiting them, but about liberating them, a concept which some non-Muslims find hard to comprehend. How can this piece of cloth which seems to hide one’s beauty be liberating?

Boundaries protect because they delineate what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. The hijab signals to the observer, the rights of the wearer and reminds the wearer of the standards of moral conduct expected by the All-Seeing God. We live in an age where our moral compass has gone awry. The recent revelations from the abuse of women in Hollywood and within the Halls of Westminster are just one example that demonstrates that boundaries, that should be protecting of interpersonal relationships are being eroded.

So the hijab allows the Muslim woman to feel safe within the boundary she has declared around herself and reminds her of her moral obligations to her God. With that established, she can then go about her daily life without any fear of how her actions may be interpreted or misinterpreted.

Questioning young Muslim girls about why they might choose to follow the example of female role models among them, is intrusive, likely to be traumatic and completely unnecessary. The hijab does not sexualise – rather the contrary. For mature Muslim young girls and boys it signals a reminder of their responsibilities to each other.  For young Muslim girls who choose to wear it, it is an aspirational statement of wanting to be like their mothers and no different from non-Muslim girls, dressing up in their mothers’ clothing.   The Ofsted Inspectors would do better to have a dialogue with parents from all religions about the role that faith can play in producing well rounded young members of society.