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Beneath the burka, Behind the hijab

Controversial legislation is being considered in Quebec that would ban Muslim women from wearing the niqab – a face covering revealing only the wearer’s eyes – when dealing with provincial services.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is defending the veil ban. “The Quebec government is trying to make sure that in civic and public places that freedom of religion is respected, but at the same time on the other side citizens come forward and reveal themselves when they are demanding public service,” he said.

Anne White, an instructor in religious studies at the University of Calgary, says women who choose to wear these religious symbols consider them a mark of honour and choose not to be seen as sexual objects.

“You get people that are intimidated (by religious symbols) and think they are part of Islamic fundamentalism groups,” says White.

“Or that the women who wear them are subservient to the male.”

Maryam Kassam, a second-year Political Science student at the U of C who wears a hijab, agrees that although the hijab represents modesty, it doesn’t divulge the many other layers of her personality.

“I began wearing a hijab when I was 16,” says Kassam. “But I chose to do so by my own free will, because of my strong belief in my faith.”

Kassam says it took a while for people who had known her before to understand why she decided to wear a hijab.

“A lot of people believed I was forced into it,” says Kassam. “But it didn’t take long for them to see that it hadn’t changed who I was as a person at all. I was the same Maryam that I had been before.”

Yet Kassam says people she meets treat her differently. “I think a lot of people believe that it represents a shy, weak girl and they’ll talk to me with this tone,” says Kassam. “I think they think I’m being controlled by a male or something.”

“What they don’t understand is that the hijab makes me feel closer to my faith and because of that, I actually feel empowered.

“People need to look beyond the scarf to truly discover what is underneath,” she says.

But not all Muslim women choose to wear a hijab.

First-year SAIT business finance student Bahareh Shalchi is Muslim, but decided at an early age she wouldn’t wear a hijab. Her parents supported her decision.

Shalchi doesn’t think her peers treat her differently for choosing not to wear a hijab.

“The hijab represents a religious symbol,” she says. “The women who choose to wear it are either strong believers of the Muslim religion, or are forced by their elders.”

Shalchi doesn’t think she will ever choose to wear a hijab in Canada. But when she travelled to Iran in July 2009, she had to put on her first hijab.

Shalchi says it was a different experience having to wear the headscarf that all Iranian females are required to wear once they’ve hit puberty.

White says although the hijab represent modesty and privacy, it often draws a lot of unwanted attention from people who don’t understand themeaning.

“The burqa, on the other hand, can almost be impractical since most of the face is covered,” says White. “It can be hard for women to do everyday things in them like driving.”

“In Canada a lot of the women choose to wear the hijabs of their own accord,” says White, “because of that they should have the right to wear their hijabs in all walks of life.”

Differences between a Niqab/Hijab/Burqa:

Hijab: Allows the face to be seen and only covers the top of the head, the neck and shoulders. It can also be worn with modest, loose clothing.

Niqab: Covers the entire head and face and only reveals a woman’s eyes.

Burqa: A veil that covers the entire body, head and face. It is usually light blue, and made out of heavy fabric.

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