Introduction

The Karnataka Hijab Row has sparked a debate on the wearing of Hijab for Muslim women. Throughout patriarchal history, women’s bodies have been understood as sites to mark control. Sexual violence by men from the dominant race, caste and nation against women from oppressed groups in wars, religious and ethnic conflicts have thus been seen as ‘natural’ as conquest of land and property of the vanquished group.

In the last decades in a world marked by Islamophobia, Muslim women’s bodies have emerged as central sites of conflict. Hijab or any other form of Islamic clothing has been interpreted as a  form of ‘oppression’ posited against its binary-namely ‘liberation’. The hijab – a very visible representation of being a Muslim woman – has been stereotyped in Western countries as a danger to ideals of integration and national cohesiveness, as well as a visual embodiment of gender discrimination and injustice, in the post-9/11 context (Haddad, 2007; Zine, 2006).

However many have argued that Muslim women’s decision to wear a Hijab can be prompted as much by piety as by assertion of choice, advocacy, empowerment, and protection in a context defined both by Islamophobia and patriarchy (Rumaney and Sriram, 2020). On the other hand, it has often been considered a sign of female oppression and submission, a viewpoint shared by both liberals and conservatives (Perugini and Gordon, 2015). Indeed, many liberal feminists present the veiled woman as someone who must be liberated (Abu-Lughod, 2002) and ‘saved’ from brown males (Spivak 1994). This article will focus on conflicting views of identity performance by Muslim women and the struggles faced by them from an intersectional lens.

Is Hijab Just a Piece of Religious Cloth?

As Mary Douglas (1996) has stated in her essay “Two Bodies,” the social body imposes limits on physical body perceptions and the physical experience of a body. It determines its context and generates the unique vision of society it maintains. Therefore, a piece of clothing is not just a personal choice but also a statement made by the body indicating its readiness and desire to be seen as a certain person within the confines of its social setting.

In countries where Hijab and Burqas are enforced on women, there has been a lot of resistance and movements, such as “My Stealthy Freedom Movement,” an online movement begun by feminist activists in Iran (Basmechi et al., 2022). Contrary to that, several recent studies have found that Muslim women in the West do not consider the veil as oppressive but rather assign personal and political connotations to it, demonstrating why the Hijab cannot be understood just through the lens of politics or religion. While religion and modesty were significant motivators for individuals who wore a hijab (Winchester, 2008), Williams and Vashi (2007) discovered that Muslim immigrants in the United States utilised the veil to emphasise their religious identity and obtain prestige in Muslim culture. Hijab wearers received material, psychological, and social benefits from identifying as a member of the faith, including economic possibilities, community networks, peer support, and educational resources (Peek, 2005). Haddad (2007) found out that many Muslim women started wearing Hijab as resistance to Islamophobia in the aftermath of 9/11, even though their mothers had never worn one.

Hijab in the Indian Context

In India, throughout the colonial era, both Hindu and Muslim women have followed the Purdah system. The purdah system prohibited the women from interacting with men and women who were outside ‘certain categories’. There are many colonial debates as to whether the purdah is seen as liberation or oppression. While few women opposed the purdah system vehemently, few others practised the purdah system (Haptodd, 2012). The changes in religious practices amongst Hindu and Muslim women saw social reforms with the advent of Western education. The life behind the Purdah system and its strong critique was voiced through writing Sultana’s Dream written by Begum Rokeya, and ‘Purdah-The Need For Its Abolition’ written by Rukhmabai. Some other women like Sultan Jehan Begum, one of the Begums of Bhopal voiced their support in favour of the purdah system (Sen, 2006).

Although no specific polls of women who wear the face veil or burqa have been conducted in India, surveys conducted across the globe suggest that many women choose to veil despite their family’s wishes rather than because they are compelled to (see, for example, Clarke, 2013: 41).In the Indian context, according to a study done by Rumaney and Sriram (2020) on Muslim women in Mumbai, the women considered Hijab to be an essential part of their identity. The hijab was more than just a piece of cloth; it was a symbol of faith, modesty, protection, resistance, a way of connecting with their family and the larger Muslim community, a regulator of “anti-Islamic” behaviour, a promoter of pro-social behaviours, and a very important component of the participants’ self-definition as Indian Muslims. The Hijab was seen as a practice of agency and empowerment by those who wore it. The participants had a deep and personal relationship with their hijab, characterised as a “friend” and a “concealer of flaws.”

The meaning of the Hijab for Indian Muslim women have also changed with India’s changing context. Many of them essentially started wearing hijab because their family members wore it, but as they got educated, they started questioning their own choices. They moved from the materiality of Hijab to spirituality, being empowered in their ways and building their careers. Therefore, they contradicted the Orientalist gaze of Muslim women being forced to wear a Hijab. In addition to that, especially in the current BJP regime and the growing Islamophobia in India, these women ascribed political meanings to it and used their Hijab to raise awareness and start discussions about their faith (Rumaney and Sriram, 2020). This research was done in the urban context and among higher class and educated Muslim women. There might be other reasons for wearing a Hijab in the semi-urban and rural areas of India, but that remains largely unexplored.  The following section will focus on the intersectional struggles faced by Muslim women.

Struggles Faced By Muslim Women

The recent attack on Islam and prevailing sexism and misogyny has affected Muslim women in several ways. Muslim women face discrimination as both women and members of a minority community.  Intersectionality, as defined by Crenshaw (1989), portrays how multiple identities like race, class, gender, race, religion intersect in creating multiple layers of oppression.   Muslim women have faced struggles much more than Muslim men. Post 9/11, the representation of Muslim women has changed from being oppressed to being sympathisers of terrorism. This is also in response to the Islamophobic representation of how Islam is constructed as a monolith religion preaching violence and terrorism but completely ignoring the pluralism in Islam’s practices (Dunne et al., 2020).

In non-Muslim nations, women are the principal victims of Islamophobic violence and prejudice (ENAR, 2016). Wearing the hijab, abaya, or niqab provides political visibility of religion for Muslim women. Muslim women have been often harassed and assaulted due to their prominence. According to reports from Europe, 90 per cent of Islamophobic attacks were directed against women, with 98 per cent of those women wearing attire that indicated they were Muslim. The majority of the assailants (71 per cent) were men unknown to the women. Spitting on them, shoving them, or ripping off their headscarf or clothes were the most common forms of attack (Amnesty International, 2012; ENAR, 2016; Open Society Institute, 2009).

Muslim women in India have suffered various levels of hostility due to their Islamic clothing. They’ve been barred from public transit and refused admission to institutions (Parikh, 2019). They have been harassed in public and accused of endangering public safety (Ghassem-Fachandi, 2012) and voting fraudulently (Parikh, 2019). Recently, the extreme cases of gendered Islamophobia persisting in Indian society, especially after the rise of Right-Wing Hindutva nationalism, have been displayed by the auctioning of Muslim women through apps like Bulli Bai or Sulli Deals (Halim, 2022).  Muslim women face disproportionate levels of violence and othering just because of their intersectional identity.

Conclusion

Thus, in a Hindu majoritarian regime in contemporary India, the Hijab controversy is an instrument to exclude and discriminate against women from a minority community and thereby humiliate the community itself.  Muslim women have faced discrimination and lack of representation in many areas. In terms of literacy, Muslim women fall behind all the religious groups in terms of education and are only ahead of SC/ST women in India (Thakur, 2020). Educational institutions should be a place to promote diversity and inclusion. It has been repeatedly shown that diversity and inclusion in schools lead to a tolerant society (see Jimmerson et al., 2021). According to a study done in Bengaluru by Sahu et al. (2017), Muslim families often come in the ranks of poor, which further curtails women’s education, with religion not being a significant factor. The misogyny and sexism existing in the Indian society, in general, directs most parents to fund their son’s education over their daughter’s (Azam and Kingdon, 2013). Therefore, they mostly depend on government schools and colleges. Indian Constitution grants the right to equality and freedom of religion under Article 15 and Article 21. In addition to that, it is in contrast to the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” (Save the girl child, educate the girl child) campaign which aims to promote the education of girl children. Finally, the decision to wear or not wear the Hijab should be left to Muslim women.

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Swakshadip Sarkar is a PhD candidate at the School of Social and Cultural Studies, Victoria University of Wellington.