By Cyril Anderson

 Some criticize the hijab by saying that this different form of dress harms or limits Muslim women in Canadian or Quebec society by acting as some sort of barrier to her being involved in society.  They see it as some sort of hindrance in this regard.

 However, this is a misconception that turns the whole idea of hijab almost 180 degrees on its head.  The actual purpose of the hijab is to facilitate a woman’s integration and involvement in society.  In Islam, it is believed that men and women in public, particularly those who are not married to each other are to be moderate and businesslike in their dealings with each other.  The Islamic codes of dress for men and women, and the codes of behavior for men and women in dealing with members of the opposite sex, are intended to help facilitate productive and proper interactions between men and women in public by helping to remove the focus on physical appearances and sexuality that can often impede professional interaction between men and women.  From the Islamic perspective, the Islamic dress code, including the hijab, and the codes governing behavior and ways of speaking help, if practiced as a complete package, can make it easier for men and women to deal with each other with true equality, as rational human beings with minds and ideas, to be judged not on their looks, but on the quality of these ideas.

 In this light, we see the emptiness and absurdity of these claims made against hijab.  How is it that these people think the hijab prevents the Muslim woman from being involved in society?  Does it prevent her from thinking?  No.  Does it prevent her from reading, from studying?  No.  Does it prevent her from speaking, from interacting with people?  Does it prevent her from working, whether in the for-profit or not-for-profit spheres?  No.  Not from her end, at least.  Her eyes, her mouth, her face, her hands, in other words, the basic tools through which face to face communication is made in virtually every language and culture, are perfectly visible with hijab.  To put it simply, the hijab, in itself, presents no barriers to her interacting effectively with others.  That this is not just theory but fact is seen in the numerous Muslim women immersed in studies in university and involved in their communities both in the workforce and in charity work in this province.   In fact, it may be argued that by making the choice to hide her bodily charms, exposing only what is necessary to effectively communicate, that she enables herself to interact in a more efficient and productive manner.

 On the other hand, some non-Muslims may feel uncomfortable interacting with a woman in hijab.   They may feel a certain unease in the process.  However, this unease and discomfort are not her problem.  It is theirs.  Hijab only becomes a barrier to interaction for a Muslim woman if the other people, whether driven by something as insidious as prejudice or something as innocuous as simple fear of the unknown, put up their own barriers against the woman, preventing her from the access to the work, or to the studies to which her knowledge and abilities rightly entitle her.  Whether it is fear or prejudice that is the root, in either case it is a sickness in the mind and heart of these individuals and it is they who must take the proper steps to heal this sickness within them.  The hijab, and the Muslim woman who wears it, cannot rationally be held responsible for the irrationality of certain people in this province.  Those who speak so loudly about integration would do well to remember that integration is a dance that takes two; it is hard for an outsider to join the club when some long time members are trying so hard to shut the door in her face.