The Many Meanings of Hijab
By
Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
25 February
2022
A Singular
Understanding of the Veil Is Best Avoided
Main
Points:
1. The history
of hijab as a symbol of Muslim identity is extremely complex and varied
2. The Quran
does not talk of the hijab in the sense of clothing; rather it uses the word Khimar
for that purpose.
3. Khimar is
not a dress code, rather an inculcation of modesty whose standards are
different for men and women in the Quran.
4. The Khimar
or the veil (as it is now known), is not just a religious obligation but also
performs important sociological functions.
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The row over headscarves has sparked countrywide protests
(Getty Images, BBC News)
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One of the
most disturbing images in the wake of the Karnataka hijab imbroglio was the
forcible removal of headscarves and Jilbab (outer covering/gown) of
Muslim students and teachers. Like the demolition of the Babri mosque, those
images will become the defining moment in the history of communal relations in
India. Some have compared the episode to the unveiling of Algerian women during
the French occupation. But the comparison misses the point that the French
military had staged the unveiling, under the misguided notion of liberating
Muslim women. Karnataka was neither staged nor is the ‘liberation’ of Muslim
women a stated position. It was the naked display of majoritarian might with
the express intention of ‘showing Muslims their place’. In a country where every
other government school organizes Saraswati Puja, it is rather rich to argue
that the college in question was trying to enforce some sort of secular
uniformity. In a country where most public spaces are saturated with Hindu
religious symbols, it is dishonest to expect Muslims to give up their religious
markers.
The history
of hijab as a symbol of Muslim identity is extremely complex and varied as it
is linked both with religious obligation and political expression. Although
today the hijab is understood as headscarf, the Quran does not use the term in
the sense of a cloth which is used to cover the head. In the seven different
places in the Quran where the word hijab occurs, it specifically refers to a
separation, visible or invisible. Amongst these it is only one verse that gets
highlighted: “O you who have believed, do not enter the houses of the
Prophet except when you are permitted for a meal… And when you ask [his wives]
for something, ask them from behind a separation (Hijab)" [Q 33: 53].
And this verse gets highlighted because it appears as an obligation for Muslim
women to observe seclusion. However, the verse clearly is related to the wives
of the Prophet and speaks of a contextual requirement, that of respecting the
privacy of the Prophet and his household. It certainly does not speak of any
dress code, rather the intention is to teach good manners to Arabs. Secondly,
it exalts the wives of the Prophet, transforming them into mothers of believers
who should be approached with profound respect and from a distance.
The current
meaning imputed to hijab as a headscarf therefore is non-Quranic in its
essence. But does it mean that the Quran has no position on head covering? It
is wrong to believe that it does not. In fact, the Quran mandates head covering
for women but the term it uses for it is not hijab but Khimar. The
relevant verse says: “... And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of
their vision and guard their private parts and not to expose their adornment (Zinatahuna)
except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of]
their headcovers (Khumurihina) over their chests (Juyubihina) and not to expose
their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands'
fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers'
sons” [Q 24:31]. The term Khumurihina is the plural of Khimar,
and refers to the headscarf that women used to wear those days and not just in
Arabia. What the Quran is telling Muslim women in this verse is to draw/fold
the Khimar/scarf over their chests to cover the upper part of their
bodies when they are in public. Classical commentators have suggested that
pre-Islamic women used to keep their neck and upper chest uncovered and it is
in this context that the verse commands Muslim women to cover upper part of
their chest in order and embrace ‘modesty’.
Muslim
feminists like Asma Barlas and others have argued that the Quran does not
mandate the covering of the head but they clearly misread the function and
etymology of Khimar. Most Arabic dictionaries understand the Khimar
as a headscarf. It appears that the Khimar was a traditional attire of
the region which got carried over into Islam. There is near universal consensus
amongst the exegetes that hair should be covered but not the face. Those who
argue for the full-face Niqab or the Burqa are certainly arguing
against the Quran and the Sunna.
This is not
to suggest that headcover is exclusive to the Islamic faith. All Semitic
traditions mandate it and within Hinduism, the traditional expression of
modesty has been the Ghoonghat which can still be seen in many regions.
However, modesty in Islam is not just linked exclusively with the women’s body
because the Quran clearly states that even men should actively cultivate it as
part of their religious calling. Of course, there are different standards for
the expression of this modesty between men and women and one should not expect
the Quran to be apologetic about this difference. Some might argue that behind
the veneer of modesty is exploitation or oppression of women. And that might be
true in certain lived experiences of Muslim women. But the Quran talks about
modesty in terms of an ethico-religious value and definitely not in the sense
of subjugating women.
It is also
important to understand the verse of the Khimar contextualises the
garment as necessary when Muslim women interact with unrelated males, in other
words when they are in the public domain. Thus, rather than reading it as
invisibilising women, Khimar can and should be read as an enabling
medium through which Muslim women can participate in the public sphere.
There can
be a number of reasons why Muslim women take the Khimar or the veil (in
its modern usage). They can do so for religious reasons, internalizing the veil
as an expression of Muslim piety. If such a believing women argues that by
draping the veil, she feels nearness to God, then it should not be our place to
judge whether she is right or wrong. There can be multiple ways of expressing
the self and doing so in terms of religious aesthetics is also legitimate. Many
a times, the secular worldview privileges absolute individualism as the only
viable experience for humans, men or women. But we know that individualism is
one the many possible experiences; for many relationism and surrender can
equally be meaningful and rewarding experiences. The secular unease with the
veil therefore needs to be revisited as perhaps too Eurocentric in its
orientation. The Indian version of secularism offers us a window to engage with
all religious worldviews rather than excluding them simply because it does not
conform to our notion of freedom and individualism.
Several
women said they faced discrimination in school because of their headscarf (BBC
News/ Getty Images)
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But being
observant is not the only reason why Muslim women take the veil. She can be
non-observant and still take to the veil. Often times, for such women, the veil
is an article of negotiation with familial and societal contexts. The
conservatism within Muslim society has meant that for many women, it is only
the veil which enables her to access higher education. Also, there are other
Muslim women who might be even non-religious but sport the hijab as a mark of
cultural and political identity. For them, the veil is a symbol of choice as
the practice is not coming from any religious understanding.
It is
interesting to note that the traditionalist within Muslim society is quite at
unease with the veil. Since the veil enables Muslim women’s access to the
public square, the conservatives think of it in terms of spreading Fitna
(unrest/instability which disturbs the existing social order). It is not
surprising therefore that most of our traditional commentators, like those of
Ashraf Ali Thanvi for example, treat women as demure and as an ornament, not
giving them a place under the sun. But as we saw earlier in the CAA/NRC
protests and now again in Karnataka, veiled women are anything but
domesticated; rather they are vocal, smart and extremely articulate. It is not
surprising that the traditionalist Ulema from Deoband and Bareilly have largely
been silent on the issue as in their view, rather than going to schools and
colleges, these Muslims girls should have been ideally sitting at homes,
learning household work and reading a bit of religious literature. The veil
then, rather than inhibiting women, signifies a breakdown of the traditional religious
authority within Muslim societies. A singular reading of the veil is therefore
deeply problematic. It is perfectly understood that in large measure, the veil/Khimar
is a religious obligation but we should definitely not ignore the sociological
functions it performs in contemporary contexts.
This
sensitivity, however, should not blind us to the fact that there is
considerable pressure on Muslim women, married and unmarried to take to the
veil. Over the years, the increasing Islamisation of society has moved it
towards overt and literal scripturalism, wherein Muslim women’s bodies has
emerged as the master signifier of Muslim religiosity. Girls, as young as six
and seven are encouraged or forced to cover their heads and this social
conditioning goes a long way to make the veil a part of her bodily habitus.
Often in such societies, those that go without the veil are branded as immoral
and immodest. Such socio-religious conventions exert informal and at times even
formal pressure on such families to ‘fall in line’. Social pressure forces many
Muslim girls to adapt to the veil simply because she does not want any unwanted
attention. Anyone who argues that there is no social pressure to do so is
simply being dishonest or doesn’t know the Muslim society from close quarters.
Simply put,
if one argues for freedom to choose the veil, then one should also extend the
same courtesy to those who do not want to make that choice. After all, aren’t
we Muslims fond of the Quranic saying that there is no compulsion in religion?
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A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam
is a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in South Asia.
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/hijab-khimar-veil-quran-jilbab-modesty/d/126449
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